If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy Yep Roc Records The Fleshtones have been around since 1976, and are still making killer rock and roll. The band's latest single, "You Say You Don't Mind It," is that perfect mix of vintage punk that harkens back to 1950's rock and roll. This is the kind of single that could have come out at any point in the last fifty years. It's always great to hear a band that started out nearly five decades ago still be able to come out with a song as great as this one. Plus, it's werewolf themed, so it's perfect for this time of year. "You Say You Don't Mind It" is a nearly perfect vintage punk/rock and roll track and is a must add to all of your Halloween playlists. You can listen to "You Say You Don't Mind It" below. It's Getting Late (... and More Songs About Werewolves)" is due out November 1 on Yep Roc Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on The Fleshtones, check out the band on Facebook . ...

Photo courtesy of the artist Through the Boston music community, Ezra Furman met Alex Walton and the two have released a collaborative single. While Furman's musical output has been varied and eclectic, I haven't heard her release anything quite like "Tie Me to the Train Tracks." This new single is much more rock based than we normally hear from the artist, and much noisier. At times this is a straight up noise rock track, although the pair inject a surprising amount of melody into it. The song moves from being an alt-singer-songwriter song to noise rock to alt-pop, and sometimes all three. Every time Furman releases new music it's thrilling, but also leaves us wondering what she will do next. "Tie Me to the Train Tracks" has us dying to hear what comes next. Ezra Furman says of her new single with Alex Walton: "We made this song in a burst of neurotic passion at her old house in Roxbury, Boston one chronically-ill afternoon. The chains of luv had g...

Photo courtesy Cornelius Chapel Records If I find out a band is from Athens, GA, I'm going to give them a listen. They usually tend to be pretty great or at least interesting, and Hunger Anthem are both. The "indie-punk-pop" trio just released a new single, "Bloodsucker," that is a must listen if you're also a little obsessed with the Athens music scene. The song has a defiant punk edge to it, and it's quite noisy, but it still feels more like the indie bands you associate with Athens more than your typical punk song. As driving and as heavy as "Bloodsucker" is, there's almost an element that feels very 80's college rock to the song. I'm hearing a but of Husker Du meets R.E.M. at their 80's peaks determined to write a hit song. If you're not already pressing play on the song below, I don't even know what you're doing here. You can listen to "Bloodsucker" below. Lift is due out December 6 on Cornelius Chapel...

There's just something about punk bands that add in some thrashy metal that just works for me. That's where Oh the Humanity! come in. The Boston band have been around since 2012, and their latest single, "Gutted," starts off as a melodic punk track. It's a driving track with shout along choruses and is surprisingly catchy. And then the metal guitars kick in. It's a very slow process, but as the guitar edges into metal more and more, the song just gets cooler and more fun. The song as all of the serious side of punk, especially heavy punk, but the fun of noodling heavy metal. "Gutted" is quite simply a great song that exists in both the worlds of punk and metal without blurring the lines at all. Oh the Humanity! say of their latest single: "'Gutted' is a song about self loathing, self improvement, and an inability to forgive yourself. Wrestling with the person you are, the person you were and the person you want to be. These themes are st...

Photo by Michelle Mercado Mamalarky just signed with Epitaph Records and have released a new single of their unique style of indie rock. "Nothing Lasts Forever" is a mostly chill version of dance friendly, quirky indie rock. The vocals are as smooth as R&B while the music has this oddly jerky feel to it. The song is so close to being a mainstream dance/pop music song, but Mamalarky just infuse their own unique style into their music that keeps everything interesting. The closest artists I can compare this to are Guerilla Toss and Rubblebucket. "Nothing Lasts Forever" is a fun and beautiful new track that is sure to suck listeners in through multiple listens. Livvy Bennett says of her band's new single: "We were in the dead of the summer experiencing another climate-crisis heatwave in LA with no AC. This song kind of sizzled out as our brain cells were struggling to fire. Everyone started dancing. We were supposed to be writing songs for someone else but...

