Toothbrush - "An Ocean of Sulfur Will Run Deep Through Your Veins"

When I think of music from Portland, ME, I don't really think of music that could be described as "... an experimental doom-metal fiasco." That's Toothbrush, though. The band is comprised of Sean Ahern on bass and Chris Gervais on drums. According to an email they sent out, "... bonded over their fondness for 70's era prog rock, jazz fusion, and the band Chicago." You would never guess that based on their latest single, "An Ocean of Sulfur Will Run Deep Through Your Veins." It's a thirteen minute song recorded live that sounds like Lightning Bolt decided to get sludgy and groovy. It's an intense extended blast of noise that never quite overstays its welcome, despite hardly being a pleasant listening experience. Of course, this won't be for everyone, but if this sounds like your thing, it's a thrilling listen.

You can listen to "An Ocean of Sulfur Will Run Deep Through Your Veins" below. The single will be released on Midnight Werewolf Records on March 8. You can order your copy here. For more on Toothbrush, be sure to check out their Bandcamp.

Porteau - "Penelope"

Photo by Allison Taylor Creative

Back in January we brought you "River Song" from Porteau, describing it as a "dream pop/folk song." Today we have a new song, "Penelope," and if you liked "River Song," this is definitely for you.

"Penelope" keeps the dream pop/folk song vibe going. It's an absurdly lush and beautiful song, sounding like Mazzy Star going folk, aka dream pop/folk. Just to give a hint of what to expect from the song, here is what Porteau has to say about it: "Upon seeing a painting of Andromeda by Gustave Doré, we sought out to write music that sounded like the piece of art looked - cold, urgent, yet liberating. A mutual understanding and inspiration was found and became a driving and unifying force. Using this as a catalyst, our debut record – Water’s Gate – naturally revealed itself." The song somehow sounds exactly like that press release reads, and that is a fantastic thing.

You can listen to "Penelope" below. Water's Gate, the debut album from Porteau, will be released on March 15. For more on the band, check out their website.

Bohannons - "Sleep Rock"

Photo by William Joseph Johnson

Bohannons have been around since 2005 and we're somehow just discovering them. It's exciting to have a new band to delve into the back catalog of, but also a bummer because we missed out on fourteen years of fandom. Hailing from Chattanooga, their latest single, "Sleep Rock," is a powerhouse combining country and indie/alt rock. I'd call it alt-country, but that doesn't quite fit as "Sleep Rock" isn't country enough even for that moniker. But, it's still decidedly country. It's a huge rock song with country roots but a punk/indie ethos, with hooks. The closest comparison I can come up with is Jason Isbell fronting a hybrid of Wussy and Sebadoh.

You can listen to "Sleep Rock" below. Bloodroot, the latest album from Bohannons, will be out April 5 on Cornelius Chapel Records. You can pre-order your copy here. For more on Bohannons, check out their website. Current tour dates are below the song.

March 6 - Chattanooga, TN - JJs Bohemia (w/ The Great Dying)

March 7 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone (w/ Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires)

March 8 - Little Rock, AR - White Water Tavern (w/ Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires)

March 9 - Shreveport, LA - Great Raft Brewery (w/ Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires)

March 10 - Fort Worth, TX - MASS (w/ Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires)

March 16 - Nashville, TN - The 5 Spot

April 4 - Birmingham, AL- The Nick (Bloodroot Record Release Party / Cornelius Chapel Records Showcase)

April 5 - Tuscaloosa, AL - The Alcove (Bloodroot Record Release Party)

April 6 - Chattanooga, TN -  JJs Bohemia (Bloodroot Record Release Party)

May 25 - Nashville, TN - The Basement

(additional dates to be announced soon)

First Listen: New Releases for 1 March

Album of the Week:

Artist: The Honey Dewdrops
Album: Anyone Can See
Quick Description: Porch-style roots music.
Why You Should Listen: It's a gorgeous album reminiscent of so much of your favorite roots music.
Overall Thoughts: One of the few highlights of a mostly-lackluster Oscars last weekend was Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch performing their song from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. It reminded me how much I love what those two do when they collaborate, and this album is directly reminiscent of that. Great harmonies, solid folk music – it’s the whole package, and it’s exactly what I was looking for.
Recommendation: Easily the best of the week.

