If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Naomi Peters Motherhood have a new art-surf-punk single out, and this one is a lot of fun. The Canadian band have reworked their previous song "Kyle Hangs at Noon" into "Kyle Hangs Ten," and the result is a bizarro surf song that morphs an artist like The Cramps into art rock. It starts off as a fairly standard surf rock song (albeit a dark one), and then the wheels start falling off the longer it goes. It's a little creepy, and is kind of begging to get added to some Halloween playlists. And then the song hits a bump and the noise starts creeping in until it's almost unrecognizable. "Kyle Hangs Ten" probably won't be for everyone out there, but if you like dark and bizarre surf punk, this one will totally be for you. Motherhood says of their latest single: "With 'Kyle Hangs Ten,' we were trying to write the most surfy song we could without over-complicating a genre that, at it’s core, is just swaggy country music. Adam ha...

Photo by Celeste Hay Sam Salmon and the Grand Manan Bandits are an alt-country band hailing from New Brunswick, and consist of Motherhood and Keith Hallett. They're set to release their debut album and have just released a new single from it. "If I Needed You Now" does an interesting thing. Alt-country typically either falls in the hokey/tongue-in-cheek camp or the completely earnest side. When "If I Needed You Now" started, I got the feeling that it's being intentionally ironic, but as it goes on, it sounds more and more earnest. It ends up being an alt-country number that leans into the fun side of country music and seems like Sam Salmon and the Grand Manan Bandits truly love the genre. Singer Brydon Crain says of the band's latest single: “‘If I Needed You Now’ was one of the first songs written for the Sam Salmon project sometime around 2013, we called it ‘Country No. 1’ until about six months ago. It’s about being in a burning house and wondering if...

Photo by Nicole Cecile Holland Summer is just around the corner, so it's the perfect time for the latest single from Penny & The Pits. The band led by Penelope Stevens (bass and keys for Motherhood) recently released "Pool Party," a new single based in surf rock... but not quite a true surf rock song. It has guitars usually associated with surf rock, but tuned just slightly differently. It's an oddball song steeped in the world of indie rock, but much groovier than you typically get with that genre. "Pool Party" has a kind of The B-52's meets Colleen Green sound, which I never knew I wanted, but Penny & The Pits have proven it's something we all need. You can watch the video for "Pool Party" below. Liquid Compactor is due out June 27 on Forward Music Group, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Penny & The Pits, check out the band on Instagram . 

Photo by Nicole Cecile Holland You may know Penelope Stevens as the bass player for Motherhood. She's back with a new musical project called Penny & The Pits (with Motherhood as her backing band). The band's new single, "Montenegro On Ice," is a ripper of a tune. It's part heavy math rock mixed with garage rock and punk. It's the kind of song you can just listen to on the surface and enjoy as a straight up rock song, or you can dig down and examine exactly what makes it up. For me, it's kind of like a jam session between Queens of the Stone Age, The White Stripes, and Amyl & The Sniffers. What sets "Montenegro On Ice" apart for me is Stevens' vocals. Her style of singing is usually associated with a more pop focused alt-rock sound, but for this project it creates a unique style and depth to the song. Penelope Stevens says of her new single: "'Montenegro on Ice' explores memory and the ways in which the past can seep out o...

Photo by Vanessa Heins New Brunswick's Motherhood have their own take on the whole indie rock thing. Their newest single, "Tabletop," has a certain classic indie rock vibe while not really sounding like most classic indie rock. It's upbeat while still sounding sorta aggressive. If anything, most things about the song seem a little off. The vocals don't quite match the drumming, which doesn't match the guitars... everything seems to be going at it's own time, but somehow it all works together. Plus, "Tabletop" is oddly groovy. The whole vibe is like a Pavement meets The Dandy Warhols thing, which you know we'll be all about here. You can watch the video for "Tabletop" below. Winded is due out June 24 on Forward Music Group, and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp . For more on Motherhood, check out the band's website .

Photo by Vanessa Heins Sometimes we'll get a submission before we're allowed to post it, and despite how excited we are to share the new song we have to wait. It feels like I've been sitting on this one for ages, but I can finally share the latest from Motherhood. Granted, I don't know much about New Brunswick, Canada, but this isn't what I expected a band from that territory to sound like. "Ripped Sheet" is a fast and noisy punk rock song. It starts off with some droning feedback, and then once it fully kicks in you just need to buckle up and hold on. It's a relatively straightforward punk song, except for the odd noise factor and what could be surf guitar popping up every so often. It's not quite noise punk... it's more noisy oddball punk. But sign us up for the Motherhood bandwagon. The band says of the new song: "We wrote Ripped Sheet after talking about writing a 'straight-ahead punk' song for awhile and then finally learning ...

Photo by Emulsion Lab I'm pretty sure Motherhood are the first band we have ever covered from Fredericton, New Brunswick. (Being American, I'm not even sure I could find New Bruswick on a map...) The band have recently released a new single, "Pick of the Pugs." It tells the tale of a painter who starts heavily drinking after a break up and ends up painting the outside of his ex's house. Of course, he claims he's not bothered by the break up. The song has the indie rock feel of the country side of Pavement, but only if they were heavily influenced by oompah bands.  You can listen to "Pick of the Pugs" below. The song is available now via Bandcamp . For more on Motherhood, check out their website . We included the tour dates on their press release below the song. Pick of the Pugs - Single by Motherhood Sept 17 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ Desperate Annie's Sept 18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie Sept 19 - New York, NY @ Piano's Sept 2...