Artist : Orla Gartland Album : Everybody Needs a Hero Quick Thoughts : Apparently Orla Gartland is kind of big? Not sure when that happened, as I loved Woman on the Internet and, uh, apparently everyone else did, too. This is absolutely a step up either way, a little more mainstream, a little more produced, but it's still a ton of fun whatever way you slice it. "Little Chaos" in particular is a real winner this week, so check it out. Songs of Note : "Sound of Letting Go," "Little Chaos," "Backseat Driver," "Late to the Party," "Three Words Away" Artist : Kylie Minogue Album : Tension II Quick Thoughts : Kylie Minogue continues her exemplary third act with Tension II , a tight package of dancefloor tunes that just absolutely crush it from start to finish. She's riding high after "Padam Padam" last year, and there's just so much here to love. I don't honestly know why she's not up t...

If you've been paying attention to the Boston music scene for a while, you've definitely come across the name Shotgun Waltz. The longtime Boston alternative roots rock band just released a new single that is just oozing with rock nostalgia. "Lay Low" is a rocker with a shout along chorus that lives somewhere between the styles of the 80's and 90's. The song has that roots rock sound from the 80's but with some of the alternative fuzz of the 90's. It's a straight up rock song that sounds like you've heard it before, and if you just give it a few minutes you might remember, but it was probably high school? Plus, it features Greg Hawkes of The Cars on keyboards, and there aren't many (if any) other keyboard players you can recognize just from their playing. You can watch the video for "Lay Low" below. The single is available now via Bandcamp . For more on Shotgun Waltz, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo by Derrick Alexander We absolutely adored Rosali's album Bite Down when it was released earlier this year. The album was filled with songs that bordered both indie rock and Americana and deeply connected with me personally. Now, Rosali has a new single out. "Hey Heron" was written during the sessions for Bite Down  and was originally scheduled to be released in October. It came out earlier on the Cardinals at the Window compilation to help raise funds for damage from Hurricane Helene in Rosali's home state of North Carolina, and now it's out as a single for the same. "Hey Heron" is an absolutely epic single. The song starts at a high point and continues to get more and more epic as it goes on. The build for the song is exquisite, and every time you think that it's peaked, it just keeps going. Most artists would need well over ten minutes to fit this much in, and Rosali pulls it off in under five and a half. This reminds me of Liz Phair jamming ...

Earlier this month saw a new single from Proles, aka the Dark Wave project from Gretchen Shae. "On the Outside" / "Reasonable Man" actually includes a third song, "Downward the Infinite Spiral Staircase." This collection of three songs sounds a little more DIY than previous singles from Proles, but that adds to the aesthetic perfectly. On this release, Gretchen Shae sounds the most like her Siouxsie Sioux cover band Gretchen & The Banshees, and the instrumental "Downward the Infinite Spiral Staircase" in particular sounds like very early The Cure. "Reasonable Man" sounds like a lost John Carpenter... until it gets oddly funky. While most music that finds itself in the post-punk or Dark Wave genres tends to be more polished, the raw sound of "On the Outside" gives the entire project a darker feel. You can listen to "On the Outside" below. The three song release is available now via Bandcamp .  On the Outside / Rea...

Photo via Facebook Buffalo has become one of our favorite hip hop scenes around, and Che Noir is one of our favorite MCs from the city. Her latest single, "Black Girl," features Rapsody and is a must listen if you've been into any era of hip hop over the last fifty years. A lot of rock music gets called timeless, but "Black Girl" is the first rap song I've heard that doesn't sound like a specific time. It's clearly a modern hip hop track, but there are elements of the martial arts inspired music of Wu-Tang Clan, the jazz inspired music of Guru, and even some G-Funk thrown in. It may have some elements of the glory days of the 90's, but "Black Girl" doesn't sound anything like a throwback. Che Noir says of her new single and upcoming album: “I started working on the production for  The Lotus Child  in 2021, with the intent to really showcase my production skills on this project.  My fans know I produce, but they don’t know how import...

