If It's Too Loud...

As we hear more from Tristen's upcoming album, it sounds more and more like she's keeping her newer pop sound but dipping her toes back into the alt-pop country that put us on her bandwagon. "Cool Blue" nails that sound perfectly. It's a breezy pop song with just the perfect amount of classic country. Plus, Tristen is bringing some vintage 60's cool into the song to make it irresistible. This is all with "Cool Blue" being a fairly simple song. It's light instrumentation focusing on Tristen's vocals, which have never sounded stronger. This may end up becoming your favorite song from Tristen. You can watch the video for "Cool Blue" below. Aquatic Flowers  will be out June 4 on Mama Bird Recording Co. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy here . For more on Tristen, be sure to check out the artist's website .

Tristen is a long term favorite here at If It's Too Loud..., and her latest single reminds us exactly why. She's moved away from her alt/pop-country sound a while back in favor of a more pop sound, and "Wrong With You" is a pop song, but Tristen lets just the teensiest little bit of her old country roots bleed into this new one. While Jeff tends to be more of the pop guy than I am, Tristen is the rare exception that I can't seem to resist. At a time when a lot of our alt-country favorites are adopting pop music, Tristen is one of the few doing it this well.  You can watch the video for "Wrong With You" below. Aquatic Flowers is due out on Mama Bird Recording Co. You can pre-order/pre-save your copy here . For more on Tristen, check out the artist's website .

If you've been as into the music of Tristen as we have, you're going to absolutely love her latest single. "Athena" fits right in with Tristen's more recent musical releases. It falls into the indie pop category with just enough of a country twang to keep things interesting. What "Athena" adds in is some serious rock guitar. The entire song is dripping with some shoegazey reverb, but it's when the guitar kicks in for the chorus that it really takes off. It's a sound we haven't heard previously from Tristen, but it goes along perfectly with what we love from her. In an email to fans, Tristen says of the new song: "What messages lie within these myths for women? For how long have female characters been sculpted by the hands of men? In 'Athena,' co-written by Lera Lynn, I pounded out a major chord grunge song dedicated to the powerful Greek goddess of war, strategy, and men’s domains. I wanted to write a song for the girls--the Athe...

I've been smitten with the music of Tristen ever since I saw her opening for Justin Townes Earle back in 2012. Since then, her music has shifted from a more country/Americana sound to a more pop oriented one. Most artists lose me with that change, but Tristen keeps pulling me in. Her latest single, "Complex," keeps her more pop sound, and draws me even further into Tristen fandom. The song has this insanely upbeat sound, as most pop music does. "Complex" is a much more organic feel to it than most pop music, with a slight New Wave goes Americana feel. The past year has been insanely hard, but we're starting to at least get some positive music like this to help lift us up! You can watch the video for "Complex" below. It features appearances from Vanessa Carlton, Alyssa Milano, and more! Aquatic Flowers  is due out June 4 on Mama Bird Recording Co. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Tristen, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Alessandra Leimer We were forced to wait four long months between the release of Haley Heynderickx's amazing "Oom Sha La La" and "Untitled God Song." Luckily for us all, it's a mere two weeks later and we already have a new song of hers to check out. "Worth It" is simply stunning. It starts out as this mesmerizing quiet, slightly off kilter folk-ish song, truly driven by Heynderickx's exceptional voice. Out of nowhere, it starts going off into some noisy indie rock until it's pulled back down into its folk beginnings. I could gush and gush about the various twists the song takes, but I don't want to spoil this one for you. I don't think I've been this mesmerized by a new song since I first heard Lady Lamb's Ripely Pine back when she was the Beekeeper. This is the unicorn level rare folk-ish song that's nearly eight minutes long, and you're going to be desperate for more when it's over. You can (and...

Photo by Evan James Atwood Haley Heynderickx has been on my radar ever since I first heard her ridiculously great song "Oom Sha La La." That was way back in September, which feels like roughly five years ago right now, so I was starting to think she was a figment of my hopes and dreams for 2018. Luckily, I didn't imagine her, and she's back with another song off her upcoming album. "Untitled God Song" starts off as a pretty straightforward folk song in the vein of the current Newport Folk Festival friendly artists. Heynderickx's voice feels vulnerable yet strong. Slowly the song starts transforming and showing some of its quirks, until it breaks out into some 90's style indie rock. It's still somehow melodic and quiet even at its most rambunctious, so this is basically my idea of perfection. You can listen to "Untitled God Song" below.  Haley Hyderickx's debut album,  I Need to Start a Garden , will be out March 2 on Mama Bir...

Photo by Evan James Atwood One of my favorite musical styles I'll always have a fondness for is early 60's doo wop. I grew up an odd kid, choosing a lot of my parent's music instead of my own generation until I was about 12. Because of this, I've listened to way more classic doo wop than New Wave. Doo wop is one of those genres that doesn't really get the throwback love that it deserves. Haley Heynderickx is here to help remedy that. With a song title like "Oom Sha La La," her classic doo wop influence is right out there. The song is a true mix of Americana and the aforementioned doo wop, so there are some similarities to Molly Burch, another of our favorites from earlier this year. But there's just something about Heynderickx's singing style that just feels raw. Her voice goes from light and vulnerable to a feeling of joy (accentuated by the hints of a chuckle on some lines) and back again. And then there's the repeated near screaming of...