If It's Too Loud...

I remember The Refreshments being better than most of the top 40 alternative bands out around 1996-1998. I don't think I've heard their big hit song "Banditos" in roughly 15 years, but since they also did the theme song for King of the Hill , we're all very familiar with them.  This is why I was surprised to see that Miles Nielsen had not only covered The Refreshments, but he picked a much lesser known song, "Blue Collar Suicide." What makes this cover a little more fun is that he does it with Roger Clyne of The Refreshments. Not many artists do cover songs with the original artist, so it's fairly unique in that aspect. It's a little less fuzzy and a bit more Americana (and also slowed down) than the original version, but that fits Miles Nielsen's thing and is pretty expected. You can listen to Miles Nielsen and Roger Clyne's version of "Blue Collar Suicide below. For some more information on Miles Nielsen and his band th...

Of course, anti-Spotify band Radiohead has a new album out. Since paying $13 for a digital album feels like a fool's errand in 2016, we'll cover that when it becomes more widely available, but for now, "Burn the Witch" is my favorite Radiohead song in a decade and "Daydreaming" is not. Album of the Week Artist : Shit Robot Album : What Follows Quick Description : A great, classic-sounding electronic album. Why You Should Listen : It's really the opposite of the band's name. Overall Thoughts : As a human being trying to curse less in daily life, this brings me to my favorite album this week by Shit Robot. I won't lie - the only reason I went to listen to this was because the band's name made me giggle, and when I found out how much I really liked this album, well... I understand this won't be for everyone, but if you have any sort of soft spot for mid-1990s European techno music, you want to give this one a spin. Recommendatio...

Via Facebook Boston's Michael Christmas has a new EP coming out sometime later this month. There's no set in stone release date (ah, the new digital age) but it's expected around Memorial Day. "Paranoid" is the first single, and it's everything I love and miss about hip hop. It features Christmas' trademark laid back style, which is very not Boston, but fits the whole feel of the song. It's about just being up late, unable to sleep while your brain just keeps on going. Plus, instead of an R&B chorus, Christmas is kinda sorta singing, which is beautifully old school. Musically it reminds me more of an 80s radio jingle than the usual over the top banger you get today. It's sparse but fully realized. Baggy Eyes  is due out sometime this month, probably. You can listen to "Paranoid" below. For more information on Michael Christmas, check out his Facebook and Twitter .

Bob Mould has been one of those artists I've been meaning to check out for years, and on Sunday I finally got the chance. His Sunday night set at The Paradise will definitely be one of my live highlights of the year. Mould's 23 song set was absolutely perfect for fans of his entire catalog. It was 26% Husker Du, 17% Sugar, and the majority being his solo work. As a whole section of the 80s alt-rock lifers will only play new solo material so they don't just become a nostalgia act, Mould embraces the nostalgia while also proving his new material stands up to the classics. I wasn't expecting anything from his days with Sugar, so that was a very pleasant surprise, particularly "If I Can't Change Your Mind." And his Husker Du work is just the definition of classic. "Something I Learned Today" was my personal highlight of the set. For anyone questioning the quality of this solo work, just check out "The End of Things" from his excellent n...

Photo by Polina Mourzina Folk music has been around for generations, and true folk music hasn't really changed much. Making music with a human voice and acoustic string instruments has been done millions of times. That's what makes it so special when you actually find someone doing something unique with the art form. Kaia Kater is one of those truly rare voices. Hailing from Toronto, she spent time learning and honing her art in the Appalachians in West Virginia.  While most modern folk is uplifting and celebratory, "Rising Down" is dark. It's dark to the point that it includes the lyric "Your cross is a symbol of my lynching." It's not exactly the music for hipsters to dance to while wearing a straw hat, and bring a political charge back to a genre that's been missing it for a while. Her voice is beautifully haunting, bouncing between powerful and vulnerable between words. The music is just sparse enough to make her vocals and lyrics the c...