Photo by Richard Mukuze Strap yourself in tight and get ready for the latest single from Ritual Error. The London band's upcoming album is "... a love letter to a certain 90's noise," which includes bands like Drive Like Jehu, The Jesus Lizard, and the Dischord Records roster. The band's new single, "Life as a Contact Sport," is an explosion of loud noise, discordant guitars, and screaming. This sounds like one of the louder and more aggressive songs we've brought to you in a while, and possibly one of the best. "Life as a Contact Sport" is not meant to be background music. Ritual Error is going to demand your full attention, and they well deserve it. You can watch the video for "Life as a Contact Sport" below. Dial in the Ghost is due out November 8 on TNS Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Ritual Error, check out the band on Instagram .

Swansea Sound is the new musical project of Hue Williams and Amelia Fletcher of The Pooh Sticks. The UK band just released a new single, "Toxic Energy," which imagines a duet between the late Terry Hall of The Specials and Elon Musk. (Williams plays Terry Hall, and Fletcher voices Elon Musk.) The song is a hyped up song that is both punk and pop, but not pop punk. It's joyous and biting with all of the attitude you would expect from a song with such a subject matter. "Toxic Energy" is the kind of fun you only get with a punk song that is both happy and angry. You can tell Swansea Sound are taking great delight with this one. You can watch the video for "Toxic Energy" below. The single is out now on Skep Wax, Formosa Punk, and Sm. Craft Advisory, and is available via Bandcamp . For more on Swansea Sound, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. 16 Nov: Cambridge,   Blue Moon (Sold out​)  23 Nov: Bristol,  ...

Afrobeat pioneer Ebo Taylor has a new single out from his collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. "Feeling" the psychedelic Afrobeat and West African funk and mixes it with the style of jazz we've come to associate with the Jazz is Dead label. It's instantly addictive, and will instantly draw in any true music fan. It's that chilled out style of jazz that demands the audience move, and if you can sit still during "Feeling," you might want to check to see if you have a soul. Taylor turns ninety years old in January, and the fact that he is still making music this vital and engaging at this point in his career and life is something that needs to be celebrated. "Feeling" is truly a special single. Adrian Younge says of working with Ebo Taylor: “Collaborating with Ebo Taylor is definitely a bucket-list accomplishment. For me, it is the equivalent of working with musical genius Fela Kuti, because of how much I have studied both of...

Other Brother Darryl are one of those bands you end up loving more the more you listen. The Boston based Americana band just released "The Ballad of Joni and Graham," which is an ode to Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash. The song is a laid back song blurring the lines between folk, rock, and country, which tends to be Other Brother Darryl's specialty. It's heavy on vocal harmonies and has more than a little hint of nostalgia laced throughout without sounding like a throwback. "The Ballad of Joni and Graham" is modern folk/country/Americana at its finest. Slowly, Other Brother Darryl have become a band that I really like to a band I'm starting to become obsessed with.  Vocalist and guitarist Nate Leavitt says of the band's new song: “Joni and Graham’s thing inspired them to write songs about each other, it seemed fitting we write a song about them. Dan [Nicklin] writes about the human connection often and puts a lot of himself into the characters he’s sin...

Photo by Coleman Rogers Photography We always look forward to getting a new single from Boston's Looking Glass War, and their brand new one might be our favorite yet. "Adamantine Chain Gang" is everything we love from the glammed up post-punk band, but this one delves into further into darkwave than they normally do. The new single is just deeply dark sounding, while still having all of the glam and fun that you need in a Looking Glass War sound. "Adamantine Chain Gang" is just oozing with menace from the its opening bassline, and by the time singer Goddamn Glenn comes in, you need the relief his vocals provide. There's just something about a darker shade of glam that's always going to appeal to me, and if you agree you'll need to check out the latest from Looking Glass War. You can listen to "Adamantine Chain Gang" below. For more on Looking Glass War, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook .