If It's Too Loud...

Photo via Facebook Buckle up and get ready for this one... Boston alt-rock legends Orbit have released their first new music in twenty-five years! "Daylight" is going to give all of us that were into the Boston music scene back in the 90's some serious flashbacks. Boston 90's alt-rock had a certain sound that was both gritty and melodic, and "Daylight" nails that. Orbit are a band that have been sporadically active this century, and as evident by this new song, they have not missed a step. Interestingly enough, this one is a little more discordant and noisy than their classics, but that will never be something we complain about. Welcome back, Orbit. We're thrilled to hear what you have planned next. You can listen to "Daylight" below. For more on Orbit, check out the band's website . If you're free on Friday May 30, they'll be playing a show at Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater with Eldridge Rodriguez and Harris. Daylight by Or...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday April 26 The Town and the City Festival, Lowell, MA      Tysk Tysk Task, One Fall, Subpunch, and Burp. at The Old Court     Frank Morey, Sofia Talvik, and Evan Goodrow at Gallery Z     Cuidado, Linnea's Garden, Muck and the Mires, and The Only Things at                   Smokehouse Tavern     Orbit and D-Tension & The Secrets at Warp & Weft Kid Gulliver and The Smallest Town Ensemble at Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company, Framingham, MA Screaming Dead, Gretchen Shae & The...

This weekend marks the return of The Town and the City Festival on Friday and Saturday. The festival is spread throughout downtown Lowell, MA with many of the venues within a block or two of each other. The festival is always a well run great time with something for virtually every music fan. Here's a guide to what we consider to be the highlights, which include many of our favorite artists! Friday night features Sofia Talvik at Gallery Z. The singer-songwriter is on tour throughout the US all the way from Sweden, and has been a favorite of ours before we started If It's Too Loud... She'll be joined by Evan Goodrow and Frank Morey. Christ Church United features the legendary English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock. Any time he plays in the area is an official Big Deal. You can tell The Town and the City know what they're doing since this is a return to the festival for him. He'll be joined by Syd Straw, making this a legendary bill in the making. If you're loo...

The Sheila Divine and Orbit are bands I've been a fan of for roughly a quarter of a century. They're not fully active bands, so seeing them can be spotty. The Sheila Divine seem to be playing annual shows around Thanksgiving at this point, and while Orbit has played live somewhat recently, I believe the last time I saw them might have been at The Sheila Divine's very first farewell shows at the Paradise many, many years ago. When I saw the pair were playing together the night before Thanksgiving this year, it became a can't miss show. Orbit came out to a clip of them on 120 Minutes where Matt Pinfield introduced their video for "Come Inside." It's kind of easy to remember that Orbit were a pretty big deal and quite buzzworthy in 1995, and this was a great reminder. Opening with "Come Inside" and following that with "Bicycle Song" made me feel like Orbit was frontloading their set a bit too much, but it's easy to forget just how many...