If It's Too Loud...

"do it," the latest single from nonbinary soul singer jill mccracken, sees the Boston artist try out a more art pop dance style and absolutely nail it. The song is completely impossible to resist. Sure, it's a mainstream style of music, but mainstream would never be used in a derogative manner if it was always this great. It's modern day pop music with its roots in a vintage style of soul that will make even the biggest of us music snobs happy. "do it" is a fun track, and these days can't we all use a little more fun? Put this one on, and I dare you to sit still. You can watch the video for "do it" below. big dog is due out later this year. For more on jill mccracken, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Annette Rodriguez Post-hardcore veterans  Quicksand are back with their first new music in five years. "Get to It" shows that the Walter Schreifels led band are showing no sign of slowing down. It's every bit as heavy and aggressive as their music in the 90's, just with a bit more melody. The guitars still sound like buzzsaws, and it makes me wish I was young enough to mosh and crowdsurf. "Get to It" could be mistaken for a lost b-side of theirs, and maybe it's just me but I'm hearing hints of Schreifels' more emo/indie rock band Rival Schools. Buckle up and crank this one. Walter Schreifels says of his new singles: "It’s tough to talk about your own music and what it means, not only because I sometimes don’t understand it myself but in a way it robs the listener of their own interpretation. So if you don’t want that, read no further. Otherwise, with 'Get To It' and 'Regenerate', we wanted to do something high-energy...

I've been a huge fan of Glixen's ever since I first heard "foreversoon" back in 2024. Seeing them play with Glitterer shortly after solidified my fandom, and I've been trying to see the Arizona heavy shoegaze band every time they make it up here. Wednesday night they headlined The Sinclair with three other diverse shoegaze bands: Trauma Ray, Her New Knife, and Knifeplay. Philadelphia's Knifeplay opened up the show. I was completely unfamiliar with them until Wednesday night, and they quickly won me over. They played a set of loud/quiet/loud shoegaze that went from gorgeous to punishing. Their music was simply mesmerizing and sucked the crowd in almost instantly. Some songs were almost completely quiet and almost folklike, and others were fully heavy. They played three or four songs in their just under thirty minute set, and set the tone for the evening perfectly. Her New Knife played next. They're also from Philadelphia, and while considered a shoegaze ban...

Photo by Jordanne Chant Hailing from Sydney, Loose Fit are a band that formed in 2017 and has a new single out. "Bittersweet Excess" has a lot going on within a four minute song. It starts off with a squall of noise and an irresistible beat. The noise deepens just as the groove does, and then the song seems to be battling itself over being a noise rock track or an alt-pop one. All throughout, the groove remains strong and the song keeps being relatively laid back. It's kind of like if Le Tigre were playing the chill room instead of the party. "Bittersweet Excess" is the type of song that's going to make you immediately dive into Loose Fit's back catalog... but only after a few more listens. You can listen to "Bittersweet Excess" below. The EP Bittersweet Excess is due out May 22 on Dinosaur City, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Loose Fit, check out the band on Instagram .

This Water Is Life is a split EP series that is designed to highlight indie artists from North Carolina, as well as providing a platform for Cape Fear River Watch and Coastal Plain Survival Group. The fifth volume was released yesterday (Earth Day) and features five songs from hip hop artist MoeSOS DC and indie rocker Tracy Shedd. Personally, I love genre hopping releases like this, with MoeSOS DC's tracks showing off his style which brings the golden age of hip hop into the modern era and Tracy Shedd's music which combines classic, vintage indie rock with a more modern style. MoeSS DC has a killer, laid back style which is perfect as we start to edge into the warmer months, and Tracy Shedd is a little more boisterous but still fairly chill. If you went through your younger years equally obsessed with hip hop and indie rock, you're going to love this release. You can listen to This Water Is Life, Vol. V below. The EP is out now on Fort Lowell Records, and is available via B...

Photo by Cat Meade Massachusetts power emo band Cape Crush are set to release their new (and highly anticipated) album next week, but we have another single out today to keep us satiated. "Train in Motion" is everything we love about Cape Crush. It's a fast paced and highly catchy track. It's totally a rock track, but one that you can easily dance to. What's interesting is that the song feels like a power ballad despite being far too fast and energetic for that. "Train in Motion" is perfect for any lapsed emo or pop punk fans. It's that perfect updated version and more mature than you normally hear with those genres. Cape Crush might be so beloved around here since they sound like a grown up version of some of our favorite genres. Ali Lipman says of her band's latest single: “Exploring romantic connections requires a certain amount of demonstrating how you will show up for each other in a relationship, and I often felt like it required me to put ...

Photo by Robin Christian Welsh "janglepop raconteurs" The Tubs have signed to Merge Records and released a cover of Metallica's "Fade to Black." Diehard Metallica fans and metalheads will most likely hate this cover. This is a case of a band taking a song and redoing it in their own style, and this style is one metal fans typically despise. It's much more jangly and twee than the original, and much more in the style of what used to be called college rock. But, for those of us who love indie rock more than metal and are fans of Metallica but not in the diehard category, The Tubs' version of "Fade to Black" is a genuine treat. This is truly fun, and a great introduction for The Tubs into the Merge family. Owen Williams' says of his band's latest single: "I’ve always been a big fan of a Metallica ballad. Obviously I like the riffs too but I think there’s a weirdly beautiful and singular quality to their ballads, even though the lyrics...

