If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Pat Piasecki Boston's favorite cosmic canyon Americana artists are back with a new single. Today sees the release of "Take It With You," the latest track from Other Brother Darryl. It's the perfect kind of song to listen to just as the weather finally starts warming into spring. It's a bright track with a hint of melancholy, and something about the song feels nostalgic. By saying the song has a hint of melancholy, it's more about the feeling of melancholy caused by nostalgia. "Take It With You" feels like looking at old pictures and remembering who you were back then, and feeling a sense of loss over what may have been lost no matter how happy you are now. The true magic of an Other Brother Darryl song is that no matter how melancholy a song of theirs might be, it ends up being even more uplifting. "Take It With You" is a great song upon first listen, and only gets better each time you press play. Nate Leavitt (acoustic guitar and ...

Spirit Hotel are a "psych-influenced band out of Salem, Massachusetts." They recently released a new album, Rê ve , that is going to delight many of our readers. Of course, it will only delight those of us who tend to like their music a tad bit darker. The songs on this new album are a mix of psych, dream pop, and shoegaze... but the darker side of those genres. R ê ve is a seven song collection filled with fuzzy and drone-heavy but simply beautiful tracks. It's the kind of sound that could very well hypnotize you. I've given it a few listens, and more than once I realized I had mentally fully gone somewhere else while it was playing and had to restart it. And I mean that as a compliment. Spirit Hotel will do something to you with their latest album. It's quite simply impossible to listen to R ê ve and not be affected in some way. Prepare to be mesmerized. You can listen to R ê ve below. The album is available now via Bandcamp . For more on Spirit Hotel, check ...

I went into Mclusky's 2024 set at The Sinclair in Cambridge as a casual fan. Part of me felt guilty since the show was very sold out, and I felt like I was taking the place of a diehard who deserved it more. By the end of the show, I became one of those diehard fans, and desperately wanted to see them again. Last month they released the excellent EP i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley , and came back to the States to support it. This brought them to the Paradise Wednesday night, and I was right up front and thrilled to be there. Mclusky opened with "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues," almost like they just wanted to get it out of the way. The crowd absolutely exploded, and, unlike most bands that started three decades ago, the energy of the crowd increased with each song. Mclusky sets tend to be a bit unhinged, but that only accentuates their post-hardcore sound. Their songs are noisy and disjointed, and that's exactly why we love them so much. It's also easy ...

Photo Adrian Buckmaster, design Anna Nikolaenko Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie's iconic "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is becoming a very popular song to cover. The latest is from The Klezmatics featuring Sofia Rei. This new version is trilingual, with lyrics in English, Spanish, and Yiddish. Eighty years later it's still a timely song, giving the names and dignity back to migrant workers, it may even be more so now. The Klezmatics are also one of the more diverse sounding bands around today, with their bio naming Yiddish soul, punk, gospel, jazz, and folk as their genres. All of those are present in this cover, and the musical diversity only adds to the message of the song. Despite the somber message of the song, this version of "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is a true celebration of life and music. Vocalist, accordionist, pianist, and guitarist Lorin Sklamberg says of the new single: “ I’ve been singing Woody’s songs since I was a kid, since ...

Photo by Jack Saltmiras Two of my favorite sounds are 90's indie rock and 60's girl groups, so I love any artist that combines those two styles. The latest we've discovered is Body Type. The Australian band have a stripped down post-punk sound mixed with the harmonies of doo wop on "And What Else?" The song grabbed me instantly, with the darkness of post-punk melding with the cheeriness of girl groups perfectly. The song is fairly laid back despite the strong groove throughout. While many artists are combining indie rock and 60's girl groups styles, no one is doing it quite like Body Type. Annabel Blackman (vocals, guitar) says of her band's new single: “The big chorus is a cathartic cry out against feeling insecure in a relationship, those mental twists your brain makes when statements of adoration make you feel sceptical and unworthy, but simultaneously hungry for more of that sweet stuff." You can watch the video for "And What Else?" belo...

Photo by Mayumi Hirata We haven't heard from Otoboke Beaver in a while, but now the Japanese punks are back with a new single from an upcoming maxi-single. "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" is a fast and noisy affair coming in at just over one minute. It's hyperactive and almost impossibly fast, with lots of yelling gang vocals and headache inducing tempo changes. Otoboke Beaver are never going to be for everyone, but they do instill an intense devotion from their fans. No one is a casual Otoboke Beaver fan, and songs like "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" is exactly why. The best part is that we won't have to wait another four years for new music, since they already have two more singles planned for release in the next week! You can watch the video for "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" below. Is the New Album Out Yet? is due for a physical release on June 4 via Damnably, and is available to pre-order through Ba...

Photo by Flannery O'Kafka Faith Eliott was raised in Minneapolis before moving to Scotland when they were thirteen. Their latest single, "there's a cargo ship full of luxury cars on fire in the atlantic ocean," is an amazing five and a half minute anti-folk track. It's a ramblin' kind of track that would make Bob Dylan proud, and discusses the modern world of technology in a biting way. It's funny as long as you don't think about it too deeply, and once you do it becomes sad. (Not the part about the luxury cars burning, but how overwhelming modern life can be.) The line about diagnosing yourself with ADHD with memes hit me a little extra hard. Faith Eliott has something extra special with this one, and I'll definitely be spending the rest of the week diving into their back catalog. Faith Elliot says of their latest single: “This was originally recorded to be on ‘dryas’ but when it came to finalising the track order, Robyn Dawson (who produced dryas...

