If It's Too Loud...

Photo by John Carluccio El Paso, TX alt-rock legends Sparta have a new single out, and this is a great one. "Everything You Say" is exactly as epic as you expect a song from Sparta to be. The song starts out quite melodic and beautiful, with a pop element, and is bordering on being dance friendly. Then the chorus kicks in, and "Everything You Say" becomes a monster of a song begging to be screamed along to at festivals. The song ends up being noisier than expected while still keeping the melodies intact. And it's still somewhat dance friendly the entire way through. Sparta have always been a great rock band, and they've stealthily gotten even better over the years. Frontman Jim Ward says of his band's new single: “ The music for this was brought in by Matt [Miller] to the earliest writing sessions at my house in El Paso, tweaked in a hotel room in Oklahoma City and played at a soundcheck that night.  It is one of those songs that takes shape early and no...

Photo by Lola Lankford Oakland native Satya has a new single out, and it's simply a must listen for all fans of either Americana or soul. She's released a cover of Lucinda Williams' excellent "Fruits of My Labor." While this version is quite faithful to the original, Satya's cover is a little more stripped back and soulful. It's warmer than the original, and is infused with a sense of nostalgia that can't possibly be missed. This version of "Fruits of My Labor" is a perfect summer song, and just feels Southern (even though Satya is from California). This is the type of cover that's going to make you want to go back and listen to Lucinda Williams' catalog and dive straight into Satya's, as well. Satya says of her cover of "Fruits of My Labor": “The first time I heard ‘Fruits of My Labor,’ I was in a dive bar in New Orleans. It was so loud in the bar, and my friend was talking to me, but the second the song came on, it fel...

Photo by Chelsea Moosekian Cinder Well, aka multi-instrumentalist Amelia Baker, returns with a powerful new single. "While the Womb Screams Silently" is a stripped down and bare single. Baker's vocals are the main focus, while string instruments hold the song down musically. Haunting is a term that gets thrown around in the world of music quite a bit, but "While the Womb Screams Silently" is the definition of that description. Folk is most likely the genre that best fits this song, but that's mostly because of the acoustic instruments being used. The song certainly isn't traditional folk, but Cinder Well has never exactly fit into any specific genre. Amelia Baker says of her latest single: "This song is inspired by the movie "Portrait of A Lady On Fire" from director Céline Sciamma. In the film, a woman is arranged to be wed, and because of her intense resistance to the situation, a painter is commissioned to secretly paint her wedding por...

Photo by Mark Stern If you ever went through a ska-punk phase, you probably know and love Big D and the Kids Table. The Boston band has a new single out that is everything you ever loved about them. "Right Now" is an upbeat and melodic track that's just about as chill as anything can be and still be ska-punk. If anything, the song feels like a grown up version of Big D and the Kids Table. This specific genre isn't exactly known for maturing, but this song feels like a natural progression from a band you loved in high school and college and can still love while having a full time job and responsibilities. Bonus that you can still skank and mosh to it. Frontman David McWane says of his band's latest single: “RIGHT NOW is about launching your positive self NOW.  We haven’t experienced a positive American year in a long-long time. We won’t be able to keep living so tense. It’s time to recognize you are alive and that that experience isn’t long. It’s time to make your ...

Last year's New England Americana Festival was one of my musical highlights of 2025. There's just something great about hanging out in a field watching folk, bluegrass, country, and any other branch of Americana that's out there. Plus, I love Bellforge Arts Center, and try to get down there to see virtually anything at that wonderfully underrated venue. Today the festival announces their 2026 line up, and it's simply great. There are a ton of If It's Too Loud... favorites, plus a few new bands we can't wait to explore. This year's festival includes hosts and 2025 Boston Music Awards Americana Artist of the year Kier Burns & The Kettle Burners, Nate Perry & Ragged Company, Other Brother Darryl, Elisa Smith, Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, Tigerman Woah, berm, Regals, Dirt Road Souls, Autumn Hollow, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, Comanchero, Consuelo's Revenge, and damian and the displayers. It's a great selection of some of our favo...

Photo by Nick Helderman Dutch punks Real Farmer have one last single before their album comes out tomorrow (Friday May 1st). "9 Till Not Alright" is a punchy post punk track that is going to inspire more actual dancing than moshing. The song has a certain level of funk and groove you don't typically see in punk rock, as well as a certain jangle in the guitar. The punk edge comes in singer Jeroen Klootsema's vocals, which are dripping with venom. "9 Till Not Alright" has a classic post punk sound while meeting the genre in modern day. Real Farmer are a great band, and we're looking forward to hearing their full album tomorrow. Jeroen Klootsma says of his band's new single: "While we work our jobs to make a living, the upper-class monetises and profits from our labour and our struggle. From inside trading to war profiteering, illegal waste dumping and child slavery, no bar is low enough for the man in suit and tie. While they point the finger to t...

Photo by Riley Nalatova Whisper Doll feel like a band destined for huge things. The New York City band is led by vocalist Fiona Tagami, who has been compared to Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays. Going from that comparison, their latest single, "Am I a Knife," is far sunnier and twinklier than The Sundays. It has that ideal 90's alt-rock meets modern day pop sound that we can't seem to get enough of here at If It's Too Loud... The song is an epic, both quiet and anthemic. While we're finding this to be more of a guitar pop song in 2026, if "Am I a Knife" was released in 1996 it would have been all over the Buzz Bin and 120 Minutes. This is a great jumping on point for new fans of Whisper Doll, and we can't wait to hear more. Fiona Tagami says of her band's new single: “This song is my reaction to seeing men get indoctrinated into an ideology that tells them lust is sin and seeing the blame get placed on women. This makes me feel like a knife bec...

