If It's Too Loud...

Based on this description, you'll know if you're going to love the new single from Vudu Sister or not. According to the press release, "Magic Powers," the latest from the Providence band, is a "... gothic horror ballad and obsessive love song devoted to goddesses, witches, and matriarchs." It's inspired by Mazzy Star and Romantic classical music. If you're still reading, you're going to love this one. It's heavy on strings with cello and violin, and if you've ever had anything close to a goth phase, this one is for you. Even if you haven't, "Magic Powers" is a great enough song to appeal to anyone with an open mind towards new sounds. It's an unusual and different song, but it has roots in enough classic genres to be oddly mainstream, as well. Keith J.G. McCurdy (vocals/guitars) says of the band's latest single: "I wanted to write a song about falling desperately and painfully for an intoxicating, domineering ma...

In a city heavy with garage rock bands, Boston's The Chelsea Curve have quickly become one of our favorites. The trio's latest single, "Kindawanna," is a mod-pop song that updates the garage rock and mod rock of the 1960's for today. It's a two minute, eighteen second quickie that is the perfect length for this style of song. It's a fun and summery track with the style of keyboards reminiscent of classic artists like ? & The Mysterians. That might be what The Chelsea Curve do so well. They combine the vintage garage rock styles of both the United States and England without sounding like a complete throwback band. Crank "Kindawanna" up and get ready to bop around to it! Vocalist/bassist Linda Pardee says of her band's new single: “It makes me ‘Kindawanna’ jump on top of a table and scream real loud! It’s Chelsea 2.0 – bigger, badder, maybe even a bit goofier, too!”  You can listen to "Kindawanna" below. The single is out today on...

Photo by POND Creative Hailing from Amherst, MA, Mal Devisa (aka artist Deja Carr) has a pair of new singles our off of her upcoming album. The first, "O Ivory," is a piano ballad consisting of Devisa's vocals and piano. It's an impossibly raw and intimate with more than a little bit of jazz thrown in. It's such an intimate song that you can hear the keys being pressed down at certain points. Similar yet completely different is "To Be Unwilling." This second song is another raw and stripped down song consisting of Mal Devisa's vocals and a single instrument (apologies, but I can't place what this one is) until the drums kick in, but the vibe is quite different. This one sounds and feels more like a bedroom recording, and sounds more modern than the jazzy "O Ivory." These are two very different songs that work together as a pair and help show Carr's fantastic diversity as an artist. Deja Carr says of her two new singles: "O Ivor...

Photo by Wesley Kirk I'm really struggling with how to describe the latest from Claire Morales. The Denton, TX based artist recently released "YVB," and it's a mind-blowing new song. It's a cosmically psychedelic song that lands somewhere between the light and flowy hippie psychedelia and the heavy psychedelic side. It's an intense single that incorporates 90's indie rock, alt-rock, Mexican guitar, folk, late 60's hard rock, and possibly more. "YVB" sounds like the desert, if that makes sense. This is one you simply need to listen to in order to fully get. The song is filled with swirling guitars and possibly violin to create a song that launches from pretty and poppy to giant, theatrical hard rock. Morales has crafted a truly breathtaking and mind altering song with "YVB," and she has us desperate to hear more.  Claire Morales says of her new single: “'YVB' is the score that plays as you enter the desert realm. The sun sets...

Photo by Bernie Bridges It's been six years since we last heard from musician/actor/director/writer No ë l Wells, but the long wait is over with a new single! While her 2019 album, It's So Nice! , was more of a poppy singer-songwriter release, "Show Me (What You Got)" is pure dance pop. It's probably more indie dance pop, or "bonk-pop" as Wells calls it, and it's a wonderfully danceable song. 2025 is a completely different animal than 2019 was, and I think we could all use some fun right now. "Show Me (What You Got)" is perfect for that, with it's glittery disco vibes. Just try to sit still and not dance while this one is playing. Actually, don't try that. I wouldn't want to be responsible for you not fully enjoying the pure joy of Wells' latest. No ë l Wells says of her new single: “‘Show Me (What You Got)’ came to me while I was feeling lonely visiting a garden in Los Angeles — it felt too happy so I didn't do anything...

Photo by Brian Karlsson We talk a lot about how much of modern music is without a genre, but no one exemplifies that quite like They are Gutting a Body of Water, aka TAGABOW. The band's new single, "trainers," is going to mostly be considered a heavy shoegaze song, but that barely scratches the surface of their sound. They've nailed the loud/quiet/loud thing perfectly, and the song starts off more as a slightly off-center indie rock song before the wall of noise and fuzz barrels over you. If that was the only sonic change up in the song, it would still be a great track, but TAGABOW also adds in interesting little samples and electronic noises after a killer guitar solo that defies everything we know about shoegaze. "trainers" is a good one that will demand multiple listens to make sure you've taken it all in. Singer Doug Dalgarian says the new single is  “... a vignette, a day in the life; desiring something wholesome while still grappling with the reali...

Photo by Henry Collier We're fully on board with the newfangled indie rock meets pop sound that's all over the place these days, and we may have found our new favorite artist of that genre. TTSSFU just released "Call U Back," an intense dream pop sound with fuzzy guitars and a driving beat. The song leans quite heavily into pop while defiantly being a rock song. At times the single seems to be heading more into pop territory, while others it leans more into rock, but for the majority it's somehow both. "Call U Back" is going to sound like whatever your preference is. There are whining, noisy guitars with pop beats, and vocals that could either be modern pop or 90's slacker. Whichever way you go with this one, TTSSFU is going to become a new favorite of all of ours. TTSSFU says of the new single: "Call U Back is a song about when you really like someone and you chase them around to try and make it work, but end up just making a fool of yourself b...

