If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy Smitt E. Smitty Boston garage and art-rockers Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones return with a new single. "Big Ass American Car" is a killer track originally done by Trick Williams that brings the weirdo art vibe to garage rock. It's the kind of song that has all of the elements of a straightforward garage rock song, but that wouldn't exactly be the Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones' way. It's a little dark, a little funny, and all rock and roll. If I had to compare "Big Ass American Car" to any other artist, it would be Frank Zappa's songs that made it on Dr. Demento. "Big Ass American Car" is a fun song that takes a biting look at American culture in the form of a kick ass rock song. Smitt E. Smitty says of his band's latest single: “‘Big Ass American Car’ is a song about the culture of cars in America, and the American culture in general. When the popularity of American-made cars started to diminish between the...

Photo by Steph Reid Naarm/Melbourne artist Tilly Vickers Willis has a new single out that is going to be a must listen for many of you. "Aching Never Leaves" is the type of song title that you already know you'll love before even pressing play. The press release for the song describes it as "Portishead-reminiscent," and we certainly can't argue with that. While the song does have some elements of classic trip hop, it has a much more organic sound. It feels like the artist is including some pieces of jazz and even bits of folk into the song's sound. "Aching Never Leaves" is a mesmerizing song and gets even more so the deeper into it that you get. We're looking forward to bringing you more new music from Tilly Vickers Willis hopefully sooner than later. Tilly Vickers Willis says of her latest single: “It's written in the moment of grief, from the perspective of someone who's really in it. They're trying to hold onto that, to stay ...

Los Angeles' Black Nile continue their mission to bring jazz into the current century with their latest single. "Skyrim" was inspired by the iconic video game, and actually kind of sounds like video game music. Jazz and video game music have always been connected, but never quite like "Skyrim." It helps elevate video game music to the next level, and also makes an artform normally considered stodgy kind of fun. This one is completely different from the previous singles we've brought to you from Black Nile, but they all help make jazz more accessible to music fans overall. Lawrence Shaw says of his band's latest single: "We love video games. Me and Aaron have different sides of what we like and tend to gravitate to. I'm more fantasy MMORPG, so you can guess 'Skyrim' is me for sure. I grew up on RuneScape and World of Warcraft, and those play a part in my jazz upbringing, if you will, because again, I'm such an auditory listener. I lis...

Photo by Dave Mante The Melmacs have quickly become our favorite punky power pop band from Dresden, Germany, and they've released one last single before their album comes out next week. We do have one complaint about "Lazy Hearts." It might just be too catchy. I've spent the entire day with "All the lazy boys, all the lazy girls" stuck in my head. Luckily, it's a great power pop track, so it's been an enjoyable earworm. This is a bouncy and catchy track that goes into the pop side of power pop, but with exactly the right amount of a punk edge to keep it from being too pop. The new album from The Melmacs is one of our most highly anticipated for next month, and "Lazy Hearts" will show you exactly why. You can listen to "Lazy Hearts" below. Euphancholia is due out April 10 on Spaghetty Town Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on The Melmacs, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook .

Photo by Jackie Freeman Vermont's Robber Robber are primarily a post-punk band, but their upcoming album sees them moving their sound in new directions. Their latest single, "New Year's Eve," is a bizarre song that wanders in whatever direction it sees fit. The sound has the kind of danceable beat a lot of post-punk has, but there's also a strong pop (albeit an odd version of pop) along with hip hop elements. Plus, the guitars are straight up mid 90's alt-rock. "New Year's Eve" is the kind of song that's going to elicit strong reactions. Listeners will either love or hate it, but while those that love it are going to love it more with each listen, even those that initially hate it might get won over if they give it a second or third try. Robber Robber are a surprisingly addictive band. Nina Cates (vocals/guitar) says of the band's latest single: “Some of our songs start out as the four of us jamming together and this one was like that....

When you name a song "I'm Having Difficulty Controlling My Bloodlust," I'm at least going to give it a listen or two. Luckily, this one is by Nicholas Burgess, one of the most criminally underrated artists in Boston. Burgess' Halloween releases are legendary around here, and while "I'm Having Difficulty Controlling My Bloodlust" isn't a pure Halloween song, it's certainly not too far of a stretch if you want it to be. This one is a on the alt-rock side, with some meandering into the worlds of metal and grunge. This one is loud and fun, and if you like huge rock songs about bloodlust and videos of devil's shaking their asses, you're gonna love this one. You can watch the video for "I'm Having Difficulty Controlling My Bloodlust" below. The song is available now via Bandcamp . For more on Nicholas Burgess, check out the artist's website .

2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of Handz Up Management, and to celebrate they're releasing a new compilation, Milton Bradley. The first single off of the compilation is "What the Stove Say," which is a collaboration between Boldy James and MC Serch. (Boldy James was Handz Up's first breakout artist and Serch has been an advisor for the company.) This new song is a killer, chilled out hip hop track. It's modern hip hop with roots in the genre's golden era. Plus, we're going to be ecstatic every time we can hear MC Serch take a verse in a new track. It's a great collaboration between one of our old school favorites and a newer favorite.  You can listen to "What the Stove Say" below. Milton Bradley is due out April 10 on Handz Up Recordings. For more on Boldy James, check out the artist on Instagram . MC Serch can be found here .

