Mark Lavengood Covers Bruce Springsteen

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As any regular reader of If It's Too Loud would know, we love cover songs here. This was one of those sneaky covers that I didn't recognize until about halfway through. Mark Lavengood also plays with Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellies, but has a solo album coming out next month. I tend to like Springsteen covers more than I tend to like Springsteen (although my 40 year odyssey of appreciating The Boss has me actually kinda getting into him in the past year), and I have a huge love of folk and bluegrass covers of his songs, which makes sense since I like Bruce the Folk Singer more than Bruce the Rock God. Lavengood's cover of "Hungry Heart" is a great bluegrass version of the Springsteen classic. It's as faithful a cover as a genre switch can be, and exists in both worlds of traditional bluegrass and more modern nu-grass. If I'm being completely honest, I loved the instrumentation at first, but almost balked at Lavengood's voice. It's not non traditional the way J Mascis or Neil Young have non traditional voices, but something about it seemed odd to me. Luckily for me, I stuck it through and grew to love his singing. 

 Mark Lavengood's solo album, We've Come Along, is due out on May 11. You can watch the video for his cover of "Hungry Heart" below. If you're interested in what his originals sound like (and you will be), you can also watch the video for "Three Day Blow" here. He actually will be releasing videos for every song on the album, which is very Sonic Youth's Goo of him. For more on Mark Lavengood, check out his website.

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

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Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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