If It's Too Loud...

Credit: Carolina Faruolo Bruising began forming last year back when Naomi Baguley and Ben Lewis met at a Leeds nightclub because of Ben's Perfect Pusyy shirt. The two began trading song ideas, and started recording demos in his bedroom. They started playing out, opening for Twin Peaks and Waxahatchee. Now, they're set to release their debut single. "Emo Friends" is truly great. It's a chilled out, upbeat song with these killer, swirling, dreamy guitars. The vocals feel shoegaze but the rest of the song is far too epic to be shoegaze. It truly needs to be heard. "Emo Friends" is out November 20 on Beech Coma, which is somehow not a label based in Dorchester, MA. You can listen to the song below. Also, be sure to check out their website , and follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter .

A pretty stacked new release week this week. Album of the Week : Artist : CHVRCHES Album : Every Open Eye Quick Description : Sophomore effort by one of the most buzzed-about bands going right now. Why You Should Listen : You found their version of synth-heavy indie rock appealing during their first album; you like staying on top of the trends. Overall Thoughts : In a way, CHVRCHES couldn't win with this album. The anticipation was huge, the mythology behind things ever-growing. Somehow, some way, Every Open Eye improves upon the sound we all fell for while still feeling familiar and fresh. No sophomore slump here, and definitely the best releases of the week. Recommendation : A must listen for all. Artist : The Dead Weather Album : Dodge and Burn Quick Description : Latest outing from the Jack White rock side project. Why You Should Listen : You've missed the heavy grit of The Dead Weather; you're totally into anything Jack White does. Overall Thoughts ...

The Persian Leaps are back with their third EP in as many years. High & Vibrate keeps in line with their jangly, fuzzed out guitar pop reminiscent of mid-90s power pop bands, but they're showing a heavy 60s influence with solid, catchy hooks. "Under the Lilacs" has a guitar jangle that will suck you in with a heavy bass buzz hiding underneath. "Dottie, Queen of the West" is perfect for anyone that skipped the whole Blur vs Oasis debate and skipped to Suede and The Charlatans. It's guitar pop in its best form. High & Vibrate is out now on Land Ski Records. You can listen to it via The Persian Leaps' Bandcamp . While you're at it, like the band on Facebook and check out their website . If you're in Minneapolis, you can see them November 5 at Kitty Cat Klub and December 5 at Palmer's Bar. If not, you'll have to be content with watching their video for "Under the Lilacs" below.

Noise rock isn't very fun. It's very serious and it's an art. It's very rarely anything that can be considered party music. Usually that's left to metal, and us noise rock fans sooth ourselves with the knowledge that are music is smart and important while we watch the metalheads have a blast without us. Enter the UK's Let's Talk Daggers. From their forthcoming debut album, A Beautiful Life , "I Love You Dad But I'm Mental" combines the sonic assault of noise rock with the speed and fun of a metal band. They also throw some of Queen's more symphonic elements in. It's bizarre, and ferocious, and a ton of fun. It's not very often noise can be party friendly, but Let's Talk Daggers have figured it out. A Beautiful Life  is due out October 23 on Tangled Talk Records and Milky Bomb Records. You can listen to "I Love You Dad But I'm Mental" below. Be sure to check out their website and Bandcamp for more informatio...

Jeff and I have been loving the debut album from Funeral Advantage, Body is Dead. For a limited time, Funeral Advantage has made the demos for the album free to download. The actual album is full of lush, rich production and sounds. So are the demos, but in a slightly stripped down way. I've always been a fan of hearing the demo along with an album I love, since it's fascinating to hear the songs as they were originally written. It's obviously more lo-fi than the album, but this could have stood on its own as is. Body is Dead (Demos) is available as a free download until September 30. You can get your copy here . And be sure to check out Funeral Advantage's Bandcamp to get an actual copy of Body is Dead, and follow them on Facebook to keep track of their doings. 

Photo by Semi Song Hailing from Nashville, Promised Land Sound are about to release their sophomore album, For Use and Delight. Today, you can listen to a song from it, "Push and Pull (All the Time)." The track starts off as this bizarre hybrid of an Americana-delving Tom Petty and Belle & Sebastian. After about two minutes, it morphs into what would have happened if Gram Parsons had decided to leave the US and joined a psych-folk band in England. It's enough of a great mix and match of wonderful sounds that For Use and Delight  might be one of my most anticipated albums for the rest of the year. For Use and Delight  is due out October 2 on Paradise of Bachelors. You can listen to "Push and Pull (All the Time)" below. Be sure to check out Promised Land Sound on Facebook , Twitter , and Bandcamp . To pre-order the album, head over to Paradise of Bachelor's website . Upcoming tour dates are listed below. Oct 19 - Limelight - San Antonio, TX Oc...

Photo via Facebook I don't think words can even express how fucking badass this cover is. First of all, it's a Bikini Girl cover, which is great to begin with. Then you add the sludgy ferocity of The Melvins with Teri Gender Bender of their summer tour mates Le Butcherettes and you get one of the best things you'll hear all year. The Melvins make "Rebel Girl" that much heavier. I think the only thing lacking is the unhinged on the edge of disaster quality of the original. The track was recorded live for Joyful Noise as part of their "Almost Live From Joyful Noise" series, and we all need copies of this to be made available ASAP. Unfortunately, all 100 copies of the 7" are sold out, so we only have the video for now. For more information on The Melvins, head over to their website . For Le Butcherettes (including their just released last week album), you can find them here . Coincidentally, Bikini Kill just reissued their debut album, Revolution...

Seeing how I was busy for half the weekend, sick for the other half, and, by my count, there were 21 new releases worth covering in some form this week, I'm forced to do a truncated First Listen this week. Top albums I actually heard this week : Metric - Pagans in Vegas : Metric is similar to Muse in the regard that they keep transforming themselves over time and it still generally works. I can't say this is as good as their most recent couple albums, but they're still putting out some of the more interesting music in recent times. The Front Bottoms - Back on Top : Arguably one of the better albums of the week, a great indie rock record of the more traditional type. This band has never immediately caught me, so I'm looking forward to spending more time with it. Meg Myers - Sorry : I talk a lot about the "dark pop" trend happening, and Meg Myers actually got me into it a few years ago with "Adelade," an all-time favorite song of mine. This ...

In case you need a break from streaming Ryan Adams' cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 today, there is a "lost" 7" from The Dead Milkmen and F.O.D. you can listen to. At first the bands claimed it was originally recorded in 1985 and unearthed in a label employee's parent's house, but they're now admitting the songs were recorded earlier this year in an attempt to sound like the bands did in 1985. Now, I can't vouch for the F.O.D. songs. For some reason, I never actually made an effort to listen to them before, mostly because their reference in the Dead Milkmen classic "Nutrition" made me convinced they were a jock hardcore band. Even later on when I found out they were friends with the Milkmen and considered a good band, I just never actually checked them out. They always had this mythical element, and I was pretty sure they weren't actually real. Based on the songs on this 7", they're real and they're good. If you like yo...

Photo by Ken Sears For the first time since discovering David Wax Museum in 2010 they have released a song I wouldn't have recognized as them. "Young Man" is an almost complete departure for the band. The Mexican-infused Americana of their previous four albums is present but barely hinted at. Instead, Wax sings in a style more reminiscent of an old time crooner, backed by electronic elements and synthesizers. There is still the trademark guitar playing and horn section, but it's really nice to see a band that has such a set and familiar style mix it up and branch out a bit. I'm still deciding where this ranks in the David Wax Museum catalog, but it has me even more intrigued for the next album. Right now, Consequence of Sound has an exclusive stream of "Young Man," so head on over there to check it out. David Wax Museum's fifth album, Guesthouse , will be released on October 16. You can pre-order it now , and be sure to check out their tour da...

I personally love it whenever Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses, The Breeders) and Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom, The Needy Sons) work together. We also love covers, so when Bill and Tanya get together to cover The Kinks, we're heavily on board. The two recently recorded an acoustic cover of the 1981 Kinks song "Better Things" with Janovitz on guitar and vocal duties split. Their voices always blend together beautifully, and "Better Things" is no exception.  Tanya Donelly and Bill Janovitz's cover of "Better Things" is available now on Janvitz's Bandcamp for $1.00. All proceeds go to the Foundation to Be Named Later .  Better Things by Tanya Donelly and Bill Janovitz

Guerilla Toss is back with a brand new EP which might be their most accessible to date. Of course, this is Guerilla Toss, so even their most accessible isn't very. It starts off with "Realistic Rabbit," which features Kassie Carlson actually singing. It's a swirling mess that's beautiful in an odd sort of way. It's the audio equivalent of getting a tattoo: Sure it hurts, but it's not as painful as you expected and it's actually kind of nice in its own way. "Ritual In Light" is almost chill and is funky as hell. "Polly's Crystal" is a bizarre blend of jam band and post punk, which I never thought I'd compare a band to but it makes so much sense. The new Guerilla Toss EP, Flood Dosed , is due out on September 25. You can stream it and pre-order it (including a cassette version) on their Bandcamp . Listen to ""Realistic Rabbit" below, and below that are their current tour dates. Flood Dosed by Guerilla Toss ...

This is a cute one. To celebrate the birth of their daughter, Louisiana Jean, bandmates/married couple Shovels & Rope have released their own version of the eternally known "Hush Little Baby." They call theirs "Hush Little Rocker," and while it's obviously not going to go down as one of their classics, it's a fun and adorable way to announce a birth. In a Facebook post , they also promise to " See you in 2016 but you’ll definitely be hearing from us before then…" Take your time, guys. I'm pretty sure you're busy right now. Make sure you follow Shovels & Rope on Facebook and their website for more information.

When you call your EP Gloomy Tunes and the first song on it is called "Miserable" (which is what Portland, ME's Weakened Friends have just done), you'd expect the music to be a lot more depressing. The subject matter may be mopey, but the songs are truly fun.  "Miserable" might include the lyrics "We're the worst kind of people," but it's this burst of 90s infused joy that successfully marries early 90s self deprecation with mid 90s power pop fuzz. "Won Yet" is as beautiful a song can be played this fast with fuzzed out guitars feeding back. This album feels like Boston in 1995 when bands like Letters to Cleo started graduating from TT the Bears to Avalon. Gloomy Tunes  is now available for the name your own price option on Weakened Friends' Bandcamp . You can listen to "Miserable" below, and be sure to give them a "like" on Facebook. Gloomy Tunes by Weakened Friends 09.17.15 Dr.Martens Newbury Str...

And the b-sides of this week's releases: Artist : Garfunkel and Oates Album : Secretions Quick Description : Latest album from the comedy duo. Why You Should Listen : They're really funny, and you've enjoyed their last albums. Overall Thoughts : You know what you're getting with G&F, and the only addition to some of these redone songs is the added instrumentation. It's a fun album, and your enjoyment of it will be directly correlated with your tolerance of comedy music. I liked it. Recommendation : Worth a listen if you're into comedy music. Artist : Jess Glynne Album : I Cry When I Laugh Quick Description : Debut album from the European singer everyone's buzzing about. Why You Should Listen : You've enjoyed the Europop I've featured here in the past; you like being ahead of the European music trends. Overall Thoughts : I enjoyed this a lot. Some hints of that modern disco revival at times, other times it feels like a retread, a...

This is a very busy new release week, so we'll be splitting this one into two posts. Part two will be out tomorrow! Album of the Week: Artist : Gary Clark Jr Album : The Story of Sonny Boy Slim Quick Description : Second album by blues rocker. Why You Should Listen : Because you like good things that impress you musically. Because you like music. Because you're a human being. Overall Thoughts : Man, this album. I can't wait to spend more time with it because it's just so well done. I liked his first album a lot, but this one, for me, is even better. A few standout tracks, nothing that falls apart, and it doesn't feel long even at 53 minutes. Just a stellar album, and a must listen this week. Recommendation : Album of the week by far, will deserve end of year consideration. Artist : Ben Folds Album : So There Quick Description : A Ben Folds solo album with added orchestration. Why You Should Listen : Ben Folds is always doing something interest...

