If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Gloria Pasotti Italy's Bee Bee Sea have a new single out that's a bit confounding. "You" is a garage psych song that lands half way between being midtempo and being a ripper. It's also incredibly catchy despite being fuzzed out and dissonant. What Bee Bee Sea have given us is a fun and noisy minute and a half burst of music perfect for any fans of modern garage rock. It takes the sheen of the early 00's garage rock revival and scuffs it up with a layer of DIY.  Bee Bee Sea says of their latest single: "'You' was born almost by accident, during a rehearsal session. After writing one too many four-minute songs with intricate structures, we challenged ourselves to do the opposite: something short, fast, and straight to the point. So we set a timer for 1 minute and 37 seconds and decided to play without saying a word, except for the key. The rule was simple: we had to come up with a song before the alarm went off. Said and done — by the end o...

There are some shows you just can't miss. Considering I didn't do too many Halloween things before Halloween, once I heard that spooky surf rockers Messer Chups were playing Alchemy in Providence, I simply had to go. First of all, they're from Saint Petersburg, Russia, so they don't tour in the US too often. Second... how am I supposed to resist spooky surf rock? Messer Chups were exactly as advertised. Surf rock with a sci-fi and horror twist was everything I wanted it to be. Surf rock and vintage sci-fi and horror always have a little bit of a kitschy quality to them, and that's what I was hoping for Sunday night. The vast majority of the songs were instrumental, so I'm not exactly sure which ones were played, but with song titles in their repertoire such as "Electric Zombierella," "Dracula Hates Photoshoots," and "Rockin' Zombie," how could you go wrong? It was definitely a crowd-pleasing set, with most of the audience gleefu...

Photo by Noa Francis We're highly anticipating the new album from runo plum due out this Friday, so we're thrilled to have one last single to check out before it's released. "Alley Cat" is a perfect mixture of folk and indie rock. It's starts out as more of a DIY folk song as indie rock elements slowly work their way into the song. It has a very gentle build and seems to evolve at its own pace as a simple and slightly rough song becomes a fully fleshed out and lush composition. "Alley Cat" is going to appeal to fans of boygenius or any of its parts. It takes a special artist to make a song about social anxiety so compelling, and that's exactly what runo plum is. You can watch the video for "Alley Cat" below. patching is due out November 14 on Winspear, and is available for pre-order here . For more on runo plum, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a February 8 date at Sonia in Cambrid...

Photo by Liza Orozco I know that November 4 is far too early to be sharing Christmas music, but Melissa Carper has a Christmas album coming out later this month, and the first single off of the album isn't completely obviously a holiday song. "Made with Love" is straight out of Carper's vintage country sound, with just the slightest hints of it being a holiday song audible. It's not jingle bells, but there is something fairly Christmas-y in how "Made with Love" sounds, and it's more about how grandma's apple strudel and handmade sweaters are better than storebought.  You can watch the very Christmas-y video for "Made with Love" below. A Very Carper Christmas is due out November 28 on Soundly Music, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Melissa Carper, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Jimi Giannatti Alt-rock/emo vets Jimmy Eat World are about to issue a collection of their recent digital only singles on vinyl, and have a new single we can check out. "Failure" isn't exactly what you imagine when you think of Jimmy Eat World. This one is a midtempo ballad that possibly crosses the line into power ballad territory. It sounds more like mid 90's post grunge alt-rock than early 00's emo. The fuzz starts pretty much immediately in "Failure" and never quite goes away. Jimmy Eat World sound much more '96 than '01 on their latest. Regardless, "Failure" is a great song sure to appeal to their longtime fans, even the lapsed ones. Jim Adkins says of his band's upcoming EP: “By 2021, it felt like distancing restrictions were finally easing and we could get back on the road. Our  Surviving  album had barely been released before we were performing live again and reconnecting with fans. Coming out of the pandemic, it did...

Photo by Presley Ann Flames of Durga are a Joshua Tree based band have a new single out dedicated to their late father. "Spirit Guide" is a monster of a song and not your typical tribute song for a departed family member. This one is a big, big rock song that shows off the band's influences such as The Kills, Black Sabbath, and L7. Twin sisters Beah and Cecilia Romero's emotions are palpable in "Spirit Guide," and this one is best to listen to as loudly as possible. Knowing the backstory of the song adds to the listening experience, but it also works just to crank up and rock out. Guitarist/vocalist Beah Romero says of her band's new single: “‘Spirit Guide’ was written when my sister and I were going through a very challenging time.  Its lyrics call out to a higher power in a humble, prayerful way—centered on surrendering to divine timing. Little did we know our most difficult year yet was ahead, with the passing of our father, Michael White Feather Rome...

As much as I love Halloween, I didn't end up doing a lot of Halloween things this year (except for watching more horror movies than normal). For some reason, most of my holiday activities seem to be happening in November. This included Sapling's Halloween Hangover show at Electric Haze in Worcester with Miracle Blood, The Freqs, and Nicholas Burgess. Plus, it was a matinee, and who doesn't want to check out a rock show and be home for dinner? Opening up the show was Nicholas Burgess, playing as a duo with a second guitarist. His set was the most Halloweeny by far, with songs about Frankenstein and his new single written for the occasion, "The Day After Halloween." It was my first time seeing Burgess perform live after discovering his more spooky music, and it was as fun as I expected. He was also decidedly the most mellow artist of the afternoon, which was a good way to ease everyone into a daylight rock show, especially as the crowd was still wandering in off the...

