If It's Too Loud...

I know what you're thinking: Great, not another garage rock/power pop single about Prince Edward VIII abdicating the British throne for an American Socialite. And yes, that's an overly used subject matter for modern music, but once you hear the latest from The Shang Hi Los, I think you'll forgive us. "Morgantic Panic" is the exact type of song we want and expect to hear from the Boston garage pop sensations. It's an upbeat rocker that has that garage rock and power pop sound that could have been released any time in the past fifty years. If you dig the Boston garage rock scene anywhere near as much as we do, you probably already know and love The Shang Hi Los. You can listen to "Morgantic Panic" below. The single is out now via Rum Bar Records. For more on The Shang Hi Los, check out the band on Facebook .

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday April 5 Tree, Scissorfight, and Inverter at The Vault, New Bedford, MA Rock & Roll Rumble Preliminary Night Two featuring Type 66, Trailer Swift, Gut Health, and JATK at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Hammered Saint, Diablogato, and The Shang Hi Los at Faces Brewing, Malden, MA Saturday April 6 Rock & Roll Rumble Preliminary Night Three featuring Lovina Falls, Wire Lines, Other Brother Darryl, and Condition Baker at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 2nd Annual Townes Van Zandt Night featuring Paul Basile & Pete Camerato, Jake McKelvie, Dan Lambe...

Photo by Joan Hathaway I'm a huge supporter of the Boston garage rock/power pop scene, and one of my favorite bands is The Shang Hi Los. Their latest single, "Op-Operator," is just pure power pop bliss. It's a wonderfully sugary sweet track with big guitars and keyboards. Plus, in a genre defined by catchy songs, it doesn't get much catchier than "Op-Operator." The song is incredibly retro without truly committing to one time period. It starts off with some vintage handclaps, and the harmonies are straight out The Archies style of music. It seems to mostly live in the power pop of the 60's, 70's, and a tiny bit of the 80's, but The Shang Hi Los blend all of these into a perfect and timeless vintage style of power pop. Co-vocalist and co-guitarist Dan Kopko says of the new song: “A chance meeting in a record store turns into a telephonic love affair – or so it seems. Unfortunately for our protagonist, he soon finds it is a one-way connection a...

As small, independent venues seem to be dying out in Boston proper, breweries in the suburbs seem to be filling that gap. The most prominent one is Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, MA, which has a dedicated backroom with a stage that puts on shows regularly. I've been meaning to check it out for a while, and I finally had a chance to with a killer Boston garage rock punk triple bill filled with bands from two of my favorite record labels: Rum Bar Records and Red On Red Records! In a weekend filled with fantastic shows, I could not pass up seeing The Dogmatics, The Shang Hi Los, and The Chelsea Curve! Opening the night were Boston legends The Dogmatics, who have been kicking around in various forms since 1981. They play a blend of punk and garage rock that has barely slowed down in their forty plus years. It's the kind of gritty rock music that you wouldn't expect to see in a high end venue/restaurant, but that's what happens with a band starts hitting their fifties and sixt...

The Shang Hi Los are one of the stand out bands of the Boston garage rock/power pop scene. The supergroup consists of members of Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents, The Dents, The Downbeat 5, Watts, The Neighborhoods, and Eddie Japan, and just released a brand new single. "Takes One to Know You" is a huge garage pop rock song. It's reminding me a lot of Go! era Letters to Cleo, but a little more edgy. It has that incredibly poppy and catchy vibe with just a little grime on the sunniness. Like anything with The Shang Hi Los, this is a fun rock song, and if you have a soft spot for power pop and garage rock there is simply no way you're not going to love this one. You can listen to "Takes One to Know One" below. Aces Eights & Heartbreaks is due out January 20 on Rum Bar Records. The album can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp . For more on The Shang Hi Los, check out the band on Facebook . Aces Eights & Heartbreaks by The Shang Hi Los

Boston garage rock supergroup (consisting of members of The Dents, The Downbeat 5, Watts, The Neighborhoods, and Eddie Japan) have just released a new single that will sound nothing like what you'd expect to hear from them. Ok... "Billy" is still a garage rock track, so it's not completely unexpected. "Billy" also has a noir Western feel to it, complete with "Ring of Fire" style horns. Notice that I didn't say it's sounds like country and western, but Western. This sounds like it could be the theme song to an odd little low budget hipster Western heavily inspired by Quentin Tarantino. It's an ultra cool left turn for one of our favorite local garage rock bands! You can watch the video for "Billy" below. The single is currently available via Rum Bar Records and can be found over at Bandcamp . For more on The Shang Hi Los, check out the band's Facebook .

Boston garage rock supergroup The Shang Hi Los boast members of Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents, The Downbeat 5, The Neighborhoods, and Eddie Japan. If you're a fan of any of those bands, you're going to love "Skipping Records." It's this impossibly catchy garage rock/pop song that is rarely made this side of the 1960's. This sounds like what could have been the hit song The Oneders would have made in That Thing You Do! 2  after they had gotten a little more edge in the 1970's. "Skipping Records" is the rare perfect song, and you owe it to yourself to check this out. You can listen to "Skipping Records" below. Kick It Like a Wicked Bad Habit , the upcoming EP from The Shang Hi Los, will be out January 15 on Rum Bar Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on The Shang Hi Los, check out the band's Facebook . Kick It Like A Wicked Bad Habit by The Shang Hi Los

Photo via Facebook "Sway Little Player" may be the debut single from The Shang Hi Los, but this band is comprised of Boston garage rock 'n' roll royalty. The band features  Jen D'Angora (Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents, The Dents, The Downbeat 5), Dan Kopko (Watts), Lee Harrington (The Neighborhoods), and Chuck Ferreira (Eddie Japan, Lonely Leesa & the Lost Cowboys). "Sway Little Player" is classic rock 'n' roll. It's as groovy as humanly possible and has the same earworm quality the best pop songs of the 60's have. But, as 60's vintage as this song is, it somehow still has the tiniest bit of a modern edge to it. It could be that Jen D'Angora keeps a little punk edge to her voice that would have been missing five decades ago, but The Shang Hi Los have given us a modern garage pop classic. You can watch the video for "Sway Little Player" below. The song is available as a single now via Rum Bar Records. For more...