If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Bryan Lasky Gold Dust is the project of Stephen Pierce to allow the western Massachusetts DIY punk artist a way to explore his more traditional and folk based side. Their latest single, "Germs Burn," isn't exactly folk, although it's at least folk adjacent. To me, the song is more of a slice of a more organic psychedelic indie rock. It starts off with a very Neil Young-esque guitar, and then transitions to a more haunting version that plods along before opening into a surprisingly uplifting song considering how dark it starts out. And then there's the guitar solo that truly elevates "Germs Burn" to one of my personal favorite songs of the year. You can listen to "Germs Burn" below. In the Shade of the Living Light is due out May 16, and is available to pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Gold Dust, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the song and include May 16 at The Drake in Amherst, MA and May 18 ...

Photo by Bryan Lasky After releasing the epic psychedelic single "An Early Translation of a Later Work" last month, Easthampton, MA's Gold Dust are back with a new single. "Whatever's Left" is less folky than the previous single, but the roots of folk are still present. Instead, this one is more of a jangly garage rock single that edges into power pop. Gold Dust are a western Massachusetts band, which means there will always be an odd element to their sound. "Whatever's Left" is power pop and jangle pop through a bizarro western MA filter, which means it's a fantastic song and includes one of my personal favorite guitar solos so far this year. You can listen to "Whatever's Left" below. In the Shade of the Living Light is due out May 16, and is available to pre-order on Bandcamp . For more on Gold Dust, check out the artist's website . Upcoming live dates are below the song. In the Shade of the Living Light by Gold Dust 19 ...

Photo by Brian Lasky Gold Dust started out as a project for western Massachusetts based DIY punk artist Stephen Pierce to explore his fascination with traditional folk and psychedelia. Now Gold Dust is a four piece set to release their third album. The first single from that album, "An Early Translation of Later Work," could be one of the most western MA releases we've heard in a long time, and adding J Mascis on electric sitar only makes it more so. The song is a six minute epic psychedelic folk song that seems to reach crescendo after crescendo. The fact that it will appeal to hippies and indie rockers equally is one of the factors that makes it so strongly connected to the western Massachusetts sound. Plus, I bet you never knew how badly you wanted to hear Mascis shred an electric sitar, but now that you know it exists, you know it's going to be great. You only don't know how great. Stephen Pierce says of his band's western Massachusetts sound: “I look at t...