Artist : Angine de Poitrine Album : Vol.II Quick Thoughts : The buzziest of buzz bands since perhaps the Letterman Future Islands appearance, the whole buildup to Angine de Poitrine's second album feels like the indie heyday. The two performers, a drummer and a dual-guitarist who wear polka-dotted alien costumes and play microtonal instrumental music, are different than most of the stuff out there these days. Yes, there is plenty of math rock playing in this particular sandbox, and AdP will not be the last pseudononymous musical act to perform behind a mask, but this is a case where the narrative does not overshadow the musicality. It's complicated music, it's catchy as hell, and it's just abrasive and weird enough to become a sort of litmus test we haven't seen in ages. For me, I absolutely love this and I haven't stopped loving it since it dropped. Songs of Note : "Fabienk," "Mata Zyklek," "Sarniezz," "Utzp," ...

Photo by Eleanor Petry Telehealth have one of those sounds that's both retro and familiar. Their latest single, "Donor Country (A gOoD cAuSe)," is an amped up and modern version of New Wave and post-punk. It's jerky, and danceable in the way that only that style of music can be. With this one, I'm hearing a mixture of DEVO and Snapped Ankles. It's a fun and high energy synth fest, and it will be impossible to listen without a smile on your face. It's like Telehealth took a classic sound from the early 80's, and are celebrating it while moving it into the modern day. You can watch the video for "Donor Country (A gOoD cAuSe)" below. Green World Image is due out May 15 on Sub Pop Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Telehealth, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Upcoming tour dates are below the video, and include an absolutely stacked triple bill at Deep Cuts in Medford, MA with Perennial and Pink Lids. Sun. A...

Photo by Daisy & Tomos Ayscough "Candelabra," the latest release from mary in the junkyard, is a quiet and contemplative acoustic track written by Clari Freeman-Taylor when she was seventeen. It's much more stripped down than what we're used to from the indie rock trio, and is painfully quiet. At times Freeman-Taylor's vocals are sung, other times they are spoken, and others it's barely more than a whisper. Maybe it's because of what we're used to from mary in the junkyard, but I kept expecting the song to explode into a crescendo of noise or at least louder rock... but it never does. When a song is as fantastic and engaging as "Candelabra" is, you certainly won't miss any volume. Clari Freeman-Taylor says of the band's latest single: “‘Candelabra’ was written many years ago, it was one of my first sad songs...it has all of my teenage angst written into it.” You can listen to "Candelabra" below. Role Model Hermit is due ...

Photo by Charlie & Charlie London's Man/Woman/Chainsaw are back with a new single off their upcoming debut album. We loved 2024's Eazy Peazy , and its indie rock with string instruments sound. With "Nosedive," they've added a heavy synth element instead of the normal indie rock instrumentation. The result is a rather dance friendly, almost party jam. This feels like a more mature style of dance music, as well as a heavily organic one, even with the synths. "Nosedive" builds and builds from a relatively restrained near pop song into an absolute epic that will have you checking to see if they're playing anywhere near you any time soon. (Unfortunately for us Americans, they currently only have European tour dates.) Emmie-Mae Avery (vocals and synths) says of the band's latest single: “It's is a song about longing for both comfort and freedom simultaneously in a relationship through the metaphor of being an injured bird needing shelter. We tu...

Bear Grass (aka the project of upstate New York's Katie Hammon) has a new single out that's a departure from their most recent one. While "Sound" was a sparse track leaning more into chamber pop, "Shake Me" is a more involved song. It's more of an alt-folk pop track that skirts the mainstream. It's a lush, mid-tempo song that feels empowering, with multiple instruments that come in and out whenever they're needed. It could just be the use of horns, but "Shake Me" kind of sounds like if Neutral Milk Hotel decided to try to write a hit song. Bear Grass have always been considered a folk band by default, and this latest one shows them both ignoring and expanding genre restrictions.  You can listen to "Shake Me" below. Distance is due out later this year, with a new single being released every six weeks leading up to the album's release. For more on Bear Grass, check out the artist's website . Shake Me by Bear Grass

Photo by Jina Moran Somerville's TIFFY (aka the band led by multi-instrumentalist Tiffany Sammy) has a new single out today. "Scam Likely" keeps the indie rock goes pop sound we've always loved from TIFFY. The song has a great groove to it within the guitar, and it's a mellow indie rock track with the slightest hints of twang. It sounds like an updated version of artists like The Lemonheads or Fuzzy. Plus, it's about receiving scam phone calls, which feels like a very 90's subject matter even though it's a modern problem. "Scam Likely" is a pop and fuzz filled rock song, and it continues TIFFY's streak of releasing killer singles we can't get enough of. You can listen to "Scam Likely" below. The song is currently available via Bandcamp. For more on TIFFY, check out the artist's website . TIFFY will be performing live May 2 at Purgatory in Brooklyn, NY as part of the AAPI Indie Musicians Showcase, May 9 at Porchfest in So...

This summer, Coffin Curse Records and Punk Rock Radar will be releasing a Green Day tribute album, and right now we can share Hell Beach's contribution to that compilation. The New Hampshire band have released a cover of "Android" from 1992's Kerplunk! It's a straightforward cover, with Hell Beach singer Jordan Hill even adopting some of Billie Joe Armstrong's vocal deliveries. If anything, Hell Beach's version might be a little more smooth than the original, but other than that it's a perfect tribute to Green Day's original. This is a fun one, and it's a perfect way to introduce Green Day fans to their new favorite punk band from New Hampshire! You can listen to Hell Beach's version of "Android" below. For more on Hell Beach, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook. They'll be playing The Middle East this Saturday along with Against All Authority and Direct Hit. Android by Hell Beach