A lot of punk today avoids the classic or more traditional sound. It can be a lot poppier or dance friendly. Australia's The Chats missed that memo and are sounding like classic punk on their new single. "Struck By Lightning" is loud and fast. The video is just over two minutes and the song is shorter than that. It's buzzsawing guitars, shouted vocals, and plenty of gang vocals. It reminds me of an amped up version of the Buzzcocks. There may be just the beginning traces of pop punk in here, but early punk was pretty poppy if you really listen to it.
Eamon Sandwith talks about his band's new song, which is about being struck by lightning:
“People can't grow their hair back and shit. It’s weird – especially the whole no-eyebrows thing. That would be really scary! I'm really hoping that this doesn't happen to me, now I've written a song about it.”
You can watch the video for "Struck By Lightning" below. For more on The Chats, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Thu. Mar. 17 - Brussels, BE @ La Botanique Sat. Mar. 19 - Southampton, UK @ Southampton 1865 Sun. Mar. 20 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Tue. Mar. 22 - Dublin, IR @ 3Olympia Theatre Wed. Mar. 23 - Belfast, UK @ The Limelight Thu. Mar. 24 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Fri. Mar. 25 - Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop Sat. Mar. 26 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy Sun. Mar. 27 - Leeds, UK @ Leeds University Union Mon. Mar. 28 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Bristol Tue. Mar. 29 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk Wed. Mar. 30 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Thu. Mar. 31 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Thu. Apr. 14 - Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Fri. Apr. 15 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Sat. Apr. 16 - Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre Sun. Apr. 17 - Roseville, CA @ Event Lawn at Virgin Hotels * Mon. Apr. 18 - Las Vegas, NV @ Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Tue. Apr. 19 - Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall Wed. Apr. 20 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (EARLY SHOW) Wed. Apr. 20 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (LATE SHOW) - SOLD OUT Fri. Apr. 22 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Sat. Apr. 23 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues Mon. Apr. 25 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace Tue. Apr. 26 - Houston, TX @ The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Wed. Apr. 27 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s Austin Thu. Apr. 28 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues - Cambridge Room Sat. Apr. 30 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East Sun. May 1 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre Tue. May 3 - Columbia, SC @ The Senate Wed. May 4 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage Thu. May 5 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Fri. May 6 - Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s Rhythm Grille Sat. May 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Sun. May 8 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore - SOLD OUT Tue. May 10 - Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Électriques Wed. May 11 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground - SOLD OUT Thu. May 12 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop - SOLD OUT Fri. May 13 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar Sat. May 14 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Sun. May 15 - St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall - SOLD OUT Tue. May 17 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Wed. May 18 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Fri. May 20 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre - SOLD OUT Sun. May 22 - Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville 2022 Wed. May 25 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon - SOLD OUT Thu. May 26 - Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Fri. May 27 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre - SOLD OUT Mon. Jun. 27 - Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie Tue. Jun. 28 - Brussels, BE @ La Botanique Fri. Jul. 1 - Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter 2022 Mon. Jul. 4 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Tue. Jul. 5 - Berlin, DE @ SO36 Wed. Jul. 6 - Hamburg, DE @ Moltow Backyard Thu. Jul. 7 - Cologne, DE @ Gebäude Fri. Jul. 22 - Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Showground Fri. Jul. 29 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Sat. Oct. 8 - Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival * supporting King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
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. ...
Photo by Joanna Chattman I've been referring to Northampton, MA based Izzy Heltai's music as mainstream modern folk with just enough of a unique spin to keep it appealing to music snobs, too. His latest single, "Father," might be the perfect example of that. It's a quiet, deeply personal song that starts off painfully sparse but ever so slowly builds and builds as it goes on. It walks that line between accessible/mainstream and indie expertly. You can watch the video for "Father" below. Father , the upcoming debut album from Izzy Heltai, will be out October 9. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Izzy Heltai, check out the artist's website .
Photo via Instagram Any time J Mascis releases new music will always be a big deal at If It's Too Loud... November will see the release of Elastic Days , his new solo album. Judging by the first single, "See You At the Movies," Elastic Days will be exactly what we expect and want in a Mascis solo album. The first single is much prettier than Dinosaur Jr is. Mascis's solo work tends to be calmer and almost folky. "See You At the Movies" is exactly that, and is even almost orchestral in some places. You add in some of Mascis's guitar solos (a more tame version than Dino Jr's thunderous ones), and you've got a classic Mascis solo track. It's a typically great song, but at this point I'd like to see Mascis mix things up a bit. You can listen to "See You At the Movies" below. Elastic Days will be out November 9 on Sub Pop Records. There are some pretty reasonable pre-order bundles available, including a CD and t-shirt for $24....