Artist: Matthew Mayfield
Album: Gun Shy
Quick Description: Mainstream-friendly alt-rock.
Why You Should Listen: It's indie enough for your sensibilities, but mainstream enough where your friends won't hate you for it.
Overall Thoughts: Matthew Mayfield clearly came from the Bob Schneider school of alt-rock, making alt-rock radio-friendly songs that work really well and are especially well-produced and ultimately make you wonder why this guy isn’t more famous than he is. For some, this may be a little too mainstream, but I found this to be a really enjoyable listen from a veteran rocker.
Recommendation: A great listen this week.

Artist: Little Simz
Album: GREY Area
Quick Description: Sneaky-yet-direct rap music.
Why You Should Listen: This is one of the better rap releases of the year so far.
Overall Thoughts: I really, really liked this. I know nothing about Little Simz, but holy crap can she rap. This is just a crazy impressive effort, both with the perfectly-handled background samples and how nonchalant Simz's delivery is throughout the whole affair. She makes it sound so easy, but it is still so aggressive and so great. If you're into rap music, you owe it to yourself to find some time for this, it's going to be one of those sneaky classics.
Recommendation: Don't miss this one.

Artist: Hand Habits
Album: Placeholder
Quick Description: Buzzworthy indie folk from Saddle Creek.
Why You Should Listen: This is going to remind you of a lot of things you like, but you'll still really enjoy this one.
Overall Thoughts: In a world full of indie folk-ish artists, Hand Habits certainly has a hill to climb to stand out, but I think this project ultimately does the trick. It's a solid indie singer-songwriter effort reminiscent of a lot of the the Baker/Dacus songwriting, but with a more Waxahatchee vibe. Plenty of buzz around this one, and all of it deserved.
Recommendation: One of the best of the week.

Artist: Hozier
Album: Wasteland, Baby!
Quick Description: New album from the breakout artist.
Why You Should Listen: You, like everyone else, loved "Take Me To Church."
Overall Thoughts: Hozier almost certainly knew he ran the risk of overexposure and of being pigeonholed after "Take Me To Church" became such a megahit. It's been a while since we've heard from him as a result, but this new album surprised me. It feels very true to what Hozier has been doing, yet still feels mainstream and accessible. The album hits from the first track, and it ultimately does not let up, and this is probably one you'll be hearing everywhere but not really worry too much about or get tired of.
Recommendation: A good listen!

Artist: Trampoline
Album: Happy Crimes
Quick Description: Multi-genre Canadian rock.
Why You Should Listen: There's almost certainly something for everyone here.
Overall Thoughts: This is one we missed, and it is a really strange one and yet is super interesting in terms of its pseudo-prog execution. I liked a lot of what I heard here, and there's just a lot going on that makes it difficult to truly describe. It's worth a listen for the fun and fascinating insanity of it all.
Recommendation: Worth the time.

Of note:

* Hawksley Workman - Median Age Wasteland (This is a pretty solid, mainstream folk album that features a song about Oksana Baiul. Take that as you will.)
* Reignwolf - Hear Me Out (Reignwolf remembers The White Stripes and heavy metal, and hopes you do too.)
* The Cactus Blossoms - Easy Way (Solid, breezy roots music.)
* Bill Janovitz - Covers of the Week Vol. 1 (Covers record by a legend in these parts.)
* Solange - When I Get Home
* Victor Krummenacher - Blue Pacific
* Lonesome Shack - Desert Dreams
* Durand Jones and the Indications - American Love Call
* Lomelda - M for Empathy
*

EPs:

* Della Mae - The Butcher Shoppe EP
* UV Rays - Try and Begin
* Anya Marina - Over You
* XYLO - Pretty Sad
* CZARFACE - Dog Days of Tomorrow

Also out:

* Weezer - The Black Album (Not as bad as you'd think, not as good as it could/should be.)
* Royal Trux - White Stuff

Reese McHenry - "Detroit"

Reese McHenry is a Chapel Hill, NC musician who is making a comeback to music in her mid 40's after suffering four strokes and Atrial Fibrillation. Health issues aside, literally everything you're going to read about her will compare her to Janis Joplin. Once you listen to her latest single, "Detroit," you'll understand that none of us have any choice but to make that comparison. 

"Detroit" starts off with a "Leader of the Pack" style spoken introduction, but once the song kicks in... oh. Oh, man. McHenry's voice is just this force. She has so much power behind her voice, and it completely has that Janis Joplin-esque whiskey soaked rasp. But McHenry really does have a sound all her own, combining wild garage rock from the 50's with some of the catchiest hooks you have heard in possibly decades. 

You can listen to "Detroit" below. No Dados, the new album from Reese McHenry, will be out April 12 on Suah Sounds. For more on Reese McHenry, check out her website.

