If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Natia Cinco Cool or not, we tend to love cover songs here at If It's Too Loud... Progressive bluegrass band AJ Lee & Blue Summit are set to release a new all covers album, and just released their version of Sheryl Crow's iconic "Soak Up the Sun." Jeff has always been a champion of Crow's first couple of albums, and I'm just getting over my indie rock snobbery and admitted how great her music is after last year's Boston Calling. A progressive bluegrass cover of "Soak Up the Sun" is pretty much a perfect fit, and AJ Lee & Blue Summit keep all of the pop hooks of Crow's original while adding just enough of their own sound to it. It's a great and fun cover, and both versions of the song are perfect summer songs.  You can listen to AJ Lee & Blue Summit's version of "Soak Up the Sun" below. Cover to Cover is due out September 11 on Signature Sounds, and is available to pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on ...

Photo by Sarah Cass You're going to want to prepare yourself for this one. "Not How I Hoped," the latest single from Sera Cahoone, is great. Like... really great. It's a heartbreak ballad that combines folk, singer-songwriter, and a little blues and country. As soon as Cahoone's vocals kick in, you're instantly hooked and hanging on her every word and inflection. This ends up being one of the most mesmerizing songs of the year, without doing anything but being a great song. It's the kind of song that anyone that has ever experienced heartbreak will end up loving, from the biggest indie snobs to the most mainstream music fans. "Not How I Hoped" has the kind of universal appeal of Lucy Dacus' "Nightshift." The reward of having a music blog is when you find a song that you know is going to end up beloved by many, and this is one of those songs. Sera Cahoone says of her latest single: "This song flew out of my broken heart many moo...

Boston's Honey Cassette just released their debut single, and it's perfect for those of us that love 90's alt-rock. "Piece of Mind" is a track that's just as fuzzy as it is poppy. It has guitar licks that reach for the stars while still staying grounded in dissonance. They get compared to Guided By Voices and Built to Spill quite a bit, and you'll definitely see why with this song. It has that punchy and poppy quality of Guided By Voices along with the almost there guitar heroics of early Built to Spill. "Piece of Mind" is an intriguing song that's going to make you want to hear more from Honey Cassette. Luckily, they have an EP coming out next month so we won't have to wait long. You can listen to "Piece of Mind" below. Intermittent Bursts of Light is due out August 11, and is available to pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Honey Cassette, check out the band on Instagram . They'll be playing as part of Nice, a fest th...

Photo courtesy Yep Roc Records It's hard to believe that Eli Paperboy Reed has been consistently making great music for over twenty years now. His music keeps sounding fresh, and he's become a veteran of the neo-soul movement. His latest single, "Love You More," is a duet with up-and-coming artist Zaniah. It has a little bit more of an R&B sound than his typical release, but it's still a killer soul song. It's a positive song that helps remind you why you love music so much. It's a bit of a cheesy love song, but when one is done as well as "Love You More," that's not necessarily a bad thing. We can pretty much guarantee we'll cover anything Reed puts out, and when it's this good, it's a pure pleasure. Eli Paperboy Reed says of his latest single: "When I was 21 and still living in Boston I sang with a gospel group, The Silver Leaf Gospel singers. The group had been founded in 1945 and all of the members were at least 50 ye...

Photo by Lucy Marriot Sheffield dark folk artist R Loomes (member of Sister Wives) has a new single out that is as beautiful as it is dark. "Passerine" can almost lull the listener into a sense of calm without them realizing just how dark the song is. It's undeniably haunting, but not in a negative way. It's the perfect single for those of us that find joy and beauty in darkness, without being too dark for the average music fan. R Loomes gets compared to artists like Jeff Buckley and Emma Ruth Rundle, and after hearing "Passerine," you won't be able to disagree.  R Loomes says of her latest single: "This song came about after spending a full day at the studio. It fell out in the last 10 minutes of the day and I wrote the lyrics on my phone on the way home as it was so stuck in my head. Its about the passing of time and the things we collect as a reminder of its ephemerality.. It's a split dialogue to myself, to love and the collective whole....

Photo by Liz Walshak Darling Effigy is a Boston based bubblegrunge band. Their new single, "Hysterical," has a lot more venom than you typically get with the genre, enough that I'd personally say it edges into punk territory. It's a mocking track about how doctors tend to ignore women's medical complaints. The song starts off bubbly enough, but quickly evolves into an epic while still being bubblegrunge. There's a lot going on in "Hysterical," to the point that it feels bigger than a song that clocks in at under four minutes. One of my favorites is the menacing guitar that pops in and out throughout the song. This is a wildly promising debut single for Darling Effigy, and we can't wait to hear what they do next. You can listen to "Hysterical" below. For more on Darling Effigy, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . They'll be playing at The Square Root in Roslindale on July 23 with Hambone Skinny, Torch Red, and Double Star...

Photo by Adam Alonzo Hannah Cole started out in Covington, LA and is now based in Nashville. Her latest single, "MMA," is a monster of an introduction. It's a huge alt-rock track, layered in 90's style low-end feedback. As noisy as the songs starts out, it slowly evolves and adds in more melody. At times the feedback fades out and is replaced by a more modern, alt-pop sound, but it always comes back with a vengeance. At times "MMA" sounds like a lost track from the 90's, and at others like a completely modern semi-pop hit. It's great all the way through, and has us thrilled to hear more from Cole. You can watch the video for "MMA" below. Switchbacks is out September 4 on TightKnit, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Hannah Cole, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include September 29 at Warehouse XI in Somerville, MA. Fri. Aug. 21 - Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room * Thu...

Wisconsin's Heather and the Jerk (aka Heather Sawyer) is going to remind a lot of our readers of The Ex-Bats. Her latest single, "Write a Letter," is a short and sweet garage rock song with a ton of 1960's melodies. It's filled with fuzzy guitars and a killer DIY feel. It's impossible to sit still while listening to this one, and it's just a fun rock and roll song. It's pure garage rock meets doo wop, but with a modern indie rock sensibility. Of course, if you grew up on oldies from the 60's, you're going to be predisposed to loving "Write a Letter," but it's certainly not a requirement. You can watch the video for "Write a Letter" below. Scroll if You Love Devil is due out August 27 on Mpls Ltd Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Heather and the Jerk, check out the artist on Bandcamp .

Photo by Miles Kalchik The latest single from Savanna Ruth is going to give you some serious 90's flashbacks, and not just because it was produced by Scott Lucas (Local H) and Blake Smith. "Bad Thoughts" has this perfect 90's alt-rock singer-songwriter thing. It's a mixture of melodic and noisy, with just the slightest hints of twang. To me, this feels and sounds like the mid-90's artists like Liz Phair and The Lemonheads. Plus, Ruth has the 90's slacker vocals down perfectly. The guitars have the perfect level of fuzz, and it's a level of poppy that we never would have admitted back in 1995. "Bad Thoughts" has the kind of catchy chorus that you'll be singing by the second time it comes around. And I get more obsessed with the song with every listen. Savanna Ruth says of her latest single: "This was written during one of the most confusing and emotionally complicated periods of my life.  At the time, I was in the midst of a long-term...