If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Ricky Malpas Mekons are one of the more interesting bands I need to fully explore. Depending on who you ask and what period of their forty year career you're talking about, they can be described as punk, post punk, cowpunk, alternative, and even folk. Their latest single, "Lawrence of California," can be called all of that. It's a romping, rollicking song that just plows ahead. It never quite breaks out into the all out fracas it threatens to, but that's perfectly fine. It's probably too country to be punk and too punk to be country, existing in its very own world. I don't think I could even call this outlaw country, which is the category this kind of music gets shuffled into. It just has too many noisy and strange elements. Instead, it's just the Mekons. You can watch the video for "Lawrence of California" below. Deserted , the new album from Mekons, will be out March 29 on Bloodshot Records. You can pre-order the album here ....

Photo by Pooneh Ghana If we were excited about the upcoming full length debut from Stella Donnelly, "Lunch" has whipped us into a frenzy. Her previous single, "Old Man," was more of a pop song than the more folk side we had expected from Donnelly. "Lunch" is back more on the folk side of things, especially at the start. As the song builds, it becomes much more layered and complex, but in a very quiet way. The song is about being a touring musician and being away from home for extended periods of time to the point that everything feels different when you come back. As Donnelly sings:  “ You’ve got plots and persuasions and time to explain/But I’ve only got time for lunch/And I get homesick before I go away .” It's a heartbreakingly stunning song, made more so by Donnelly's voice. She really croons on "Lunch" in a way we haven't heard before, but I think we'll all want to in the future. You can watch the video for "Lunch...

The latest single from Holiday Ghosts hearkens back to when pop music was weird. "Slipstream" will remind you of classic early alternative artists like Talking Heads, The Modern Lovers, and Violent Femmes, but it also has the 90's slacker vibe of Pavement and Beck. It turns into a crazily fun and just offbeat enough indie rock/pop song. You can watch the video for "Slipstream" below. West Bay Playroom , the new album from Holiday Ghosts, will be released February 15 on PNKSLM Recordings. The album was recorded in band member Sam Stacpoole's childhood home, specifically his old playroom. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Holiday Ghosts, check out their Facebook .

There aren't too many songs written in an Alaskan village about free will versus instinct, but the latest from Porteau fills that gap for us. "River Song" is an absolutely gorgeous and lush folk song. I use the term folk loosely here. It's definitely far too filled out to be purely folk. Instead it's almost a dream pop/folk song. Victoria Williams's voice propels the entire arrangement and gives it a kind of haunting quality during the chorus. During the verses, she has a much warmer and welcoming feel to her voice. She does this without a true change, so "River Song" is truly a singer's track. You can listen to "River Song" below. Water's Gate , the new album from Porteau, will be released on March 15. For more on Porteau, be sure to check out their website .

Photo by Ariel Einbender The latest single from Albany's Bruiser and Bicycle is an odd little offering that I'm becoming more and more obsessed with. "The Train" is a post-punk, almost shoegaze song, but with an organic, almost folk feel. But really accessible sounding while being experimental. The song starts off with a squall of high pitched guitar noise, but then a second, more palatable guitar comes in to join it. The vocals have a slight twang you don't normally associate with the Northeast, but it adds this endearing, melodic quality that helps pull the song together. "The Train" straddles the line between indie rock and folk perfectly without truly choosing sides. You can listen to "The Train" below. Bruiser and Bicycle's new album, Woods Come Find Me , will be out February 22 on Five Kill Records. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Bruiser and Bicycle, check out their website . Woods Come Find Me by Bruiser and Bi...

Now we're getting somewhere. Album of the Week : Artist : Better Oblivion Community Center Album : Better Oblivion Community Center Quick Description : Surprise album from Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes and blog favorite Phoebe Bridgers. Why You Should Listen : Both artists are solid in their own right, but together? It's magical. Overall Thoughts : A surprise release from Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers, this is probably my favorite release of the early year. Oberst is at his best since the Bright Eyes album Cassudega back in 2007, and Phoebe Bridgers is arguably having the most undersold creative year for a musician in some time. These songs balance the tightrope of urgent and present near-perfectly, and the two artists compliment each other so well in their sounds that it is almost as if they were meant to work together from the start. Given that Bridgers is a Saddle Creek artist and Oberst guested on her awesome debut, this collaboration was probably inevitable...

Photo by VQnC Nashville's John Shakespear has previously been in soul bands in Boston and Cambodia (and we're super curious which Boston bands), and now he is set to release his debut solo album. The first single, "Swinging for the Fences," has us excited for his album. The song doesn't break new ground. It's on the poppier side of the alt-country thing, and is very similar to the more laid back side of Wilco or bands like Dawes and Delta Spirit. But Shakespear is absurdly good at that sound. "Swinging for the Fences" has a summery feel that goes beyond the baseball reference of the title, and the subject of the song. It's also more catchy than you can imagine, and could be a candidate for song of the summer if it wasn't being released in January. You can watch the baseball themed video for "Swinging for the Fences" below. There is no word on a release date for John Shakespear's debut album, but to keep tabs on him, check ...

Photo by Nick Mckk Julia Jacklin's latest single, "Pressure to Party," is her most fun solo song yet. Most of her solo work tends to be on the singer/songwriter folk adjacent side of things, of which she has reached complete perfection, and we're huge fans. "Pressure to Party" is a bouncy, fun, 90's style alternative pop-rock song. There's is still enough of her Americana feel to keep things from going all out Letters to Cleo or Veruca Salt, and keeps the track from sounding like a alt-rock throwback. It's a slight style change more on the lines of her music with Phantastic Ferniture than her usual solo material, but you'll hear no complaints here. You can watch the absurdly fun video for "Pressure to Party" below. It's a one shot video that stars Jacklin's siblings and the band Body Type, and really is a must watch. Julia Jacklin's new album, Crushing , will be out February 22 on Polyvinyl. For more on Julia Jac...

Photo by Rosie Cohe Durand Jones & The Indications just nail the whole neo-soul thing. Their latest single, "Morning in America," sounds like it could have been released in the 60's. The only truly modern aspect is the hip hop drum beat and a fuzzed out indie rock guitar solo to end the song. Despite it's calm and chill vibe, "Morning in America" is an overtly political song. It's written by drummer Aaron Frazer, the band says about the song: " The lyrics speak to how many of us feel every day in this time of political and environmental uncertainty— flitting between anger, despair, anxiety but ever returning to a sliver of hope that there’s still a path forward. We so often divide ourselves by our differences. Acknowledging those differences is crucial; listening to those different from us is crucial. But viewed solely through that lens, we are fragmented and few. When we look at the country along economic lines, however, a different pict...

It's incredibly rare for us to hear an album and wonder exactly what we're listening to. For an artist to completely ignore the conventions of a genre so much that you wonder if it's even technically in that genre any more. The latest EP from Kofi The Spiderman does this. Cruel and Unusual is by default hip hop, but it won't fit into anything you consider hip hop. It's minimal, but mostly because musically it doesn't sound like hip hop that you know. The most familiar element is the sparse sample of The Beatles's "Blackbird" in "Get the Money." Aside from that, it's strange notes and sounds stuttering and rambling along to match Kofi The Spiderman's mumbling rap. This is hip hop stripped down to it's bare bones, like The Ramones did with rock back in the 70's. It's just such a strange and unique release, unlike anything I've heard before. All music fans need to check this out. You can listen to "Nurse Ra...

Photo by Shervin Lainez We're pretty obsessed with Lady Lamb here at If It's Too Loud... In fact, she was the very first artist we ever wrote about, so we're obviously going to be thrilled with new music from her. "Even in the Tremor" fits right into Lady Lamb's previous work, even while it sounds nearly completely differently. As soon as the song starts off with just Aly Spaltro's voice and some menacing drum beats, you know we're in new territory. As the song goes on, it does take on Lady Lamb's sense of uplifting, and while this isn't an electronic song, there are some decidedly dance elements to it, making it quite possibly one of the more awkward dance songs I've ever heard. "Even in the Tremor" is an epic song that has quiet moments.  You can watch the video for "Even in the Tremor" below, and try to figure out how Lady Lamb is the only person in the entire Aztec or Mayan ruin. Even in the Tremor , the new al...

Usually when you hear a nostalgic song, there is a sense of wistfulness and joy. The latest single from Running Red Lights is the exact opposite. "Calls of Prudence" is a bleak indie rock/folk meets soul song. It feels like a song truly about loss. It's not nostalgic in a "Hey, remember ALF ?" way, but instead about truly missing a phase of your life that is just gone now. Singer Scarlett says about the song: " One day, I was feeling particularly nostalgic and found myself reflecting on the days when I was young and could get blissfully drunk without having anyone or anything to answer to, without regard for the time that I was wasting." Missing the days when you could get drunk without repercussions may seem a bit superficial, but it's more about missing as time when you could just do what you want without having to worry about the responsibilities of adulthood. I think we can all relate to that, especially when it's in such a lovely, dark, ...

One of the best things about living in the Boston area are shows like last Saturday night's Bill Janovitz performance at The Burren. The Buffalo Tom frontman played a laid back solo set at a 100 person dinner venue in the back room of an Irish pub. Such a small venue and Janovitz's easy rapport with the audience made this an incredibly intimate show, particularly with the special guests for the evening. The set list was made up almost entirely from social media audience requests. This truly lead to a unique song selection. You got Buffalo Tom favorites like "Fortune Teller," "Mineral," and "Dry Land." In fact, "Taillights Fade," the most obvious choice for a Buffalo Tom song, wasn't requested but added by Janovitz as one of the few non requests. The crowd was also versed in Janovitz's solo career, requesting songs from way back to his 1996 solo album Lonesome Billy , "Mary Kay" (an ode to Mary Kay Letourneau and her ...

Worcester, MA's favorite reunited psychedelic garage rockers are back with a new single! Last week The Prefab Messiahs released a video for "(Don't Give Up On) Beautiful Things." The song, and video, and quite heavy on the psychedelic side of "psychedelic garage." You get some classic 60's style harmonizing, and everything is tied up into a beautifully swirly package. There is even a "Bah bah bah" in the chorus as catchy as anything The Archies ever wrote. But there is a great primal garage rock beat throughout, and some fierce guitars that come in like buzzsaws to draw in the non-hippies. You can watch the video for "(Don't Give Up On) Beautiful Things" below. The song is available now via Bandcamp . For more on The Prefab Messiahs, be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter .

Bis dropped off my radar after 1997's The New Transistor Heroes. Turns out they broke up in 2003 and reformed in 2009. They released a new album in 2014 which I completely missed, and are now set to release a fifth album next month. I always loved their insanely high energy bubblegum alternative pop music. I'm not sure if that's what I need in my 40s, but neither does Bis. They are also twenty years older, after all. "Sound of a Heartbreak" is still insanely energetic and upbeat. It's completely music to bop around to. But, it's much more mature and adult than anything off The New Transistor Heroes. It feels like a natural progression for the band. They're not trying to recapture their youth or the magic of their earlier albums, but they're hardly becoming an easy listening band, either. This is exactly what aging Bis fans will want from their Scottish heroes, even if they forgot about them for a time. You can watch the video for "Sound ...

After the holiday lull, it appears we are fully and completely back in the swing of things. Artist : Pedro the Lion Album : Phoenix Quick Description : Reunion album from the indie rock favorites. Why You Should Listen : One would assume it would be good, but it turns out it's great. Overall Thoughts : Dave Bazan's solo stuff never 100% grabbed me, and I admit to never quite catching on to Pedro the Lion back in its heyday. This return album may not be a return to form, and might rock slightly harder than expected, but I will say that it was a super compelling release that grabbed me almost immediately. There are a lot of interesting things happening here, and I think it's one of my favorite listens this week. It's just a solid, mature-sounding indie rock record, and I feel like those have been lacking as of late. Recommendation : A must-listen as one of the best of the week. Artist : Neyla Pekarek Album : Rattlesnake Quick Description : Upbeat-sounding ...