If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Felipe Torres Late last year we brought you a pair of singles from Brooklyn based post punks Gustaf. The band recently announced a debut album and released a new single! "Book" is everything we loved about their previous releases. It's an absurdly upbeat and highly danceable version of post punk. It's more B-52's or DEVO than Gang of Four, but it still has a bit more of a punk edge to it while still being as pop as it possibly could be. "Book" is the kind of song that is making me long for packed divey clubs, because this song is going to be such a blast live. Singer Lydia Gammil explains the new song: " 'Book' is a song about the fallacy and fight of getting ahead vs being a head. It is seeking validation in the wrong places and from the wrong people.  The hook, “I got ahead, I got a head” is a fun little taunt that we find either being thrown in our face or coming out our mouth. Everyone gets their moment up on the pedestal and ev...

Tri-lingual and tri-national (but based in Montreal) band Bambies have a new song off of their upcoming album. "Summer Soon" hits two of my musical loves. It's dirty garage rock mixed with the kind of 90's punk that was heavily inspired by the Ramones (The Queers, Mr. T Experience, etc.) It's fast and loud and noisy, but also oddly melodic. It's all buzzing guitars and a frenzied beat that makes you want to dance around a bit. You know, just the kind of good old rock 'n' roll that went out of style a ways back, but you know you still love unashamedly. Sami Stern says of the new song: "Summer is always a blast for folks in Quebec. That feeling at the end of winter when the sun is out, the snow is melting and last season’s accumulated garbage appears below! It’s a promise for better days. The feeling is wonderful."   You can listen to "Summer Soon" below. Summer Soon is due out August 20 on Spaghetty Town Records in the US and Wanda R...

With the Green River Festival returning August 27-29, we're going to highlight some of the lesser known artists playing that we're most excited to see. The bottom of the poster at any festival contains some gems you don't want to miss, and especially so this year at Green River! If you like to discover lesser known bands at festivals, Cloudbelly is for you. From what I can tell, they only have one song out currently with a new album on the horizon at some point. "Crayon" is folk, for lack of a better term. It even has some elements of traditional folk, but the overall sound is hardly folk. There's this oddly dark and trippy element, and the song is both sparse and full. It's as hypnotic as it is captivating, and is guaranteed to suck you in. As you try to fall into the internet rabbit hole of Cloudbelly, just a warning. There isn't a whole lot out there. I think we'll all be looking forward to finding out more about Cloudbelly, especially other son...

Photo via Facebook Lorkin O'Reilly was born in Edinburgh (his mother is a native of Ireland) in 1994 and immigrated to upstate New York to work on a farm in 2012. To make his backstory even more folky, he found an acoustic guitar in a basement and started writing songs. His latest single, "Pelé Pelé, " is quiet modern folk with a traditional base. The song is almost painfully fragile sounding. This is bedroom Americana at its finest, sounding like we just walked in on a confessional from O'Reilly. It's a beautiful song in its simplicity.  In a press release, Lorkin O'Reilly explains the song and video: " One of my rituals during quarantine was to take long baths in the evening and watch Youtube highlights of old soccer games. I think a lot of immigrants can relate to the comfort in submerging oneself in cultural pastimes. At least, hearing the commentators' accents, seeing the faces of the fans and hearing the songs really helped me when feeling homes...

AJ Lee & Blue Summit formed back in 2015 in Santa Cruz, CA and have settled in the Bay Area. Their new single, "Lemons and Tangerines," has that modern mainstream neo-bluegrass sound that just never seems to get old for us. Despite using traditional bluegrass instruments, it's hardly a throwback sound. It's more of a modern traditional take that is perfect for fans of a bands like Twisted Pine or Lake Street Dive, especially with the hint of soul in Lee's voice. It's sure to become your favorite song inspired by a grafted lemon tree in Lee's backyard. You can listen to "Lemons and Tangerines" below. I'll Come Back is due out August 20. For more on AJ Lee & Blue Summit, check out their website . Upcoming tour dates are below the song. AUG 7 - The Independent @ 8:00pm - San Francisco, CA* AUG 13 - Caffe Lena @ 8:00pm - Saratoga Springs, NY AUG 14 - Podunk Bluegrass Festival 2021 @ 12:20pm - Goshen, CT AUG 15 - Hardeman Orchards @ 7:30pm...

Dry Cleaning are one of the more interesting rock acts to get some mainstream attention recently. Despite releasing New Long Legs earlier this year, the band is back with a new single. (Although these two songs were previously available on the Japanese version of New Long Legs .) "Bug Eggs" gives us exactly what we want from Dry Cleaning. It's dark, foreboding indie rock (like the mellower side of Sonic Youth) with Florence Shaw's spoken, Velvet Underground-esque vocals. According to Shaw, "'Bug Eggs' is about the confidence that comes with age, fragility, and sexual desire." You can listen to "Bug Eggs" below. The song is available as a single via 4AD with the b-side of "Tony Speaks!" You can get your copy via Bandcamp. For more on Dry CLeaning, check out the band's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the song. Bug Eggs/Tony Speaks! by Dry Cleaning Wed. Nov. 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram -  SOLD OUT Thu. Nov. 11 - San F...

Another slow week, so adding a few we missed, too. Artist : Pony Hunt Album : VAR! Quick Thoughts : We loved Pony Hunt's debut when it came out almost five years ago. The follow-up gives me a lot of Lady Lamb vibes, but it's really a nice logical extension of a sound we love here. I found so much to enjoy about this one, and I probably could have added every song to the weekly playlist if I were so inclined. It's a little bit folk, a little bit country, and a more than a little awesome. Songs of Note : "Pulse," "Stardust," "Who Are You," "Rising Sun," "Last Alive" Artist : Molly Burch Album : Romantic Images Quick Thoughts : Molly Burch is back with another winner. We both really liked First Flower , and this new one continues the trajectory of a multi-genre artist with a lot of positives going for her. This was super enjoyable on a whole, and should solidif Burch as a voice worth hearing. Songs of Note : ...

American rapper Fokis has an upcoming project called Seasons Change, People Too: The Experiment. For the project's first single, Fokis brought in German emcee Drive-By. "The Switch Up" sees Fokis rapping German lyrics that Drive-By wrote and Drive-By rapping English lyrics written by Fokis. The song is a total throwback to early 90's hip hop, which is kind of my hip hop glory days. It's the kind of hip hop that isn't the gangsta rap or positive hip hop of the day. It's lying kind of in the middle. But it's going to make you nostalgic for that era, regardless of how much rap you listened to in your youth. In a press release, Fokis talks about the song: " I've been touring Germany since 2018 and have connected with the people really well and in the process I also learned a few basic words in German. One day I thought to myself, what if I wrote a verse and had a German rapper say it, and a German rapper wrote a verse for me, to say... so I reache...

Photo by Monse Muro The latest from Montreal's Ada Lea (the musical name of Alexandra Levy) is oddly unique. "damn" is mostly a relatively mainstream, kinda folkish singer/songwriter tune. But "damn" isn't really a mainstream sounding song. Despite the song sounding upbeat, there is a sense of melancholy that you just can't seem to shake. Plus, the instruments just sound... off? It's a pretty standard sound, just very slightly tweaked to feel and sound different. That also applies to Levy's vocals. Her voice is lovely and pleasant, except that she has this unique quality to it that makes it not exactly mainstream. This all makes "damn" one of the more almost mainstream but just slightly off to be intriguing sounds of the year. You can watch the video for "damn" below. one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is due out September 24 on Saddle Creek. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy of the album here . For more ...

Photo by Dustin Cohen I first discovered Buffalo Nichols opening for Drive-By Truckers just before lockdown in February 2020. Opening for the gigantic sound of DBT's rock show as a blues/folk artist is daunting, but he had the crowd sucked in for his entire set. I remember trying to find releases from him, but they were few and far between. I don't believe I was even able to find a social media presence. Finally, Buffalo Nichols is releasing his debut album in October. "Lost & Lonesome" is the first single, and it's a must listen. The Austin, TX based Carl "Buffalo" Nichols has crafted a sparse, melancholy blues song. While a lot of mainstream blues music focuses heavily on guitar, on "Lost & Lonesome" the focus is Nichols' voice and lyrics. It's an interesting choice, since Nichols' voice is hardly a traditional one. On this song he's speak-singing in a raspy voice that wouldn't get him very far on any network singi...