Photo by August Stadnik New York City's Freezing Cold have a new single out that is an absolute indie rock anthem. "Eclipse" is the kind of song that's going to be played in small clubs while reaching for larger, especially outdoor stages. It's begging to win over crowds at large festivals, while still keeping a true indie rock feel. The song is huge without sounding too huge. As great as all of the verses and the chorus is, it's when you get to the bridge that "Eclipse" truly takes off into the stratosphere. That is partially due to Marissa Paternoster (ex-Screaming Females, Noun) takes a guest role for a guitar solo. If you weren't quite won over before then (which you will have been), Paternoster's guitar solo will lock you in fully. Vocalist/guitarist Jeff Cunningham says of the band's latest single: “The woods can feel like a little bubble where time stops behaving the way it’s supposed to and that inspired the setting of 'Eclips...

Photo by Sophie Hur The latest from Winter is a quiet and intimate song that crosses the border between pop and indie rock multiple times. "Without You" would probably mostly be considered indie pop and/or dream pop. It's a lovely song that leaves the listener feeling like they're in a floating, dreamlike state. To me, "Without You" sounds like Tori Amos dabbling in dream pop, although it does lean quite heavily into the pop side of the genre. Despite how lush the song is, Winter creates an intensely intimate feeling to the song, mostly through whispered verses. This song feels like it's going to end up being the bridge between eras of Winter's. Samira Winter (aka Winter) says of her latest single: “This song is diving into that feeling of longing, of what we call in portuguese ‘saudades.'  It's a word that is not translatable to English and describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for something or someone that is absent, lost, o...

Photo by Keegan Grandbois For their upcoming albums, Brooklyn's Wilder Maker improvised all the tracks live in the studio and then shaped them into songs. This will lead to the release of three albums over the next eighteen months, the first of which is The Streets Like Beds Still Warm , which is due out in September. We can now listen to two songs off this first album, both of which are wildly different. "Strange Meeting with Owls" is a little folk-pop ditty that is probably a little too out there to be truly pop, but the roots are there. On the other hand, "Skewered by the Daystar" is an experimental jazz track that comes in and out in under two minutes. What's strange is that as the song progresses, you'll start seeing some signs of pop in there as well. Not too many artists can deftly execute folk, pop, and jazz in such an experimental method, but most bands aren't Wilder Maker. You can listen to "Strange Meeting with Owls" and "Sk...

I'm a huge fan of all of Jon Spencer's many musical projects, but especially Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. It's been just over ten years since I last saw JSBX, which was at the Iron Horse in Northampton. I've seen Spencer twice solo in recent years, but he's stuck to his newer solo work without delving into the classics. They've been great shows, but I was always hoping he'd squeeze in at least one classic song. As soon as it was announced that Spencer was not only going on tour with Kendall Wind and Macky Spider Bowman of The Bobby Lees as his backing band but would be playing songs from JSBX, Pussy Galore, and Boss Hog as well as his solo songs, I knew I had to go. One thing I always noticed with a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion show was that the show would be good for the first half, but not great. Then, about halfway through, it was like a switch was flipped and suddenly everything got amped up infinitely, and you were at one of the best shows you've eve...

Photo by Cecil Sykes Canadian punk/post-hardcore band Midnight Peg are back with a blistering new single. "The Hag" is a burst of aggression that is as mesmerizing as it is discordant. The song is a scream-filled song that drives straight through you for just over two minutes. It's reminding me of a mish-mash of Bikini Kill, The Gits, and Gouge Away. The song's roots are based in early 90's grunge-esque music with an injection of modern punk. This is an intense song that packs a lot within two minutes. "The Hag" is a dark song that's begging you to jump in the mosh pit. Raquel "Rocky" Mann (vocals/lyrics) says of the band's latest single: “‘The Hag’ is about the figures who stalk our dreams, but also the ones society refuses to confront—sexual, powerful, enraged.  It’s a myth made into a mirror.” You can listen to "The Hag" below. Skinning is due out in the fall on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out t...

Photo by Matt Teacher It's been a few months since we last heard from The Dead Milkmen, but our Philadelphia punk heroes are back with a new single! "Where Billionaires Go to Die (Whistle Me Home, Harlan Ellison)" is vintage Dead Milkmen, with biting lyrics that are funny without being jokey. It's also combined as a two songs in one track, "Engine Flameout." The pair of songs are definitely more relaxed than you may expect with them, but if you're a long term fan, you'll love this new release. Sonically, they remind me of classics like "The Woman Who Was Also a Mongoose" and "Methodist Coloring Book." Once again, they prove that you can be punk AF without being fast or loud. Let's hope this recent pair of singles means we're getting a new album later this year. You can listen to "Where Billionaires Go to Die (Whistle Me Home, Harlan Ellison) / Engine Flameout" is available now on Bandcamp . For more on The Dead M...

Boston darkwave duo Ex-Hyena are back with a new single. As you can probably guess from the fact that they're a darkwave band, Ex-Hyena's songs tend to be dark. While "This is Your Love" is dark, compared to their previous releases, this one is downright cheery. It's reminding me a lot of early Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys. It's quite dance friendly, and while I personally consider all of their music fun, this one would be considered fun by everyone, not just those of us whose taste runs to the more depressing or darker. "This is Your Love" has such a classic darkwave and New Wave feel to it that we're finding it completely irresistible.  You can listen to "This is Your Love" below. The single is out now on Re:Mission Entertainment along with a remix by Club Drugs via Bandcamp . For more on Ex-Hyena, check out the band on Instagram . This Is Your Love by Ex-Hyena