The Suitcase Junket - "Everything I Like"

Amhert, MA's one man garage rock band The Suitcase Junket is back with an upcoming album. His latest single, "Everything I Like," is an ode to touring across the country. "Everything I like happens at night is as true a statement about life on the road as I could think up," says Matt Lorenz (aka The Suitcase Junket). "The days can be a long tedious slog, filled with the bizarre static intensity of driving the food desert that is our interstate highway system, but the nights can be so transcendent that all of the crap that filled your day melts away in the alchemy of a lit up stage and a crowd engaged. Then somebody steals your van. That's the way it goes."

The song is a garage/folk bouncy party anthem with some Dinosaur Jr guitar weaved in from time to time. It's an absurdly fun song, and has a far more mainstream appeal than I'm sure I've made it sound. That's the great secret with The Suitcase Junket: Lorenz makes music that's mainstream enough to appeal to college kids up through your in-laws, but interesting enough to even appeal to us music snobs.

You can watch the video for "Everything I Like" below. Mean Dog, Trampoline, the upcoming album from The Suitcase Junket, will be out April 5 on Signature Sounds Recordings. For more on The Suitcase Junket, check out his website.

Sebadoh - "celebrate the void"

I've been an obsessive fan of Sebadoh for decades now. I even have always liked The Sebadoh. When I heard rumblings on social media about an upcoming album, I couldn't wait to finally hear new music from one of my favorites. Today, we have a new song! "celebrate the void" starts off very differently from your typical Sebadoh song. For the first half it's a straight up power ballad, which I don't think anyone would expect. Sure, Sebadoh have done slow songs and ballads before, but "celebrate the void" is a power ballad, albeit filtered through the prism of Lou Barlow. Halfway through it switches to a more typical later period Sebadoh song. But any Sebadoh song is guaranteed to be glorious.

You can watch the video for "celebrate the void" below. Act Surprised, the new (!!!!) album from Sebadoh, will be out May 24 on Dangerbird. You can pre-order a copy through your favorite outlet here. For more on Sebadoh, check out their website.

Stella Donnelly - "Tricks"

Photo by Julia Jacklin

As anticipation increases around here for next week's full length debut release from Stella Donnelly, we have a new song from the album to check out. The previous two songs that have been previewed from Beware of the Dogs have been completely different from each other, and "Tricks" continues that. "Tricks" has a tiny touch of 60's grooviness to it, and it stops just short of being a dance song. For the most part, it's a great folk pop song with some killer indie rock guitar riffs sprinkled throughout. And, being a Stella Donelly song, the playfulness of the song does fit the subject matter. According to the press release, "Tricks" "... is a deceptively catchy jab at racist Australian pride and the absurdity of the music industry." 

You can watch the video (co-directed by fellow Australian musician (and If It's Too Loud... favorite) Julia Jacklin!) below. Beware of the Dogs will be out on March 8 via Secretly Canadian. You can pre-order your copy here. For more on Stella Donelly, check out her website. Current tour dates are below the video.

Wed. March 6 - Surry Hills, AU @ Golden Age Cinema & Bar
Thu. March 7 - Surry Hills, AU @ Golden Age Cinema & Bar
Sat. March 9 - Brunswick West, AU @ Estonian House (Matinee U18)
Sat. March 9 - Brunswick West, AU @ Estonian House
Sun. March 10 - Tasmania, AU @ Panama Festival
Fri. March 15 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall #
Sat. March 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s #
Mon. March 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade #
Wed. March 20 - Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom #
Fri. March 22 - Somerville, MA @ ONCE Ballroom #
Sat. March 23 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo #
Sun. March 24 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel #
Mon. March 25 - Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx #
Wed. March 27 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups #
Thu. March 28 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop #
Fri. March 29 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s #
Sat. March 30 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club #
Tue. April 2 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza #
Wed. April 3 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall #
Fri. April 5 - San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord #
Sat. April 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater #
Thu. April 11 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
Fri. April 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Skybar
Sat. April 13 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Mon. April 15 – Cologne, DE @ Yuca
Tue. April 16 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique 
Wed. April 17 – Amiens, FR @ La Lune Des Pirates *
Thu. April 18 - Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up Du Label
Tue. April 23 - Cardiff, UK @ Clwb Ifor Bach
Wed. April 24 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Thu. April 25 - Southampton, UK @ Joiners
Sat. April 27 - Brighton, UK @ Haunt
Sun. April 28 - Manchester, UK @ Yes
Mon. April 29 - Dublin, IE @ Grand Social
Wed. May 1 - Glasgow, UK @ The Blue Arrow
Thu. May 2 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Community Room
Sat. May 4 - Liverpool, UK @ Liverpool Sound City
Sun. May 5 - Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
Tue. May 7 - London, UK @ Scala
Thu. July 4 - Roskilde, DK @ Roskildge Festival
Fri. July 5 - Vilanova I La Geltrú, ES @ Vida Festival
Wed. July 17 - Lawrence, KS @ The Granada &
Thu. July 18 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway &
Fri. July 19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom &
Tue. July 23 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In &
Wed. July 24 - Louisville KY @ Headliners Music Hall &
Thu. July 25 - Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Diner
Sun. July 28 - Tachikawa, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
Fri. Aug. 9 - Rees, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Sat. Aug. 10 - Bristol, UK @ Boomtown Festival
Sat. Aug. 17 - Crickhowell, UK @ Green Man Festival
Thu. Aug. 29 - Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
 
