If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Levi Price Slothrust continues to be great. Their latest single, "Ring the Bell," is a perfect example of what they do. It's mainstream alt-rock that borders (or crosses the border into) pop music. But they always do it in a way that keeps the indie snobs happy. This latest single is catchy, it's heavy and melodic, and it's about as danceable as rock music can get. As always with a Slothrust song, there can be debate as to if they're truly rock or more pop music, but when a song is this great, does it really matter? "Ring the Bell" shows one of the most underrated bands out there today at their peak. You're all gonna end up loving this one. Leah Wellbaum and Will Godin say of their latest single: " We really want people to take away a message from this album of self-liberation amidst the flickers of seemingly inescapable dread.  Despite the permeating blue light of the external world, it is still possible to find your freedom and id...

Photo by Levi Price Slothrust are fantastic at making giant alt-rock songs, and their latest single is no exception. "Burn the Deck" is a monster rock song with a little sprinkling of pop. It's also oddly theatrical, which is kind of Slothrust's secret weapon. The song is driving and filled with tension. Instead of loud/quiet/loud, it's more rock/pop/rock. Vocalist Leah Wellbaum has never sounded better than she does in "Burn the Deck," and her vocals are what is going to fully pull you in. This is a great song from a band I always feel like we were late to discover, but we're fully on board for now. Leah Wellbaum and Will Gorin say of their new single: “‘ Burn the Deck’ is a song encouraging people to dismantle the current systems keeping them in a cage of their own making.  It’s a surrealist disruptor's anthem that beckons listeners to carefully consider what they are consuming and challenge their notion of who is really driving." You can ...

Photo Justin Labadie For their latest release, Slothrust are exploring their jazz and blues side more than they typically do. "Spill the Juice" starts off with a chilled out jazzy opening and verse. It's also leaning into the more pop focused side of the band, so the sound isn't completely out of nowhere. And then the song starts rocking the hell out virtually out of nowhere. The song then swings between the styles throughout the length of the song. That's the power of Slothrust and why we keep falling deeper into their fandom. While many bands do the loud/quiet/loud thing, only Slothrust do jazz/rock/jazz. You can watch the video for "Spill the Juice" below. Wildcard is due out September 26. For more on Slothrust, check out the band's website .

Slothrust are a bit of a musical enigma. A lot of other bands are doing the alt-rock meets alt-pop kind of thing, but few can reach the wild swings in either direction that they do. The duo recently released a new single, "Wildcard," that is, at times, both a pop banger that dips into an alt-R&B sound and a heavy rocker. It's also quite theatrical, in a way we haven't seen from Slothrust previously. At times it's a little slinky and chill, and at others it's giving "Bohemian Rhapsody" a run for its money. The more laid back parts have this great groove for them, and it it was like that for the entire three and a half minutes, it would be a great song. But Slothrust have crafted a song that has R&B and pop slamming full force into alt-rock, which is why we love them so much. The band says of their latest single: " Wildcard   is an unhinged summer song for the collective about what it means to lean into the unpredictability so many of us a...

Weakened Friends have been one of my favorite bands from back when they seemed to be opening for every Boston 90's band's reunion show. They've come a long way since then, and are headliners on their own. Slothrust have been a band I've enjoyed for a while, and was blown away when I saw them last summer at the In Between Days Festival. When the two bands announced a joint tour, I was thrilled and knew I simply had to make it. Weakened Friends opened the evening with an incredibly tight set that doubles as a career-spanning greatest hits set at this point. In the past few years, they've transformed themselves into full fledged rock stars (at least in the indie rock sense). They definitely had their own fanbase at the show, and there are obviously some diehard fans of both bands at the show. Songs like "Main Bitch" and "Blue Again" were excitedly sung by a sizable portion of the audience. One of my favorite part of any Weakened Friends show is watc...