Australian surf/punk/garage legends The Chevelles are celebrating their thirty-fifth year, and have a new single out. "Caveman" is a raw and catchy song that incorporates all three genres equally. There's a sense of menace to the song, but in an especially fun way. How can you not have fun with a song that includes the classic "Oogaga, oogaga, oogaga" reference? As soon as the guitar kicks in for "Caveman," you'll know you're going to love this one. This is classic garage rock at its absolute finest, with only production quality (and the blistering guitar solo) revealing that it's a modern track. Bassist/co-founder Jeff Halley says of the band's longevity: “We’re louder, older, meaner … and still having fun.” You can listen to "Caveman" below. The single is out now on Wicked Cool Records. For more on The Chevelles, check out the band's website .

Photo by Isaac Brown We adored Genesis Owusu's 2023 album Struggler , and now the Ghanian-Australian artist is back with a new single. While being incredibly dance friendly "Death Cult Zombie" isn't the same dance music from his previous album. Instead, this new track is more of a grime meets ska meets rock song. It has a fairly serious subject matter that you can guess from the song's title, but this one is a bunch of fun, which you can assume from my description. "Death Cult Zombie" goes just as undeniably hard as it is a blast to listen to. Let's hope this is the beginning of a bunch of new music and a tour that makes its way to the US, since missing Owusu at Boston Calling and The Sinclair is one of my biggest musical regrets of the past few years. Genesis Owusu says of his latest single: “For most people, the shaking up of what they consider to be true is too scary and inconvenient. Once you’ve picked your truth, you live by it staunchly despite...

Photo by Izzie Austin BBE Music is releasing a Talking Heads tribute album early next year, and have made WITCH's (aka We Intend to Cause Havoc) version of "Once in a Lifetime" available to hear now. The Zamrock pioneers' version is an almost complete reworking of the art rock legends' original. It takes about thirty seconds for the music to truly reflect the original, which is just before the lyrics kick in. Of course, it wouldn't exactly be fitting to have a note-for-note cover of a Talking Heads song based on how revolutionary they were and still are. Plus, who would want a WITCH song that doesn't sound like WITCH? This is taking an art rock/punk classic and filtering it through a psychedelic Zamrock lens, and the results are as amazing as that sounds. You can listen to WITCH's cover of "Once in a Lifetime" below. Naive Melodies is due out January 23 on BBE Music, and is available for pre-order here . For more on WITCH, check out the band...

Just in time for their Halloween Hangover show tomorrow afternoon, Sapling has a new single out inspired by the 1991 classic (?) film Drop Dead Fred . "Drop Dead Fred" is particularly chaotic, even by Sapling standards. Our favorite art rock/bitch pop trio out of Worcester and Rhode Island add some metal riffs to their typical noise rock/punk noise, and "Drop Dead Fred" is a noisy and also oddly catchy song. If you have any nostalgia for the film, you'll love the song just for the references throughout. If not, there is still plenty of riffage and heavy bass lines trying to reign in the chaos to love. The sounds of breaking plates and possibly glasses at the end of the song do have me wondering if I should bring eye protection tomorrow... You can listen to "Drop Dead Fred" below. The song is available now on Bandcamp  with 100% of the proceeds going to food banks and/or pantries in southern New England. For more on Sapling, check out the band's web...

Covers are typically a good time, and you're not going to get much more fun than the latest from The Dollyrots. The band have released a punked up cover of Lesley Gore's feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me." If you're familiar with The Dollyrots, you can probably predict what this sounds like. It might be faster and heavier than Gore's original, but it keeps the spirit and melodies of Gore's intact. The Dollyrots have always been a fun, good time rock and roll band with some punk elements, and this is exactly what they give us with "You Don't Own Me." Singer/bassist Kelly Ogden says of her band's latest single: “ The song is an anthem for female empowerment, about willing to be defiant in the face of something that’s just plain wrong. Sadly, it’s still just as timely as when Lesley sang it over 60 years ago." You can listen to The Dollyrots' version of "You Don't Own Me" below. The song is out now on Wicked Cool R...

Tomorrow afternoon, Nicholas Burgess joins Sapling, Miracle Blood, and The Freqs at Electric Haze in Worcester for a day after Halloween/Halloween hangover show. He's written a new song for the occasion and has a demo of it on Bandcamp. "The Day After Halloween" is a spooky little song about the scares you encounter the day after Halloween. It's a fun song that marks November 1, and this might be the very first song to do so. "The Day After Halloween" is a darkly fun track, and continues Burgess's streak of releasing some of our favorite modern Halloween themed songs. You can listen to "The Day After Halloween (Demo)" below. The song is available on Bandcamp with a cover of Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." For more on Nicholas Burgess, check out the artist's website . The Day After Halloween by Nicholas Burgess

New Hampshire's Megan From Work might not seem like the type of band to release a song for Halloween, but they surprised us with "Warm Body." Ok, so maybe the song isn't thematically spooky (the band says it's a "disgruntled employee anthem"), and it certainly doesn't sound dark. But, a title like "Warm Body" gets us today of all days, so we're going with it. It's more of that insanely upbeat sound we love from Megan From Work. It's cheery sounding, even if the lyrics don't exactly match the sound. In a short time, they've mastered making a rock song be as poppy as one can possibly be, and if you like fuzzed out guitars over the catchiest possible vocals, you'll love "Warm Body." You can watch the video for "Warm Body" below. For more on Megan From Work, check out the artist's website .