If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Sarah Joyce Mandy is the solo project of Melkbelly's Miranda Winters, and her latest single defies all solo project norms. Instead of the usual acoustic singer-songwriter song you normally get with a solo project, "Forsythia" is a straight up grunge song. It's churning and sludge filled guitars with pounding drums. But, like with a lot of grunge, there is a lot of pop hooks and catchiness to the song. This might be more mid-90's grunge, but it's much heavier than I expected it to be. It seems to get a little more power pop as it goes on, but that opening guitar riff will get burnt into your mind. Miranda Winters says of her new single: “This song is about the internal landscapes we create in response to our external locations. Forsythia (the shrub) has always shown up at the right times in my life – it’s easy to love and relate to because even at peak bloom it looks a little dirty. It's always somewhere in the background for me, follows me around....

Photo via Facebook Chicago's Melkbelly are one of the many bands I was supposed to see last year, but obviously that didn't happen. They just put out a single and have a hometown show scheduled for September, so maybe it might happen by the end of this year? "Prehistoric Worm" was put out on their Bandcamp last week, and it may be one of my favorite songs of theirs. It starts off with an odd blast of noise before the drummer's sticks count the song in. And then there's more noise before the song gets into its groove. This is that kind of weirdo indie rock goes pop that Melkbelly have perfected. They have nailed the whole loud/quiet/loud thing, but with the fun and off kilter feel of The Breeders more than the Pixies. You can listen to "Prehistoric Work" below. The song is available as a single on Melkbelly's Bandcamp . For more on Melkbelly, check out the band on Facebook . Prehistoric Worm by Melkbelly

Photo by Ariella Miller Chicago's Melkbelly have always had a bit of a 90's sound. No complaints here, it's kinda what we love about them. On their latest single, "Sickeningly Teeth," they go way back to the early 90's. The new single gives off some serious Mudhoney vibes while still keeping some of Melkbelly's pop sensibilities. "Sickeningly Teeth" drones on at one tempo while repeatedly threatening to speed up, but never quite doing it. While a faster, more upbeat song would have been a more standard and obvious choice, this one seems to instead slow down each time it promises to speed up. This creates a brilliantly frustrating feel to the song that a lesser band could never have pulled off.  You can watch the video for "Sickeningly Teeth" below. PITH , the new album from Melkbelly, will be out April 3 on Wax Nine/Carpark Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Melkbelly, check out their website . Rescheduled tour d...

Photo by Ariella Miller The latest from Chicago's Melkbelly is a dark indie rock exploration of pure emotion. It stays true to a mostly standard song format, but has a slightly off kilter and dark feel. It reminds me quite a bit of early Speedy Ortiz mixed with Throwing Muses. According to frontwoman Miranda Winters, "Humid Heart" is "...  “about how the grief of losing someone suddenly disorients everyday life." The end of the song seems to drone on in the same way for an extended period of time, but given the rest of the song it's somehow perfect. You can watch the video for "Humid Heart" below. PITH , the new album from Melkbelly, will be available April 3 on Wax Nine/Carpark Records. You can pre-order it here . For more on Melkbelly, check out their website . Current tour dates are below the video. Sat. April 4 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village Wed. April 22 - Toronto, ON @ Baby G Thu. April 23 - Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz Fri. April 24...

Photo by Ariella Miller Chicago's Melkbelly are back with their unique blend of 90's inspired indie rock meets pop music. "LCR" has this buzzy and noisy as humanly possible guitar throughout accompanying a drumbeat with a start/stop feel propelling it. It's a sound that feels completely familiar while still being incredibly fresh and new. It's a sound that's fun while being dark and mournful before you even know the story behind the album. Miranda Winters (vocals, guitar) explains:  “ It’s about how having conversations with the dead can scoot you along in life, even when you're really only hearing one side of the conversation or making up the other half." You can watch the video for "LCR" below. PITH , the new album from Melkbelly, will be out April 3 on Wax Nine/Carpark Records. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Melkbelly, check them out on Facebook and Twitter . Current tour dates are below the video.