Photo by Marcelo Mayen Slothrust were always one of those bands that I liked but didn't quite love. I felt like I should like them more, especially since they were frequent tour mates of Weakened Friends, who have long been a favorite of mine. That all changed when I saw Slothrust this past summer at In Between Days (with Weakened Friends' Annie Hoffman on bass!) and it just clicked for me. I suddenly found myself diving back into their catalog with a newfound appreciation, and couldn't wait to see them again. I was thrilled when they announced their Of Course You Did tenth anniversary tour... until I realized that they were only playing the west coast. Luckily, they just announced east coast dates including a May 4 show at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA! It's sure to be a perfect night of indie rock with two bands that are now favorites around here. You can find tickets for Slothrust's Of Course You Did tenth anniversary tour here . All upcoming tour dates with Weak...

Photo by Marcelo Mayen When I first saw that Slothrust was covering Ginuwine's "Pony," I assumed they'd lean into their pop side on this one. Instead, Slothrust bring the rock for the cover. That's not to say there aren't any pop elements present in the cover. But "Pony" is transformed into a rock song on this one. It's landing somewhere between grunge and metal, but with some aforementioned pop elements. The guitar goes straight up noise rock at times, and Will Gorum's drums are reminding me a lot of Charlie Benante's (Anthrax) COVID covers series, especially his version of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy." What also helps Slothrust's cover stand out against other rock covers of Top 40 songs is that this one is done without a shred of irony. It's fun, but it's not making fun of the original. You can watch the video for Slothrust's version of "Pony" below. I Promise  is due out October 20 via Dangerbird Re...

Towards the end of Modest Mouse's headlining set on Saturday night, Isaac Brock commented that he can normally ignore about half of the bands during a festival, but In Between Days just kept making him want to watch every band from the very start of the day. I ended up having the same experience. When I looked at the schedule, there were some bands I wasn't that familiar with or hadn't been able to get into previously, so I figured I'd have some downtime to casually eat some food from the food trucks, or play some free classic arcade games at the pop-up arcade, but instead for ten hours (ok, at one point I did stop to shove a quesadilla in my face for five minutes) I was just blown away watching band after band after band! I got there a couple of minutes late, and Quincy's own Gypsy Moths were already rocking the Arbella Insurance stage. Their classic Boston garage rock set the stage for the festival perfectly without sounding anything like any of the other bands on...

This is exactly the type of news we need while I watch snow fall in my New England neighborhood. Last year was the inaugural In Between Days festival. It was a one day festival with a great line up. For the festival's second year, they're expanding to two days and releasing one of the best line ups we've seen in years. The headliners for the festival are Modest Mouse and Lord Huron, with other If It's Too Loud... approved artists including Metric, Trampled By Turtles, Sunny Day Real Estate, Blitzen Trapper, Slothrust, and more! Plus, it includes an absolutely bonkers mix of local artists including Weakened Friends, Paper Tigers, Dutch Tulips, Carissa Johnson, Mint Green, Sweet Petunia, and more! Plus, there will be a vintage vendors market, a retro arcade, a vinyl record pop-up shop, and more. Taking place at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy August 19 and 20, In Between Days is shaping up to be the New England summer festival of 2023. The gauntlet has definitely been...

It definitely feels like everyone saved their new releases for this week... Artist : Dntel Album : Away Quick Thoughts : For better or for worse, Dntel will be aligned with Ben Gibbard and The Postal Service. His second effort this year feels very familiar and very modern, with a number of highlights sprinkled throughout that make this one of the more interesting listens in a busy week. Songs of Note : ""Shell," "From the Window" Artist : Venus Hum Album : Kindness Rages On Quick Thoughts : Venus Hum's first album in about five years is one great song after another. There's a lot to love here, and while the band doesn't quite sound like anything else out there at present, this record doesn't sound out-of-place in the modern music landscape. This is absolutely an album I'm looking forward to getting back to, as it's one of the better recent rock albums. Songs of Note : "Lonely," "Where You Are," ...