If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Troy Ezequiel Montes Jawwaad Taylor (aka JAWWAAD) was a co-founder of The Young Mothers, the Texas/Scandinavian jazz collective that included multiple other genres in their sound. Now, JAWWAAD has his own album coming out, and the latest single is "Without You." This new single combines jazz, hip hop, and R&B in ways you've both heard and haven't heard before. This is an ultra-chill track that meanders through genres with ease. It never seems to lean towards any genre more than others, letting them all co-exist equally. It also features Contour and Yaajé  taking care of vocals throughout. JAWWAAD has a truly special sound that has the potential of becoming an all time favorite. You can listen to "Without You" below. Myth & Logic is due out November 13 on Sonic Transmissions and Sound Mind Body Labs, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on JAWWAAD, check out the artist on Instagram . Myth & Logic by JAWWAAD

Photo by Juliette Boulay Philadelphia's Deux Visages have a new single out that further blurs the already murky lines between shoegaze and dream pop. As with most modern shoegaze, "Pixelate" combines multiple styles into something familiar and new. It has all of the fuzz and wall of sound noise needed to be shoegaze, but it also brings in a lot of the melodies and softness of dream pop. Plus, there's an edge to the song that I wouldn't have expected with the dream pop elements. It's akin to the indie rock aggression of a band like Sonic Youth, but mellowed out by some bubblegrunge. "Pixelate" melds both dissonance and melody perfectly. Chances are, we're all going to end up being Deux Visages fans sooner than later. Daphney Hanono says that her band's latest single  “... highlights the changes in people you’ve known for a long time and disappointment within them. The name is a nod to the lyrical theme of the person being a vague image of who ...

Photo by Rebeca Figueiredo Afrobeat singer, songwriter, and activist Seun Kuti has a new song out with his band Egypt 80, and this time he's adding in Tom Morello. "Na Dem" is a laid back track heavy on the Afrobeat sound. It includes some killer horns, and we're never going to complain about hearing a guitar solo from Tom Morello. A definite highlight is the horn section and Morello trading off back and forth. Despite how laid back the song initially sounds, there's a quiet intensity to it. The song clocks in at four minutes and forty seconds, but it somehow feels both longer than that and not long enough. "Na Dem" has us even more excited to hear what Kuti has coming next, and we were already plenty excited. You can watch the video for "Na Dem" below. The album Na Dem is due out November 6, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Seun Kuti, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook .

Christina Eskew of The Hellflowers is obsessed with Creature from the Black Lagoon , so her band has released an ode to the character just in time for Halloween. "Creature" is a garage rock/punk love song about everyone's favorite Devonian period monster, and it just flat out rocks. Personally, I'm also a huge fan of the creature (an Alex Ross painting of the creature is my phone's wallpaper and one of my cats is named after Milicent Patrick, designer of the creature), but even those not as obsessed as myself and Eskew will love this song. Aside from the Universal Monster connection, "Creature" is just a great and catchy garage rock song that leans heavily into punk. Of course, any song we can tie into Halloween is going to be beloved here at If It's Too Loud... world headquarters! Christina Eskew says of her band's latest single: “I am obsessed with the Creature from the Black Lagoon, so I thought it was high time I wrote a love song about him. ...

The Spook School released their final album in 2018, but now the Glasgow band are back with a new album due in early 2027. Their latest single, "Corporate Caring," is about corporations that pretend to be LGBTQ+ allies every year without doing anything to back that up. It's an upbeat indie rock song with more than a little of a punk edge. This is the kind of song that sounds bright and cheery on the surface, but you can sense the anger once you actually pay attention. It's fuzzed out guitars utilizing feedback expertly, along with venomous vocal harmonies. Welcome back, The Spook School. We'll be spending the next three months digging into your back catalog while we wait for the new album! Vocalist/guitarist Nye Todd says of his band's latest single: “ This is a song about a kind of shallow, meaningless, performative ‘caring’ that takes the place of any real solidarity or conviction. It’s about corporations who a couple of years ago had their logos plastered a...

Photo by Miles Kalchik I didn't think there was a way to make a 90's style alt-rock song ramblin', but Savanna Ruth has figured it out. The Chicago artist recently released "Queen's Gambit," an energetic and fuzzy song that sounds like it could have been released anytime from 1995 to 1998. It's more than a little bit bubblegrunge, but it has an unexpected folky hint to it, particularly in the way the lyrics seem to all flow together in an almost stream of conscious way. It reminds me a bit of some of my 90's favorites that had a bit of a country side, although I never noticed at the time (and certainly never would have admitted it if I had). That's not to say that "Queen's Gambit" is a folk or country song. This is pure alt-rock, just with some roots of country for extra flavor. Savanna Ruth says of her latest single: “'Queen’s Gambit' is basically me trying to make peace with not having my life completely figured out.  I was ...

Photo via Facebook Che Noir's latest single lives right up to its title. "Grandma's Cookies" is a chilled out track that feels familiar for fans of classic hip hop, and ends up feeling like a warm hug. It's a stripped down track with the focus on her vocals and flow. Noir raps throughout almost the entire song with a minimal amount of instrumentation behind her. In fact, there isn't a typical hip hop beat in the song. Despite how non-traditional of a hip hop track "Grandma's Cookies" is, it still feels familiar and inviting. That might be why Che Noir has become a favorite around here. She has the ability to sound fully fresh and familiar at the same time. You can watch the video for "Grandma's Cookies" below. It Takes a Village is due out October 23, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Che Noir, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook .

Photo by Taylor O'Sullivan Menahan Street Band is a supergroup featuring Tom Brenneck (The Budos Band), Dave Guy (The Roots), Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, and Leon Michels (El Michels Affairs). The band have a new instrumental single out that is going to blow some minds. "There Before the Sun" mixes jazz, soul, and hip hop together perfectly. It's a laid back, horn heavy track that gets just the exact right amount of psychedelic to be trippy without landing into jam band territory (although jam band fans are going to adore this). It attains that perfect level of cool that will make you wonder why you don't listen to jazz or soul more than you already do, no matter how much you already consume. This is a great song that makes us wonder why we haven't covered Menahan Street Band before. Tom Brenneck says of his band's upcoming album: “Homer kept saying while making this record that the energy felt like the first time. Like we tapped into the excitement of...

As some/all of you probably know, I'm a bit of a music snob. I tend to prefer shows that cost under thirty dollars and are in venues smaller than my living room. I don't care about a big fancy light show, and typically mock people that spend over one hundred dollars for concerts. But, when your teenage daughter wants to go see Phoebe Bridgers with you... you suck it up and attend that concert.  I consider myself to be a casual fan of Phoebe Bridgers. I remember listening to Stranger in the Alps the week it came out and enjoying it, but it didn't click for me on a personal level, and I missed her 2018 show at Great Scott. By the time her music clicked for me, she was playing two nights at whatever Harbor Lights is called these days, which is on the large side for what I enjoy for concerts. Now that she's playing multiple nights in arenas, I'm truly kicking myself for missing out on those earlier shows. I've never seen an artist take over an arena the way Phoebe B...

Garage rock legend Palmyra Delran & The Doppel Gang have released a cover of a Joey Ramone song from his wildly underrated 2002 solo album Don't Worry About Me. It certainly doesn't hurt that "Spirit in My House" also doubles as a Halloween song. The cover has that trademark growl that all songs sung by Joey Ramone have. It's quite faithful to the original, with maybe the punk dialed down and the garage rock dialed up. There is also the addition of what sounds to be a theremin, which only adds to the spooky quality of the cover. It's a great take on a forgotten classic, and a great way to get even more prepared for Halloween. Palmyra Delran says of her band's latest single: “Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh invited my band The Doppel Gang to play a few songs for one of the yearly Joey birthday bash celebrations a few years back.  I thought it would be great to learn a few of Joey’s lesser known solo songs—‘Spirit In My House’ and ‘Mr Punchy.’ My pals...

Photo by Keegan Burckhard Avery Friedman was one of my favorite musical discoveries of 2025, and now the Brooklyn artist is back with a new single. "You Move" is more of what we loved from last year's New Thing. It's a combination of folk, bedroom pop, and indie rock. This latest single seems to veer a little more away from the folk side of things and more into pop, although it does shift more towards the rock side of things as it goes on. "You Move" is kind of a quiet epic, with an intensity that contrasts how laid back the song is. It's a beautiful song that feels more summer than fall, but we're still going to enjoy it this month. Avery Friedman says of her latest single: “'You Move' is about savoring the unexpected fruits that reveal themselves amid times of uprootedness. It is a song about putting trust in the glimmer of new love, and carefully sowing the seeds for it to sustain. Both thematically and sonically, it’s about searching, sur...

Philadelphia's Soraia are one of our favorite current garage rock bands, and they've just released a cover of The Sonics' garage rock classic "The Witch." The cover is heavier/more punk and less groovy than the original, but otherwise stays quite faithful. If you're familiar with The Sonics' version, it will be instantly recognizable. This is a fun cover song that changes things up just enough to keep things interesting, and Soraia are the perfect band to take on "The Witch." The guitar solo on the cover is fiery, and will win over any garage rock fans, old and new. Frontwoman ZouZou Mansour says of her band's new single: “‘Have Love Will Travel’ was a set list staple from 2011 through 2020. ‘The Witch’ originally replaced ‘Have Love’ in our live shows, but audiences responded to it so well that we decided to record our more horroresque version for release. Every time we play it, that initial scream kicks both the band’s and the audience’s ad...

Photo by Joan Hathaway Boston indie post-punk trio Cold Expectations have a new single out, and you're gonna wanna pay attention. "Waiting for the Pills to Take Effect" is an energetic track that's heavy on some of the best synths we've heard in a while. It's fun, with just the slightest hint of darkness. Also, despite the post-punk genre, the song has a heavy dose of power pop. It's like a wonderfully weird mix of Joy Division, The B-52's, and Letters to Cleo. I'd dare you to try to sit completely still while listening to "Waiting for the Pills to Take Effect," but then listening wouldn't be any fun. Cold Expectations have created a catchy and infectious song that you'll have stuck in your head all weekend... if you're lucky. Cold Expectations say of their latest single: “‘Pills’ is a conflux of emotions that comes from a desperate place in search of a hopeful outcome. At its core, it’s a masterclass in irony, exploring how a...

Manchester, NH's Hell Beach have even the most diehard music snob revisiting their take on pop punk. They have a new single out, and it might be the heaviest we've ever heard from them. "The Deep" is still pop punk, just harder and faster. (Jordan Hill's voice is so perfect for the genre that I think any style song is going to sound like pop punk...) At just over two minutes, Hell Beach pack everything they have into this new song. As pop punk as "The Deep" is, there's some other sound creeping in that I can't quite identify, so we're just going to call it alt-rock (like we did in the 90's when we couldn't define something). Based on this new single and Hell Beach's previous one, their upcoming album might have been able to catch the energy of their live show, which would be impressive. You can watch the video for "The Deep" below. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is out November 13 on Counter Intuitive Records, a...