# = with Faye Webster
* = supporting Yak
& = support Snail Mail

Friday Freebie: Sweater Mouth - Tiny Holler

When the line up for this year's The Thing in the Spring was released, I paid close attention to the bands playing the free Sunday show, naturally. That's when I stumbled upon Sweater Mouth's 2017 release Tiny Holler. According to the Bandcamp description, "sweater mouth is grace glasson's rural bedroomy lofi folk project." That might be the most apt self description I've ever seen. Sweater Mouth perfectly captures current folk with the mostly 90's lo-fi bedroom recordings feel. Tiny Holler is filled with these great quiet lo-fi folk songs that have their own unique vibe. I wouldn't quite call them "quirky," but they are the slightest bit off beat in the best possible way.

You can listen to "RRD" below. You can currently download Tiny Holler for free via Bandcamp. For more on Sweater Mouth, be sure to check out their Facebook.

Lady Lamb - "Deep Love"

Photo by Erica Peplin

We're just over a month away from the release of Lady Lamb's new album, and today we have a new song to salivate over. "Deep Love" might be Lady Lamb's most accessible song yet. It's still a Lady Lamb song (not quite indie rock, not quite folk), but towards the end it almost takes on a groovy 80's power ballad feel. Well... not quite, but maybe the demo for an 80's power ballad. If that sounds like your kind of thing, you're guaranteed to love this. Even if it's not, you probably will love it any way. Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb) has this to say about the song:

I had just gone into Manhattan and I felt like an alien seeing all the workers on their lunch break.  I spent my train ride home to Queens, wondering if we’d lost our purpose.  I started singing the first line, ‘I’m not convinced we should strive for midtown,’ and by the time I got to the chorus refrain I was full of a deep, volcanic kind of love which poured out of me and filled the song. It felt like it was writing itself, and when I realized I was singing through tears, I knew the album was finished.

You can watch the video for "Deep Love" below. Even in the Tremor, the new album from Lady Lamb, will be out April 5 via Ba Da Bing Records. You can pre-order your copy here. For more on Lady Lamb, check out her website. Current tour dates are below the video.

Wed. April 10 - Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom *
Thu. April 11 - Montreal, QC @ Le Ministere *
Fri. April 12 - Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel *
Sat. April 13 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe *
Mon. April 15 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *
Tue. April 16 - Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx *
Wed. April 17 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
Fri. April 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry *
Sat. April 20 - Milwaukee @ Back Room at  Colectivo *
Mon. April 22 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge *
Wed. April 24 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
Fri. April 26 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
Sat. April 27 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic *
Mon. April 29 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett *
Thu. May 2 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret ^
Fri. May 3 - Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern ^
Sat. May 4 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^
Mon. May 6 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall ^
Wed. May 8 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room ^
Thu. May 9 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar ^
Fri. May 10 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar ^
Sat. May 11 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf ^
Mon. May 13 - Austin, TX @ Antone’s ^
Tue. May 14 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ^
Thu. May 16 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway ^
Fri. May 17 - Nashville, TN @  The High Watt ^
Sat. May 18 - Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 ^
Sun. May 19 - Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight ^
Tue. May 21 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings ^
Wed. May 22 - Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel ^
Thu. May 23 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore ^
Thu.. May 30 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere ^
Fri. May 31 - Boston, MA @ Royale ^
Sat. June 1 - Portland, ME @ The State Theatre ^
 
* = with Renata Zeiguer
^ = with Katie Von Schleicher