If It's Too Loud...

Back when Linnea Herzog announced the formation of Linnea's Garden after Powerslut disbanded, I assumed she was going to tone down the subject matter of her songs. Well... that is definitely not the case. "Like the Patriarchy," the latest single from Linnea's Garden is a noisy, dance friendly burst of power pop, with a chorus that includes "I wanna fuck you like the patriarchy." Other lyrics like "Lift me onto the sink 'til I can't even think" and "On the floor, want it more" show that Herzog is just getting started. Plus, "Like the Patriarchy" might be the catchiest song we've brought you in months. You're going to find yourself singing these lines to yourself while walking your toddler around the neighborhood or sending out work emails, so be warned. You can watch the video for "Like the Patriarchy" below. The song is currently available on Linnea's Garden's Bandcamp . For more on Linnea...

Rising out of the ashes of PowerSlut comes Linnea's Closet, the new musical project of Linnea Herzog. Much like her previous band, "I Wanna Try On Yr Clothes" is a big rock song. It's just a huge straight up glam rocker, the kind we could all really, really use right now. The band's Bandcamp profile calls themselves "dance punk," and who are we to argue with that? Although we do find it a little bit more rock than that description would allow. It's fun, loud rock that takes itself just a little more seriously than PowerSlut did, but only a little. According to the band: "Linnea's Garden's first recording, "I Wanna Try on Yr Clothes," is a response to the question: how can we make art when the world is shut down? The answer lies in borrowing gear from friends, bicoastal virtual collaborations, learning new skills, texts and calls, and not losing hope...oh yeah, and a little playing dress-up." You can listen to "I...

It's no secret that we love free music here at If It's Too Loud..., and we tend to post far too much Christmas music on here. These two aspects collided this week with the release of A Very Allston Christmas Vol. 5. It's an annual benefit compilation (so even though it's free, you should really throw in something) that is raising proceeds for Bridge Over Troubled Waters and Rosie's Place and features fifty one tracks of local artists playing Christmas songs!  You get some that are already our favorites. Gray Bouchard & The Dedications bring their huge garage pop sound to "All That I Want." Clever Girls bring us the delicate "Christmas Will Break Your Heart." PowerSlut deliver the shockingly earnest "Everything's Closed on Christmas (Except My Legs)." Allison and Moon's "Christmas Queer" is the kind of upbeat, bouncy nearly emo song we love them for, but for Christmas! Squirrel Flower does a song called "I...

The winter is a fairly dead time for live music in New England. A storm can derail a live show at any time, and who really wants to deal with being cold and carrying around a big, bulky coat inside a sweaty, packed club? Whistlestop Rock Festival is going to change that for the better. Simone Berk (Kid Gulliver, Sugar Snow) reached out via a group message to women in bands about doing a show together. That idea expanded into a regionally touring festival featuring eight bands plus special guests in each city. As you can tell by the name, Whistlestop Rock Festival sticks with the rock side of things and features the retro-mod punk of The Chelsea Curve, the Rolling Stones meets Hank Williams of Cold Expectations, Boston rock veterans Field Day, heavily 90's alt-rock infleunced Heather Rose in Clover, the power pop punk of Justine and The Unclean, Kid Gulliver's power pop, power trio The Knock Ups, the impossible to classify Powerslut, and Tiger Bomb's garage pop. Any thre...

Today two fantastic mostly local music festivals were announced in the Boston suburbs. Both have plenty of If It's Too Loud... approved artists and are highly recommended.  Brite Lites Music Festival Night Shift Brewing, Everett, MA 7/27/19 Happening just over two weeks from now is the second edition of the Brite Lites Music Festival at Night Shift Brewing in Everett, MA. Headlining the day's festivities are longtime blog favorite Weakened Friends. Far from just being a showcase of 90's inspired indie rock, the festival also features the folk/Americana stylings of The Wolff Sisters and two "how are they not international megastars?" Boston hip hop artists Cliff Notez and Oompa. Oompa in particular is ridiculous live, so make sure you get there early enough to catch her. There are also a few artists we're not familiar with, but what's a festival without a few discoveries? Speaking of getting there early, the event is free before 11:00 am, and $10 at...

Another slowish week, but with one highly anticipated release and one awesome surprise. Album of the Week : Artist : Field Mouse Album : Episodic Quick Description : New album from an indie/dream-rock blog favorite. Why You Should Listen : Field Mouse's debut album was my favorite album of 2014 . Overall Thoughts : Episodic is not Hold Still Life . It's a little more raw, a little more mature, and a lot of the reverb/dreamlike status of it has been put aside. The changes are really solid, though, and the result is an album that, on first listen, I am really into. The slow trickle of songs over the course of the last few months acted as a solid preparation of what came, and the result is just a great album across the board and one that might be a favorite of this year again. If the first Field Mouse album didn't quite do it for you, definitely give this a shot as it has a little more polish. But if you're already a fan, you're going to find a lot to lik...