Photo by Margaret Elle lucky break started off in New York City and is now based in San Francisco. The artist has a new single out, "Head Down," that's a slice of newfangled indie rock that's as based in pop as it is rock. It's a beautiful song with just enough of an edge to it to keep it from being pure pop. To me it sounds like late 90's Juliana Hatfield meets Blondshell. Plus, there's something summery about the song, and we could use that up here in the Northeast for this seemingly never ending winter. lucky break's vocals mesh with the music in "Head Down" in a way that perfectly complement each other. This might be the song with the biggest crossover potential that we've covered this year. lucky break says of her upcoming album: "'made it!' captures my life from 19 to 23 as I was  going through major transitions, finding my inner compass and figuring out how to live in alignment with my values." You can watch the v...

Photo by Rich Ferri Providence's Deer Tick have released the second single from their forthcoming Providence concept album, and "Everything Born" ranks with their top songs. We repeatedly stated that 2023's Emotional Contracts felt like the band were swinging for the fences and trying to make a hit record that was truly great. For the upcoming Coin-O-Matic , they've pulled back and made a more personal record, and judging by a single like "Everything Born," they might just have a hit album on their hands. This new song is everything we love about Deer Tick. It's a rock song with roots in Americana, but is still a rough and edgy rock song while still being catchy and melodic. This latest is an Ian O'Neil track, and it's one of those near perfect rock songs that is going to blow some minds. Ian O'Neil (vocals and guitar) says of his band's latest single: “‘Everything Born’  was written quickly about the tenuousness of life and the preci...

Photo by Marie Dutton Bristol's Grandmas House have a new single out, and we think you're going to love it. Of course, with a lot of music that we cover, "DOG" isn't going to be for everyone. It's an indie rock meets post-punk song that charges right at you. Delivered with raspy vocals, the song has a shockingly melodic sense. And, as much as it may not be for everyone, there is a strong mainstream alt-rock vibe in the song despite the strong noise factor. At times, "DOG" is almost hypnotic, and at others its charging straight at you at a pace that's both breakneck and midtempo. The song is also oddly dance friendly thanks to a strong sense of groove. If the music of Grandmas House works for you, it's going to become a near obsession. Grandmas House say of their latest single: “ ‘DOG’ is about a feeling, written whilst struggling with a chronic illness that no professional could explain. We all have something that burdens us in life, be it me...

Photo by R Orcutt Experimental rock supergroup Orcutt Shelley Miller get a little extra super on their latest single. The trio have teamed with David Yow of The Jesus Lizard and Scratch Acid on a cover of Captain Beefheart's "Hot Head." If you're reading this article, you've probably already pressed play down below, and you should, because this is great. The guitars on this cover sound more like The Jesus Lizard than Orcutt Shelley Miller typically get, but the song sounds funkier than The Jesus Lizard typically are. I'm honestly not too familiar with the original, as Beefheart is one of those artists I know I need to spend more time with. This is kind of a crazy cover, and it's exactly as noisy as you want it to be. Plus, the b-side is a cover of Neil Young's timeless "A Man Needs a Maid" with Ethan Miller of Howlin Rain and Comets on Fire. It's still a noisy affair, but stays relatively true to Young's original. Bassist Ethan Miller...

Photo by Zache Davis J Mau & The Kiss Off is lead by Justin Maurer, founder of Clorox Girls, Suspect Parts, LA Drugz, and Maniac. After a divorce, Maurer rediscovered classic country and finally understood it. This led to the formation of J Mau & The Kiss Off. Their new single, "Poison," is classic country through the lens of a punk lifer. As classic as "Poison" sounds, there's something modern sounding about it as well. It's twangy with more than a little bit of an edge. If you want your country to be vintage with a hint of menace, this one is going to be for you. You can watch the video for "Poison" below. The single is available now on Bandcamp . For more on J Mau & The Kiss Off, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook .

You may know Palmyra Delran from her time with The Friggs, The Ramdams, or The Coolies. Now she's back with her latest band, Doppel Gang. The latest single from Palmyra Delran & Doppel Gang is a cover of the 1960's classic "Hold Tight." If that doesn't sound familiar to you (or you don't think you've ever heard of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich), I assure you that as soon as you press play down below it will all come flooding back to you. "Hold Tight" is the kind of song that's embedded in your musical DNA, and if you ever went through an oldies phase you definitely know it. Delran's cover is a pure classic homage to vintage garage rock. It's all fuzzed out guitars and is fantastically tambourine heavy. Delran adds just the slightest modern sensibility to this version to keep it from being too identical to the original. This one is a lot of fun and is hitting multiple of my personal musical loves. Palmyra Delran says of he...

Merwulf are one of the more interesting artists we've brought you in a while. The Portland, OR trio's latest single, "The Mountain Lion," is a slow and plodding song that is both discordant and melodic. The music is rather foreboding, and you have a sense of doom throughout, as well as an anticipation that the song is going to explode. But, as the song goes on, it becomes more melodic in such a slow way that you barely even notice. The song is both sunny and dark at separate times, and at some points it's both. Merwulf are also the odd band that doesn't include guitar, which also adds to the unique feel of "The Mountain Lion." You can watch the video for "The Mountain Lion" below. In the Golden Age is due out in May on Moodkiller Records. For more on Merwulf, check out the band's website .