Primetime's "Anyway" is one of the more interesting songs I've heard in a while. It runs about 1/2 a step slower than it feels like it should based on the intensity. It sounds like they're trying to be a poppier (and British) Sleater-Kinney, even though it's more discordant than Sleater-Kinney have been in multiple albums. It's one of those increasingly rare songs that isn't trying to reinvent music or punk, but uses pre-existing elements in a way that is incredibly fresh. It makes even us old guys realize that we recognize all the pieces but have no idea how Primetime is assembling them. And before we get a chance to figure it out, the song just kind of ends after less than two minutes. You can listen to "Anyway" below. To keep tabs on Primetime, follow them on Facebook , Twitter , and their Bandcamp .

Salem, MA's Salem Wolves are back with another single, "Teenage Wonder." This one is a pretty straightforward rock n roll anthem with heavy punk elements. It feels like a song that would have been played at The Rat in Boston any time in the early 80s. You get the sense of breakneck ferocity even though the song never quite rips it out that heavily. We might be a little late posting this since a press release describes it as "...  the soundtrack to a stoned-and-sunburned summer night." Oops. Hey, the end of the summer gets busy! You can listen to "Teenage Wonder" below. Also, be sure to check out Salem Wolves' website for more info (including tour dates ), and their Bandcamp for more releases. 

You'd think that releasing two albums this year would be enough for Shopping. Apparently not for drummer Andrew Milk, who has a side project called Vertical Slump. Vertical Slump will be releasing their debut EP on October 2. The first song from that EP, "Tether," definitely has a similar post-punk sound to Shopping, but Vertical Slump are more discordant and somehow upbeat. It's a unique mix of 70s post punk ferocity mixed with 90s American indie slacker rock. Think Joy Division meets Pavement. Ruined Value  is due out October 2 on Icecapades. You can pre-order the EP here . You can follow Vertical Slump on Bandcamp and Tumblr .

Back in March, Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys provided the music for a production of Shockheaded Peter at Boston's Company One Theatre . Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to any of the performances. Luckily, they just released an album of the musical accompaniment.  Performing songs written and originally performed by The Tiger Lillies, Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys truly made each song their own, blending in their mixture of punk, folk, cabaret, metal, etc., or "steam crunk," as they call it. Since each song appears to be about the horrific fate of a character of the play, mostly children, it fits right into The Army of Toys' catalog, coming across like a darker, more musical version of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory  or Ghastlycrumb Tinies  come to musical life. The band attacks each song with a disturbing glee. "The Dreadful Story About Harriet and the Matches" is a jaunty ditty complete with creepy sounding...

Photo by Ken Sears David Wax Museum are one of my current favorite live bands, and seeing as I hadn't seen them play live for over a year, I had to head up to Portsmouth to check them out. The combination of a Saturday night show, perfect weather for an outdoor show, and the absurdly low $8 suggested donation ticket price were too much of a draw to miss it. Prescott Park Arts Festival is one of the more unique venues to see a show. They get absolute top level acts (Steve Earle, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and Josh Ritter have all played this year), but they also put on family friendly plays on the same stage. This year was Peter Pan, and the stage was still decorated for the play. The park is right on the Piscataqua River, which creates a beautiful backdrop, especially as the sun slowly sets during the show. Suz and David came out and started off the show as a duo with a completely retooled version of "Lavender Street" that was heavy on the low end and almo...

Waaaaaaay too much out this week, and none of it is especially mind-blowing. Album of the Week : Artist : Widowspeak Album : All Yours Quick Description : Dreamy folk rock. Why You Should Listen : It's the prettiest album released this week, and does a lot of interesting things. Overall Thoughts : I had a visualization of this band that was much different than the end result. It's definitely a strange record in some regards, but its beauty more than makes up for the challenge. In a week where there's a lot of straightforward music out (the new Miley notwithstanding), this does stand out. Recommendation : Best release of the week. Artist : Family of the Year Album : Family of the Year Quick Description : Latest, more mainstream, album from the indie rock band. Why You Should Listen : Pop folk is your thing. Overall Thoughts : The first thing that came to mind during this listen was how polished it was. "Make You Mine" has radio hit written all ov...