If It's Too Loud...

Boston's finest purveyors of "... coffee shop songs that go to 11," The Roland High Life, is back with a new single. "The Edge of Memory" is a synth-heavy track that stands firmly in the world of pop punk and emo. It's an earnest song with a chorus that is perfect for gang vocals and scream-a-longs. This song is ridiculously catchy, and despite how poppy it is, it also has an edge to it. By calling "The Edge of Memory" emo, it's more along the lines of mid-west emo, and the synths are going to remind a lot of you of The Anniversary. This is one of the most fun songs we've covered in a while, and it's always great to hear new stuff from The Roland High Life! You can listen to "The Edge of Memory" below. The song is available through Bandcamp . For more on The Roland High Life, check out the band's website . The Edge of Memory by Roland High Life

A note to all bands out there: If you want to make sure I cover your new single and increase the likelihood of writing about it, make it a reference to Spiderman. Luckily for The Roland High Life, "Face It, Tiger" is also a great song. It's the kind of song that might possibly be too catchy. It lands somewhere in the middle of pop punk and alt-rock. It's as melodic and as memorable as the best of Fountains of Wayne, but with a little more of an edge than they typically had. Plus, it's filled with references to my favorite super hero, and I'm enough of a nerd to allow that to win me over.  You can watch the lyric video for "Face It, Tiger" below. For more on The Roland High Life, check out the band's website . On October 4th, they're playing The Cellar on Treadwell in Hamden, CT and on October 5th they'll be at Rejects Brewing Oktoberfest in Middletown, RI.

Memorial Day is behind us, so I consider us officially in summer, which means it's time to check out the latest single from The Roland High Life. The Boston band just released "Almost Always Ready" is a nostalgic grown-up pop punk/power pop anthem. Their Bandcamp describes their music as "earnest," and it doesn't get much more earnest than this one. It's about "... all the dumb excuses you come up with as a kid to stop yourself from actually being happy." The Roland High Life have created a song that hits just so many nostalgic notes on "Almost Always Ready" that it's sure to make you reminisce about your teenage summers even if they don't match the song at all. You can listen to "Almost Always Ready" below. For more on The Roland High Life, check out the band on Twitter  and Instagram . Always Almost Ready by The Roland High Life

Photo via Facebook The latest from Boston's The Roland High Life came to us with a question: "What if Weezer wrote a song about the women of the IRA?" That basically sums up "Oh Dolours." The new single is a power ballad featuring Indoor Friends on vocals that definitely cranks up the power side of the genre. It has an extremely sentimental side to it while still straight up rocking out. I'm personally hearing more Fountains of Wayne than Weezer, but that could just be me. (Especially since early Fountains of Wayne reviews mostly said they were trying to out-Weezer Weezer...) Given the subject matter, there's also a hint of Irish music in "Oh Dolours," naturally. The band says of their new single: "'Oh Dolours' is an ode to Dolours Price, a radical feminist and volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. It's an exploration of the sacrifices people make in the name of liberation, and what kinds of compromises are actually worth the...

According to their bio, Boston's The Roland High Life is "... an earnest power pop indie alt emo americana folk nerd rock from Boston who plays coffee shop songs that go to 11." Their latest single, "Scotty Says," is a tribute to a friend who was lost to drugs and addiction. It's an unwaveringly earnest song that touches virtually all genres in their description. It's a power pop track that bounces between being a power ballad and being a rocker. It's an anthemic rock song with roots based squarely in melodic punk and early 90's alt-rock. It's not a cheery song by any stretch, but The Roland High Life keep it upbeat enough to not be a complete downer. You can listen to "Scotty Says" below. For more on The Roland High Life, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .