If It's Too Loud...

Lorne Behrman (The Dimestore Haloes, L.E.S. Stitches, The Sweet Things) has a new song about a difficult subject matter. "Sandcastles" is a slow rocker with Behrman speak-singing like a punk rock Tom Petty. In fact, all of "Sandcastles" sounds like if Tom Petty fronted the NYC Heartbreakers instead of his own ones.  As for the subject matter, we'll let Behrman explain from a press release (CW: child sexual abuse): "When I was a little kid, I took karate classes, and there was an instructor there who promised they would give me a kit to build sandcastles if I went with them into the bathroom. This began a very stressful and painful time for me. It was sexual abuse, mind games, and secrets. I was a really sensitive kid—I still am really sensitive—and I felt in over my head, but scared to tell anyone. I remember thinking I wish my soul could disappear into the calf of my leg—like I felt like I had to be at karate, but I wished I didn’t have to be present. I ha...

Jeremiah Moon started taking cello lessons at the age of seven and began studying cello performance at Boston University. In 2013 he moved out to Seattle and started performing with guitarists. In 2018 he started working more seriously as a songwriter. His upcoming EP was recorded in a cabin in Florence, OR. The first single off that EP, "Kinds of Light," is more mainstream than you would expect from a classically trained cellist. I'm going to use the term "folk," but only because I don't truly have anything else. "Kinds of Light" is somehow more pop than I would have expected, and also more experimental. It's one of those songs that's starts off more standard and traditional but ends in what would be a noise rock breakdown if this wasn't cello based. You can watch the video for "Kinds of Light" below. Sputnik will be released on Enci Records. For more on Jeremiah Moon, check out the artist's website .

Boston's Abbie Barrett has released a nearly straight up rocker for her latest single. I only say almost since there are New Wave elements to the song, mainly because it features Greg Hawkes of The Cars on keyboards. If you're going to bring Greg Hawkes in for a song, there's a very specific sound you're going for and "I Will Let You Know" delivers. It's a song that leans towards the poppier edge of garage rock, but it's still heavy for a pop/rock song, especially with this level of Hawke's keys. It's a wonderful modern Boston rock song that gives dues to the ones that came before. You're going to need to check this one out. You can listen to "I Will Let You Know" below. The song is available as a single via Bandcamp. For more on Abbie Barrett, check out the artist's Facebook . I Will Let You Know by Abbie Barrett

I really wanted to hate the new single from Seattle's Jack and the Dull Boy. First, they're a prog metal band. Second, it's a metal cover of "Maniac" from the Flashdance soundtrack. This should be awful... but it turns out it's ridiculously fun. Unlike most metal covers of 80's pop songs, Jack and the Dull Boy keep the pop front and center on this version. It never gets even remotely screamy, or overly heavy just to show off that they're still metal dudes. They're just playing a fun cover, and, as with any truly great fun cover, this could be a tongue-in-cheek or a song they truly love. Or both. We're not going to claim that hearing Jack and the Dull Boy's cover of "Maniac" is going to change your life, but you're going to enjoy the next five minutes of it. In a press release, Jack and the Dull Boy have this to say about the song (in the third person): “Jack and the Dull Boy say they obviously have a lot in common with ‘80s le...

Photo by Kyle Johnson When we receive music submissions the press release will often list genres the song fits into. For the latest release from Allison Lorenzen, the genres listed are indie, folk, experimental, and slowcore. It's an interesting blend of styles that fits "Mirrors" perfectly. As it starts, "Mirrors" could have just been a relatively standard modern indie folk song. It borders on mainstream folk, but strays just a little too far into the experimental side to go all the way in. And that's what makes this song so great and appealing. It's so close to just being a simply good, normal song that your coworkers could enjoy in the background, but Lorenzen doesn't allow it to go that way. It is just unique enough to be truly great and memorable with bizarre sounds like indie rock feedback that somehow fits into an almost mainstream folk song. You can listen to "Mirrors" below. Tender is due out November 19 on White Sepulchre Records....

Ben Usie has had a unique path through music. He lived in DC for almost ten years playing with bands like Pree and Br'er. He started playing solo as Bruisey Pete with an entire stage of sequencers and synthesizers. After relocating to New Orleans, Usie ditched the stage of equipment since it was tough to lug around to bars for shows, and began performing solo guitar shows. Eventually Bruisey Peet picked up three additional members, but they dropped off since playing small shows at 2:00 am become too much for them. This time, Usie came back as a solo piano performer before picking up Lost Bayou Ramblers' Bryan Webre on upright bass. "Poached Eggs" is the latest song from the current iteration of Bruisey Peets. The style has been dubbed "queer swamp pop," and is an odd little sound that's a little cabaret over a lot of a pop sound. It reminds me of the quieter side of Ben Folds Five with a much darker sense of humor. The song has a light, playful feel that...

Long hours means a double dose of music this week. Artist : Adia Victoria Album : A Southern Gothic Quick Thoughts : We're big Adia Victoria fans here, and this album came out of nowhere a bit for me. I wasn't expecting new music, and I definitely wasn't expecting A Southern Gothic , which has a true feel that mirrors its title while still bringing the sort of songwriting and musical know-how that Adia Victoria always brings. Right now, I wouldn't be shocked to see this on both of our best-of lists this year. Songs of Note : "Troubled Mind," "Magnolia Blues, "Mean-Hearted Woman," "You Was Born to Die," "Whole World Knows," "Carolina Bound" Artist : Ruby Fields Album : Been Doin' It For A Bit Quick Thoughts : The album title accurately describes what this album sounds like, even though this Aussie singer-songwriter is only 23. There is some great indie rock here throughout. I enjoyed her initial seven ...

If you told me the new single from Broadcaster was a song on some random 90's soundtrack or compilation, I would have 100% believed you. "Vacation Days" is the most 90's thing I've heard in decades. It sounds like it belongs on the Empire Records or Clueless soundtrack, or a compilation from Geffen Records you bought for $4.00 to hear a few unreleased songs. It would have been that song you loved but could never find anything else about the band in the pre-internet age. "Vacation Days" has that same upbeat poppy alt-rock sound you'd hear with bands like Gin Blossoms or Letters to Cleo. Even though it's a brand new song, Broadcaster have given us this brand new slice of nostalgia that has me pulling out my copy of DGC Rarities Vol. 1. You can listen to "Vacation Days" below. Joyride +3 is due out October 8 on Jumpstart Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Broadcaster, check out the band's Facebook and Twitter .

I haven't heard a song this weird and fun in a long time. Haling from Minneapolis, Little Lizard just released "Crunchy." It's a bizarre little instrumental song that mixes sparse electronic elements via an 808 drum machine with horns, keyboards, and live bass lines. If you're of a certain age, this is going to remind you of 90's weirdo little side projects like Ad-Rock's BS 2000. This is definitely not going to be for everyone who reads this, but a lot of us are going to find this to be quite a bit of fun. I really hate using the word "quirky" because it can have some negative connotations, but it truly fits "Crunchy." You can watch the live performance video for "Crunchy" below. The song is available now as a single via Guilt Ridden Pop. You can find it over at the band's Bandcamp . For more on Little Lizard, check out their website .

Atlanta based American-Swedish duo I Am a Rocketship have released a new single that pushes on the boundaries of shoegaze. "Fever Dream" has all the drone and the traditional muddled tempo that you expect in a shoegaze song. There's a wall of noise lurking behind softly sung vocals, so we're talking classic stuff here. But I Am a Rocketship add almost a pop and/or folk quality to the song. There is a lot more vocal harmonizing than you could ever imagine in a shoegaze song that is normally more at home in a modern folk/pop song. Plus, there are strings and even times where the noise slowly fades away and leaves just harmony. You wouldn't expect any of that in a traditional shoegaze song, but it's great when bands like I Am a Rocketship expand on the genre. You can watch the video for "Fever Dream" below. Lies and Legends is due out November 11. You can pre-order a copy over at Bandcamp . For more on I Am a Rocketship, check out the band's website...

Northern California's Destroy Boys are giving us another sample of their upcoming album before it's out next week. "Escape" is the kind of song that the crusty middle aged dude in me hates calling punk, although it is. Sure, "Escape" is quite poppy but still has just enough edge and crunch to it to keep it from being pure pop. That being said, this is such a poppy song. It's the level of pop that usually turns me off, but when a song is this great it's impossible not to love. Maybe it's the oddly 90's slacker vibe you can hear throughout, especially in the vocals. Not many bands can combine punk, 90's indie rock, and pop in a way that is this compelling, but Destroy Boys pull it off. Plus, there's a spoken part in the middle that sounds like it's a phone call which is making me oddly nostalgic for the late 80's. Frontperson Alexia Roditis says of the new song: “‘Escape’  is about wanting an out from the regular life I was livi...

Saturday was a ridiculous day filled with live shows in the Boston area. No matter what I chose, I was going to have some level of FOMO. But, I've been hoping to get back to The Word Barn before they close up their meadow stage for the season, and with a dual bill of Pete Bernhard of The Devil Makes Three and The Huntress and Holder of Hands playing solo, I truly couldn't pass that up.  During the show, MorganEve Swain mentioned that she hates playing solo since it was all her and any mistakes couldn't be covered up. I was personally curious how The Huntress and Holder of Hands songs would work solo seeing that her music is quite noisy. Sure, it's primarily folk but with elements of indie rock and even metal it can get quite loud and discordant. Stripped down to just guitar and vocals her music was at its most bare bones. Swain played a good amount of new songs that were just being played live for the first few times, including last year's "Doctrine." If t...

Photo by Brittany Rose Queen It's been said that Boston's Kitner were created out of a love of both The Get Up Kids and The Replacements, which you're going to hear all over the band's music. Their latest single, "Malden, MA," also brings in some Dinosaur Jr love into the fold. The song starts off with some Bruce Springsteen style harmonica, but then the alt-rock kicks in and the song truly kicks off. If a song is going to be inspired by Dino Jr, it's going to need some huge guitar solos and "Malden, MA" provides those. As a Dinosaur Jr aficionado, I'm going to say the song sounds like post-Lou Barlow Dinosaur Jr around the time of "Feel the Pain" and "Start Choppin'." If you've been waiting for a full on Get Up Kids/Replacements/Springstreen/Dino Jr mash up, you're finally in luck! You can listen to "Malden, MA" below. Shake the Spins (which will also songs named after such New England based places a...

Photo by Ana Karotkaya Post punk has been having a huge resurgence the past few years, but no one has been doing it quite like Cuffed Up. The Los Angeles based band just released a new single, "Bonnie." It's definitely a post punk song, but it shatters what you would normally consider to be the genre. There's an intensity throughout the entire song, even during the more melodic pop leaning parts. But the song doubles down on the noise with plenty of classic indie rock feedback and forces in some grunge style crunching guitar. Post punk isn't usually this heavy or hard rocking, and it never combines this level of heavy with pop hooks. Cuffed Up are going to have some serious buzz behind them sooner than later. The band explains how the new song is inspired by an alternate timeline Bonnie and Clyde: " "Bonnie” is an anti-love anthem about the grief and pitfalls of a serious relationship crumbling due to lies and deceit. This is explored through the eyes of...

Forgotten Fridays is an occasional feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. We go back and remind you of their existence, and help decide if they were any good. Way back in the 1900s, if we had never heard of an opening band we had virtually no way of checking them out before the show. You either got there late to miss them or watched them blindly. Either way it was a roll of the dice since you could miss out on a life changing opening (Mogwai opening for Pavement comes to mind) or sit through the worst thirty to sixty minutes of your life. When I saw that dog. at The Middle East in Cambridge back in 1997 (I think?), I got there early enough to see Kenickie. It wasn't life changing, but I came back with a band I played constantly on my college radio show for the rest of the year. Kenickie (obviously named after the chara...

Photo via Facebook The latest single from The Electric Petals is going to remind you of Iggy Pop, and with good reason: "Cherry Red" is written as an homage to Iggy's period of time working with David Bowie in Berlin. While the song comes across as more modern than the classic period of 1977-1978, The Electric Petals nail the slinky and groovy aspects of Iggy's late 70's music. It could be the horn, but this is also giving me some Morphine vibes as well.  In a Facebook post, the band explains the new song: "Cherry Red paints a picture of stumbling into a dark and dingy alleyway door lit up with red light. Once stepping through the door, you feel energized and free, dancing in a dark room where you can only make out other dark silhouettes. It’s a feeling and experience that is few and far between at the moment and we wanted to bring that back: the exotic feeling of exploring an unknown city alone and stumbling into a hole in the wall that turns into an amazing...

Photo via Facebook Boston's Oompa is back with a new single. "OUTTA PATIENCE" would normally be a little too modern mainstream hip hop for my own personal taste, but this is Oompa who just can not make a great song. It's a fast paced track that gets a little more R&B or EDM than I would normally like, but Oompa keeps just enough of a hip hop edge in her verses to keep "OUTTA PATIENCE" great. This is the perfect kind of song to make both The Kids and us crusty old music fans happy. This is just a wonderfully fun modern hip hop song, and sometimes this is just the thing that we need. You can listen to "OUTTA PATIENCE" below. Unbothered is due out October 1, with a release party on October 8 at The Paradise in Boston. For more on Oompa, check out the artist's website .

Northampton, MA's Heather Maloney is known for crafting absolutely beautiful modern folk music, and her latest single is a perfect example. "Perch-less Bird" is perfect folk/pop. Maloney's vocals are truly the focus of the song with string arrangements accompanying a dance friendly beat. As the song goes on, it ever so slowly moves from a folk song to more of a pop/dance track. Maloney crafted this as a break up song, and the way it goes from melancholy to joyful seems to match the path of a break up in an ideal way. In a press release, Heather Maloney says of the new song: “When I originally sat down to write this song, I was giving myself a songwriting challenge to write a 'break-up' song because I’d never written one before. But the more I thought about it, I realized how many break-up songs have a clear victim/villain, and that they always seem to revolve around one very common theme: blame. In an effort to turn the camera away from whoever the finger is p...

Astoria, OR's This Lonesome Paradise make Americana, for lack of a better term. I only say that because we cover a lot of Americana here, and their new single "Needles & Pines" lands squarely in Americana, but it doesn't really sound like anything we've covered before. The song is an extremely dark version of the genre. Today is the first day of Autumn, and this is a perfect song to post for that. This is the soundtrack to chilly temperatures, earlier sunsets, trudging through leaves in the woods, and all around creepiness. "Needles & Pines" is a combination of dark lyrics with darker vocals, wailing harmonicas, and everything dripping in reverb that has us desperate for more. You can watch the video for "Needles & Pines" below. Electric Dreams is due out on October 31 on American Standard Time Records. You can pre-order your copy over at Bandcamp . For more on This Lonesome Paradise, check out the band's website .

Photo by Merrick Ales Buffalo Nichols is an impossibly captivating performer. I discovered him opening for Drive-By Truckers, and anyone who can win over a crowd waiting for ear-splitting Southern rock with quiet solo blues as an unknown is a truly special performer. For a taste of the Nichols' live experience, you need to check out the live video of his latest single. "How To Love" is masterful. It's played with a guitar that seems wonderfully slightly out of tune. Nichols' voice sounds like it is coated with both honey and whiskey on this one. It's a beautiful song that's just rough around the edges enough to keep it interesting. In a press release Buffalo Nichols says of the new song: “ Here I'm exploring the necessity of empathy and attempting to better understand human behavior. One can be overly compassionate and forgive harm done in situations where boundaries should have been set.” You can watch the video for "How To Love" below. Buff...