I love Halloween, but even I think I may have gone a bit too far on this year's If It's Too Loud... Halloween playlist. Starting on November 1, 2017, I started a playlist and tossed just about any song I thought would be good for a Halloween playlist on it. What we end up with is a forty five song, nearly three hour playlist. Just about every style of music we cover is included on this. You get indie rock legends (Luna, Buffalo Tom, Lee Ranaldo), heavier artists (The Jesus Lizard, Clutch, Faith No More), Americana/roots (Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Lucero, Murder By Death), current indie rockers (Caroline Rose, Melkbelly, A Place to Bury Strangers), some hip hop (Mr. Lif, Cypress Hill), and a whole lot more. It's perfect for this weekend's Halloween parties (which is why we aren't waiting until Monday) and to listen to while you hand out candy on Wednesday. Enjoy!

My time management was really, really poor this weekend from a blogging standpoint. I watched three crappy movies and an awesome one in It Follows (which has a killer soundtrack/score, by the way) instead of doing the requisite stuff for First Listen this week. Please forgive me, especially given as there's 20-something new releases out there this week. HIGHLIGHTS : Melkbelly - Nothing Valley : Latest entry in the female-fronted alt-rock thing, but really deserves your time. Shades of Dinosaur Jr here, easily my favorite release of the week. William Hut and Gisli - 22 : His best solo effort (duo, really) in a long time, and is the closest to classic Poor Rich Ones we’ve seen in a long time on his half. The Gisli half is gorgeous in entirely different ways, but both are worth it. Jeffrey Martin - One Go Around : Solid roots music, lots to love here. Stars – There is No Love in Fluorescent Light : Best Stars album in 15 years, and a return to form for a band that’s bee...

Photo by Lenny Gilmore With just a week before the release of Melkbelly's debut album, we have another new track to check out. "Off the Lot" is an aggressive, noisy quick burst at just over 2:00 long. "Kid Kreative" didn't quite explode into the noise I wanted it to, "Middle Of" did while still being kind of poppy, but "Off the Lot" is just noise. It reminds me of the kind of Sonic Youth song that only Kim Gordon would write, but the weird thing is there is this bizarre feeling of catchiness and just the slightest hints of melody throughout the song to keep it reigned in enough to not be just another noise rock song. This is making me long for next week. You can watch the video for "Off the Lot" below. Melkbelly's debut album, Nothing Valley , will be out October 13 on Wax Nine/Carpark. You can pre-order your copy here . For more on Melkbelly, check out their website . Fri. Oct. 13 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideo...

Photo by Lenny Gilmore Last month we brought you the newest song from Chicago's Melkbelly. I raved about it , and the closest thing to a complaint is that "Kid Kreative" didn't get quite as noisy as I wanted it to. Maybe they heard me, because "Middle Of" brings that noise. "Middle Of" is still awash in the kind of alternative pop that dominated the post grunge mid 90's. It's an intense, but playful song. It's fast, but not hard. It's bouncy without being sugary. And then there's the noise. It has the kind of crunchy guitars that make me long for my days of college radio. It even has a Sonic Youth style instrumental break down to end the song. But it's early on, when this whiny feedback blast kicks in for far too long and makes you want to almost turn the song off. Almost. For some of us, this is pure perfection. You can watch the video for "Middle Of" below. Melkbelly's new album, Nothing Valley , will...

The latest single from Chicago's Melkbelly will hit a perfect retro button if you were an indie rock fan in the 1990's. Right from the use of a "K" to spell creative in the name "Kid Kreative," you'll know the level of 90's you're getting. It's crunchy, droning guitars that just chug along with a stylistically half done guitar solo, plus fairly monotone vocals (and I mean all of that in the best possible way). It never gets quite as noisy as you want it to get, but it's a great alternative pop song in the vein of The Breeders and Cake Like. You can watch the video for "Kid Kreative" below. Melkbelly's debut album, Nothing Valley , will be out on October 13 via Wax Nine Records (aka Sadie Duspuis' (Sad13, Speedy Ortiz) label!) It can be pre-ordered here . For more on Melkbelly, check out their Bandcamp and Facebook .