Just when we think we can't love Weakened Friends more, they go ahead and release a song like "95." It's beyond catchy, with this great indie rock meets power pop punk sound. My own theory on the name of the song is that it just feels like 1995.  Sonia Sturino has this powerful effect to her voice where it comes across as both powerful and strained and vulnerable. It's almost like a more sensitive Kathleen Hanna. Plus, the inclusion of hand claps, swirly guitars, distant backing "Woahhh woahhhh woahhhh" vocals, and a gang vocal bridge that ends up mirroring the backing vocals, and you would have the undisputed song of the summer, if such a thing still existed. "95" will be on Weakened Friends' upcoming EP, Crushed. You can pre-order it on vinyl through Counter Intuitive Records , and receive a download of it now. That's pretty great since the album isn't officially out until July. For more information on Weakened Friends, check ...

There's a lot of decent stuff this week but, like last week, not a lot of truly standout material. Album of the Week : Artist : Lera Lynn Album : Resistor Quick Description : Latest album by the folk/country artist, fresh off of her turn with True Detective . Why You Should Listen : Lera Lynn has always been great, and it's about time she got some broader exposure. Overall Thoughts : Honestly, hearing "Shape Shifter" earlier made me a little wary, but I shouldn't have been. Yes, this is a more accessible album than I expected but that is more than okay. There are poppy elements to go along with her more traditional sound, and, really, the only flaw in this album is that her True Detective songs didn't make the cut. Even in a week with a lot of great listens, this would be worth some time, but this is still far and away my favorite listen this week, and right in the wheelhouse if you like a lot of what we feature here. Recommendation : A must liste...

Rock documentaries usually fall into two categories: Looking back on an artist's entire decades long career or fluff pieces meant to cash on in a pop star's peak money making window. Director Gorman Bechard's previous two films about Grant Hart and The Replacements definitely fits the former category. That's what makes  Who is Lydia Loveless? so unique: It takes the standard rock documentary format and goes in a completely new direction. You might wonder how they can film an entire film with the life story of a musician in her mid-20s. They don't. Loveless' life story fills up maybe 20 minutes. You learn about her being raised on a farm and homeschooled. You learn about her teenage band with her two sisters and her father playing drums. They then cover the fact that she recorded her first album when she was 16, and her solo career up to the present day. The rest of her band is also profiled, which truly fits into Loveless' introduction of "We are Ly...

This week Friday Freebie is back with the long awaited return of De La Soul! It's been far too long since we've had anything new from De La, so we couldn't be more thrilled with this free teaser EP for their upcoming Kickstarter funded album. The four song EP starts off with a skit, "The Devil Likes Candy." Sometime in the early 90s I became completely fed up with hip hop skits, but now 20 years later it invokes more of an "Aww" in nostalgia form. "Trainwreck" is by far the highlight of the EP. It shows that De La Soul might be at the top of their game right now. It's more serious and less silly than some of their more vintage work, but they're also 25 years older now and should probably be more serious. Plus, there's horns and actual hip hop choruses, and not just an R&B hook. It's funny when 30 year old techniques seem so fresh. "Beautiful Night" does have an R&B chorus, but it feels more organic than the...

Photo credit: Maarten deBoer I've always liked Sara Watkins. I mean, who doesn't, right? But I've never quite gotten her music before. It's always been something I've listened to, and recognized it was good, but I never connected to it. It's pretty surprising, since she falls squarely into the bluegrass/folk realm that I love. What surprises me the most is how much I love her new song, "Move Me." It's a move away from straightforward Americana and much more into the territory of mainstream pop rock. Watkins' voice is still bluegrass. I don't think she could ever lose that quality if she tried. But musically "Move Me," while being pop, has this slight hard rock edge to it. It sounds like something I'd hate, but instead I truly love this song. Sara Watkins' new album, Young in All the Wrong Ways,  is due out July 1 on New West Records. You can watch the video for "Move Me" below. For more information on Sar...

