If It's Too Loud...

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...

Photo by Pooneh Ghana The latest from Font is nearly impossible to describe. "Punish Task" is a cacophonic track that stops just barely shy of being electronic noise. Beats are the focus of the song, but they don't really help in keeping the song under control. Instead, the vocals hold everything together, and are almost pop-like. There's also a cinematic and nearly orchestral feel as the song continues. "Punish Task" is certainly not going to work for everyone, although it could. As bizarre and art-rock as Font get with their latest, there's a surprising level of accessibility... if you're willing to give it a true shot. Thom Waddill says of his band's latest single: “the song is about the relationship between dark and light, rage and euphoria. It’s about betrayal and grief and feeling condemned to forever pick at a bleeding scab. The angry dark underside of nostalgia’s fake coin.” You can listen to "Punish Task" below. American Bully ...

Photo by Louise Sullivan Star Moles is the musical project of Emily Moales. The Philadelphia artist's new single, "Born Again," is a laid back slice of modern indie rock. The song has a hard pop slant without being a pop song, and even edges into a folk/country side. If you love other artists that meld those styles (Jessica Lea Mayfield, Lily Seabird, etc.), "Born Again" is going to be your kind of song. The way Star Moles blends different genres into something new yet familiar reminds me of early Beck. This is a fun sounding, laid back song that would be perfect for driving around without a real destination. Star Moles is the kind of artist that has huge potential, so don't be surprised if she ends up blowing up sooner than later. Emily Moales says of her latest single: “The thing about writing something that’s true is that it basically can’t be narrative. If you’re angry or sad or in love, the feeling itself is an exaggeration. Trying to tell the truth in ...

Photo by Marley Chaney New York City singer-songwriter Nadia Faye has a new single out that spans multiple genres while being sparse. "drift" has its roots in dream pop that leans heavily into the pop side of things. There is also some folky aspects, and maybe even some country twang. Faye has included some interesting instrumentation almost in the background towards the beginning that I didn't notice until after a few listens. "drift" is aptly named, as it has a dreamlike quality that makes you feel like you're drifting while listening. Nadia Faye has a special sound on this one that is going to inspire multiple listens to take it all in. Nadia Faye says of her latest single: " This song conveys the disorienting drift of being swayed by someone’s fleeting affection. Under fluid 'water movements,' I become suffocated by my own perpetual desire and the impermanence of attachment. I know it is not enough, and I can feel the withholding drag me und...

Photo by Cmod The latest single from Baby Wave is an ode to East Nashville's DIY scene. "The Scene is Changing" is a burst of slacker indie rock with just the slightest hints of modern pop peeking out. Aside from the slightest hints of pop, this new song is filled with swirling and buzzing guitars, and some of the finest loud/quiet/loud moments we've heard in a long time. Baby Wave are taking the classic 90's indie sound and repurposing it for today. If you're into current bands like Wednesday and Weakened Friends, you're going to find a lot to love in "The Scene is Changing." And Baby Wave could end up being all of our new favorite band. book NOT brooke says of her band's new single: “You can spend your entire life on the outside, feeling like you’ll never belong, and even if you do find “the scene” for a moment in time, you can spend the rest of your life jaded or living in the past. Every scene is destined to bloom and fizzle.  I think it ...