Photo by Rick Perez According to the press release, the latest single from Integra Pink blends "... cumbia rhythms, disco grooves, punk energy, and hardcore intensity." "Spiderman Piñ ata" has a strong groove throughout, and is impossibly dance friendly. This one is a great song that is going to get immediately stuck in your mind, which you'll fully welcome. Not many artists can combine cumbia, punk, and disco into a single song and have it come out this well, but Integra Pink pull it off perfectly. The lyrics take on the current ICE situation in the United States, making this the most groove heavy anti-ICE song of all time. That is, until the end when the band's punk side takes over and "Spiderman Pi ñ ata" turns into a hardcore anthem. Integra Pink says of their latest single: "'Spiderman Piñata' is a song that takes inspiration from different places.  We love punk but we also love cumbias and disco and pop. So we tried to find a way...

Worcester alt-rock duo Sunday Junkie have released a new single that once again changes up their sound in an intriguing way. "Wasted Embers" is a relatively laid back song that edges the band's sound into power ballad territory. It keeps the post-rock meets prog sound we've come to love from them, just in a quieter, more ballad-esque way. This one is giving us some serious The Mars Volta vibes, and it's hitting this great spot between dissonance and beauty. Plus, it's shockingly catchy, particularly the chorus. Get your lighter out, and crank up "Wasted Embers." You can listen to "Wasted Embers" below. The single is available now on Bandcamp . For more on Sunday Junkie, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Wasted Embers by Sunday Junkie

The 2025 winners of Americana Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards are back with a new EP. Last Friday saw Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners release Moonshine & Other Spirits , a collection of three original songs and two covers. The songs that make up the EP are a perfect mixture of rock and country/folk without ever truly choosing one over the other. The opening track, "My Baby's Happy," features Elisa Smith and sounds like the Rolling Stones' experimentations into country while keeping their bluesier sound. "Impossible" sounds like if The Clash went country. The other original track, "Make Me Wanna Dance (Moonshine Shuffle)," gets closer to rockabilly than Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners have been before. For the covers, the band has gone with "Goin' Down in Style" from Robery Earl Kean and "Whitehouse Road" from Tyler Childers. Any time is a great time to jump on the Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burn...

Photo by Kat Bean Philadelphia's Poison Ruin have a new song out that's begging to be a punk anthem. What's interesting about "Guts (Lay Your Self Aside)" is that the new song is just about as straightforward as a punk song as you can get, but they've added just the slightest bit of psychedelia to the song. It's a fast and driving song that would make the Ramones proud with it's two and a half minute length. It's bouncy and heavy with hooks that draw you in, but there's just something a little trippy going on in the guitar. It's buzzy, but in a psychedelic way. Poison Ruin have quickly become one of our favorite current punk bands for little changes like this that help keep the genre from becoming stale. You can watch the video for "Guts (Lay Your Self Aside)" below. Hymns from the Hills is due out April 3 on Relapse Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Poison Ruin, check out the band's website . Upcoming...

In what sounds like a dream pairing, ET of Van Buren Records and Haasan Barclay have teamed up for a new project. Bell Biv Barclay is a seven song release that doubles as an homage to fellow Boston greats New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe, and Bobby Brown. The songs have a modern sound and production, and reinterpret the 80's and 90's sound of that trio of artists through a modern lens. It's wildly creative and interesting, but we wouldn't expect anything less from ET and Haasan Barclay. I can't think of another time that anyone has released anything that is this nostalgic while also being this progressive. Bell Biv Barclay is the kind of release that will have you trying to decide between dancing and just listening with your mouth agape. Both are fine choices, and you'll definitely be doing both at various points while listening. By the time you get to "EVEN," this is going to end up one of your favorite listens of the year. ET says of his latest release: “...

Singapore's Gnaw have a new single out that's going to be tough for music writers to describe. "Star" starts off with a burst of dissonance and noise before it evolves into a more melodic and almost poppy song. It does this without losing all of the noise that initially drew you into the song. This is a truly unique blend of sounds that will remind you of some of your favorite 90's alt-rock heroes. It's like a mixture of how early Smashing Pumpkins were both noisy and beautiful, but mixed with the more pop focused sound of The Smashing Pumpkins from the later 90's. "Star" is hooky and catchy with noisy, fuzzed out guitars. In other words, it's exactly the kind of thing we love here at If It's Too Loud...! You can watch the video for "Star" below. Inside a Machine That's Glistening is due out April 10, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Gnaw, check out the band on Instagram .

Photo by Corey Poluk It's been a couple of years since we last heard from Yea-Ming and The Rumours, but now the Bay Area band are back with a new single. "Paper Doll" is an oddly epic indie pop song. The whole song sounds just a little distorted, giving the entire track a very trippy feel. To me it sounds like if The Velvet Underground and Nico tried to make a hit song and came up with this instead. That's not to say that "Paper Doll" sounds like a sixties throwback song, but it also doesn't sound like a song heavily inspired by that decade. San Francisco and the surrounding area has been having a renaissance of modern psych inspired bands lately, and Yea-Ming and The Rumours fit snugly into that sound. You can listen to "Paper Doll" below. Residue is due out on Dandy Boy Records on June 12, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Yea-Ming and The Rumours, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Residue by Yea-Ming And The Rum...