Austin's Tyler Jordan and the Negative Space occupy a space that fits right into our wheelhouse here at If It's Too Loud...: They have a classic, Americana rock sound that's reminiscent of Tom Petty, but they blend it with the laid back indie rock of bands like Pavement. Their debut single, "Ballerina," was produced by members of another of our current musical obsessions, Big Thief. "Ballerina" is a pretty straightforward rock song, with just enough slight quirks, a killer riff that goes throughout, and quite possibly the most epic false ending of the year. It's pretty much a guaranteed favorite song for anyone who reads this site with any regularity. You can listen to "Ballerina" below. For more information on Tyler Jordan and the Negative Space, check them out on Bandcamp and Facebook . Ballerina/B-side by Tyler Jordan and the Negative Space

Workforce first formed in Boston way back in 1988 after the break up of James Straight's previous band, Doppler Effect. After releasing two albums of 80s heavy electronic music, the band went into hiatus in 1996 after the release of Come Out!  They got together to play a show in 2010, and have slowly started working on some new material. Workforce have always been at their best when they skewer American culture. One of their new songs, "Hollywood Lips," is a perfect example, mocking Hollywood's obsession with a cartoonish version of perfection only achieved through plastic surgery. Rather than trying to update their sound to a more "hip" version of today's electronica, this is pure vintage Workforce. This could easily be a lost recording from 1988, and I mean that as the most sincere compliment. You can listen to "Hollywood Lips" below. They are promising a new album this year. For some more information, check them out on Soundcloud and ...

A surprisingly slow week considering how busy the recent weeks have been. Album of the Week : Artist : Jason Wilber Album : Echoes Quick Description : Some solid singer-songwriter tunes. Why You Should Listen : Jason Wilber has a sound that's a little unexpectedly unique. Overall Thoughts : I don't know when this album hooked me for good, but I will say that a good cover tacked on at the end will leave a great impression overall. If you start with his take on "I Am the Cosmos" and go back from there, you might get a better understanding of Wilber's sound and approach. This is a pretty great album on a whole, and is the only thing that sounds like this that I heard this week. Recommendation : Absolutely worth your time. Artist : The Legendary Pink Dots Album : Pages of Aquarius Quick Description : Latest album by the long-standing rock band. Why You Should Listen : They've been around for over 35 years, so they're probably worth a listen on...

I first discovered These Wild Plains when I heard they were going to be part of the night of the Boston Music Awards honoring Evan Dando by performing a partial tribute set to Evan and the Lemonheads. Considering a Lemonheads cover is how I discovered Courtney Batnett , These Wild Plains are in pretty fantastic company. Their newest single, "Old Reasons," is everything I love about These Wild Plains. The Lemonheads' influence is pretty obvious, particularly with Dando's more country-infused songs (which I somehow never realized exactly how country they were back in high school...). There is also a huge sampling of 90s alt-country bands like Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown. It's really a touch of everything we gush about obsessively in one band, so we're pretty confident you're going to love it. You can listen to "Old Reasons" below. You can purchase a copy at These Wild Plains' Bandcamp , and for more information on the band, check out the...

Let's get this part out of the way right away. The new Paws album is produced by Mark Hoppus of Blink 182. I have nothing against Mark Hoppus or Blink 182 per se, but when one of my favorite noisy punk bands gets produced by the man who helped usher in the sugary mall pop punk genre, I'm right to be a little concerned. I think we all know what happened to H2O when they signed to a major and had to make the pop album. At least with "Gone So Long," the concern is unwarranted. Is it a little more polished than their previous albums? Definitely. Could it be a little too polished? Maybe. Is it still fun noisy punk? Yes. At some point every band starts to clean up their sound a bit. Goo was more polished than Bad Moon Rising, and while some people hated it, they're both considered Sonic Youth classics now. This might help Paws sell some more records, but they may also deserve it. The third Paws album, No Grace , is due out June 17 on FatCat Records. You can listen ...