If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Kittie Krivacic Psych-pop supergroup Magic Fig (featuring members of The Umbrellas, Healing Potpourri, Almond Joy, Whitney's Playland, and Blades of Joy) sounds like what I'd expect a band from San Francisco to sound like in 2025. Their latest single, "Valerian Tea," has some deep roots in the glory days of 1960's psychedelia, the organs of vintage garage rock, and its all wrapped up in some modern indie pop. The song seems to float around the listener, undergoing sonic and tempo changes, while creating a surprisingly complicated yet poppy sound. If The Flaming Lips ever decided to reboot their Music Against Brain Degeneration tour, Magic Fig could be their very first call.  Inna Showalter (vocals/mellotron) says of her band's new single: “Valerian root extract was a popular remedy for anxiety and insomnia in Eastern Europe where I was born,  The song is an exploration of how I was shaped and influenced by the experiences of my maternal lineage. This ...

Photo by Tom White Leeds based post-punk/free jazz band Volk Soup are releasing their new album Friday, but we have one last single to share before then. "Friends" starts out more on the jazz end, and kind of reminds me of a laid back version of James Chance and The Contortions. And then it just erupts before going back to the chill if slightly off jazz style, giving new meaning to the whole loud/quiet/loud thing. Jazz doesn't usually rock as hard as it does in "Friends," but that's why we love Volk Soup. I can't think of any other band that combines free jazz and post punk in any way, let alone as well as it's combined here.  Harry Jones (vocals/guitar) says of the band's latest single: "A song written in a time between friendship. A time when I had drifted from the friends of my youth and had yet to meet the people I call my friends today. It was a bitter and resentful time. A time when a kindred spirit was hitherto unseen. These were the ...

It's October 1st, which means even the most anti-Halloween of you can no longer deny that it's officially spooky season! That means it's the perfect time for a pair of new songs from The Bacarrudas. The band has a new double EP coming out this Friday, but we can't wait two more days to bring you "She's in Love with Frankenstein's Monster" and "Phantom Creep." Both songs have that kitschy and vintage sound that I personally want with my Halloween music, but a slightly updated version of that sound. They're inspired by 1960's novelty Halloween songs but are hardly a complete throwback. While most people go for heavy metal, The Cranberries' "Zombie," and Fleetwood Mac for their Halloween playlists, we'll stick with the fun vibes of The Bacarrudas, because who can really resist a song called "She's in Love with Frankenstein's Monster?" You can listen to "She's in Love with Frankenstein's Mo...

Photo by Lotus Josephine The latest single from Mei Semones started off as a Japanese CD exclusive (Does anyone else miss those as much as we do?). "Itsumo" fits perfectly with the other songs on Semones' recently released Animaru. It's a light and gorgeous song that melds jazz with indie rock in a completely delightful way. It might be because it's been too long since I've listened to the album, but "Itsumo" seems to surpass the songs we've previously heard from it. It starts off twee and kind of adorable, which is what we're used to from Semones, and then it just grows and grows into an epic and stomping indie rock song. Relatively speaking, "Itsumo" could be the heaviest song in her catalog while fitting right in with her precious releases. Mei Semones says of her latest release: “‘Itsumo’ is the first song I ever wrote and recorded on a nylon string guitar. For me the song is about learning to be strong, and the strength that mu...