According to their Bandcamp profile, bratlash are a queercore band that make "music to disappoint your dad with." Their debut single, "Worth It (is it?)," is a monster DIY punk track. It's an anthem in waiting, with huge crunchy guitars that have a vintage grunge quality to them, and end in a fantastic solo. The drums are pounding, and the vocals go from beautiful melody to a gritty scream with little notice. bratlash might be the find of the year for us, and I'm thrilled to have stumbled over them. "Worth It (is it?)" is an unexpected powerhouse of a song, and an impressive debut. We can't wait to hear more from these folks. You can listen to "Worth It (is it?)" below. For more on bratlash, check out the band on Instagram . Worth It (is it?) by bratlash

Photo by Bella Peterson Chicago's Widemouth have a new single out that does the current 90's indie rock meets folk and pop sound perfectly. "Hotel Pool" has the crunch and distortion of classic indie rock, the harmonies of pop, and the grounded feel of country and folk. The song sounds like Widemouth are going through it. It's pure emotion wrapped up in a killer song, and the entire thing sounds like it could collapse upon itself at any point. At times, the cracks in "Hotel Pool" feel even more pronounced, but that's what makes the song so great. It's reminding me of Phoebe Bridgers meets Wednesday, which is high praise around here. Widemouth say of their upcoming album: “There’s a lot of anger and fear in these songs…a lot of heartbreak, grief, and stories from childhood; the patient exploration of old pain that’s a cornerstone of sobriety. But at the core of it all is friendship.  Not just writing about friendship, although there is a lot of th...

The New Eve is Rising from The New Eves was one of my favorite releases of 2025 . Now Nina Winder-Lind of that band has released a new solo single. "This is Our Life" is going to appeal to fans of Winder-Lind's band. It starts out pretty straight-forward, more along the lines of a singer-songwriter/alt-folk kind of track. It has just the hints of the unique and wonderfully odd style of The New Eves... but as the song progresses it morphs into multiple styles and sounds. It's almost like the song gets more and less mainstream as it goes on. It's a little folky and a little indie rock, especially towards the end. "This is Our Life" keeps the gloriously unique sound we love from Winder-Lind's projects, and the song is a joy to listen to. Nina Winder-Lind says of her latest single: “‘This is Our Life’ almost wrote itself. I was in my family’s cabin in the north of Sweden when it happened. Equipped with an acoustic guitar, a violin and a zoom mic, I went ...

Boston's BEDTIMEMAGIC is back with a new single, and buckle up for this one. "Aroused" is a beast of a song. It's loud, and is basically an assault on your eardrums. Much like Lightning Bolt, you'll wonder how you're hearing a song this loud and heavy and noisy that is made by only two people. This is noise rock at its finest, if you like this sort of thing. "Aroused" is an intense mixture of punk and metal swirling together in a chaotic mess of a song as each fights for dominance and neither comes out on top. Obviously BEDTIMEMAGIC are not a band for everyone, but if this sounds even remotely intriguing, you're going to love it. You can watch the video for "Aroused" below. The single is available now on Bandcamp . For more on BEDTIMEMAGIC, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo by Brendan Deiz Doombia, aka the band that combines doom with cumbia, have a new single out. While "Doombia Viene" sounded like something completely new, "Man and His Castle" sounds a little more familiar. The metal element is cranked way up for this latest single. There is still a heavy groove that keeps it from being pure metal. I'm personally hearing some early 90's rap rock, before the late 90's nu-metal explosion. It's probably closer to punk than metal for most of the song. If you loved the Judgment Night soundtrack, or wanted to hear Faith No More jam with Cypress Hill, "Man and His Castle" will be for you.  Bandleader Brendan Deiz says of the band's latest single: “'Man And His Castle' is probably the least Doombia-sounding song on the record — until it isn’t. The Latin influence stays hidden the whole way through and then just explodes at the end. It’s also the mathiest thing we have written so far, which felt rig...

Beijing based singer-songwriter/self-proclaimed witch Mixol has a new art-pop single out that doesn't sound quite like anyone else. "mixologist" is a bizarre pop track that, while rooted in pop music, is about as far away from the mainstream you can get while still almost being mainstream. It's close enough that more open minded Top 40 fans could get into while still satisfying music snobs. "mixologist" sounds kind of like Bjork decided to make a modern day pop hit that could work in a musical someday. This is a fun one that we think a lot of our readers will enjoy, even if/especially if they typically dislike pop music. You can watch the video for "mixologist" below. The Fool is out June 15. For more on Mixol, check out the artist on Instagram and TikTok .

Photo by Mark Diehl Soft No have been making shoegaze through a 90's alt-rock thriller, but on their latest single they're leaning more heavily towards the alt-rock side of their sound. The Philadelphia band just released "Probably Fine," which sees the band merging the harmonies of Momma with the big rock sound of Veruca Salt. There's also plenty of punk attitude and edge dripping from the song, which is a fuzzy and noisy affair. It's a mid-tempo track that shows off Soft No's heavy and harmonic sides equally. They also keep some of the shoegaze haze with "Probably Fine," and we can't get enough of this new sound. Lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Austin Lotz says of the band's upcoming EP: “We did our due diligence to not overly critique these songs. We tapped into everyone’s tastes, and let the music come out naturally."  You can watch the video for "Probably Fine" below. Super Neutral is due out May 29 on Abandon Ever...