If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy Smitt E. Smitty Boston garage and art-rockers Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones return with a new single. "Big Ass American Car" is a killer track originally done by Trick Williams that brings the weirdo art vibe to garage rock. It's the kind of song that has all of the elements of a straightforward garage rock song, but that wouldn't exactly be the Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones' way. It's a little dark, a little funny, and all rock and roll. If I had to compare "Big Ass American Car" to any other artist, it would be Frank Zappa's songs that made it on Dr. Demento. "Big Ass American Car" is a fun song that takes a biting look at American culture in the form of a kick ass rock song. Smitt E. Smitty says of his band's latest single: “‘Big Ass American Car’ is a song about the culture of cars in America, and the American culture in general. When the popularity of American-made cars started to diminish between the...

I miss radio. I originally wanted to work in radio, but got sidetracked by a film major. Being able to choose exactly what song or album you want to hear at all times is great, but I miss the random selection of radio, and I really miss having music curated by a person and not an algorithm. Luckily, BumbleBee Radio exists. Hosted by Kristen Eck, it's a throwback to our favorite Boston radio stations, and if you like what we do here at If It's Too Loud..., there's an awful lot of crossover. BumbleBee Radio held their five year anniversary party Friday night at Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater, and since it was also The Peppermint Kicks' album release show, I couldn't resist. First up was Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones. The Boston based collective is led by the legendary Smitt E. Smitty. Their blend of garage rock is completely unique to them. It's glammed up and insanely fun, with a giant band to produce their sound. Their songs have a great sense of h...

Photo courtesy of the band Boston's Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones have released an unlikely song for Valentine's Day that's actually kinda perfect for the holiday. "#1 Most Likely" is a groovy disco-adjacent song that blends in some oddball garage rock into the mix. The song doesn't sound anything like music released in 2025, but it's nearly impossible to tie it down to any specific time period. It's filled with 70's glam and 80's garage rock, but that barely touches what the band is doing here. "#1 Most Likely" sounds kind of like what we thought future music would sound like in the 80's but without the overabundance of synths. What is possibly the most odd about this track is how normal it sounds by the time it's over. Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones sounded kind of bizarre at the beginning, but after three and a half minutes it becomes what music is supposed to sound like. Smitt E. Smitty says of his latest single...

The latest from Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones sees Smitty taking a backseat while backing vocalists Subtle and Serious (aka Linda Pardee of The Chelsea Curve and JoEllen Saunders of Cold Expectations) step up into lead vocals. "Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon" is the kind of weirdo garage rocker that is Smitty's trademark. The song is so close to just being a normal garage rock song, but it's through The Fezztones' bizarro lens. The song has this great retro 60's grooviness to it without sounding like it's from the 60's. It's like a mixture of a Nuggets compilation mixed with Zappa and The B-52's. As you can probably guess from that description, "Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon" is almost too much fun, and might be the most party ready song about Sunday afternoon of all time. You can listen to "Bye Bye Sunday Afternoon" below. The single is out now on Rock Garden Records, and is available through Bandcamp . For more on Smitt E. Smit...

Photo by Smitt E. Smitty This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of David Bowie's iconic "Rebel Rebel," so Boston's Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones have released their own cover of the song. Somehow this cover is both faithful to the original and a complete bizarro reworking of it. Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones make their version a little less glam and a little more garage rock, but not by much. Of course, at times it has its very own style of glam, so maybe it's not less glam just... different? It's a more raw and strange version that is going to anger some Bowie fans but delight the true fans, because who really wants a note for note Bowie cover? Smitt E. Smitty says of his band's David Bowie cover: “I have wanted to cover this David Bowie song for quite some time,” Smitty says. “Long before he passed away in 2016. We did a version of ‘Panic in Detroit’ for our debut live performance at ONCE in Somerville. We did it again in Detroit at The Det...

Boston's Smitt E. Smitty & The Feztones make weirdo rock and roll. The band's latest single, "Buzzkill Baby," falls on the heavier side of rock without being metal, punk, or even hard rock. It's a bombastic cut with more of a choir than gang vocals, and more than its fair share of groove. It combines the proto-punk of Smitty's hometown of Detroit with the anything goes rock and humor of Frank Zappa and the lighthearted vibes of They Might Be Giants. It's a weird song that is still firmly rooted in rock without being a true novelty song. It's a special kind of skill to go this deep into the world of fun or weird without getting zany, and Smitt E. Smitty & The Feztones deftly pull this off. Smitt E. Smitty says of his band's new song: “There are endless numbers of ‘buzzkills’ we all suffer through everyday, but if I had to pick one, it would be people who are obsessed with being ‘right’ all the time. In the grand scheme of things, being ‘righ...