If It's Too Loud...

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. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday May 31 The Wolff Sisters and Molly O'Leary at Askew, Providence, RI Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Kal Marks, and Idiot Genes at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Buffalo Tom at The Drake, Amherst, MA Hubby Jenkins at The Porch Southern Fare & Juke Joint, Medford, MA The Promised End, Origami Summer, Miniluv, and One Fall at Koto, Salem, MA Abigail Lapell and Helen Hummel at The Parlor Room, Northampton, MA Saturday June 1 Abigail Lapell and Audrey Pearl at Club Passim, Cambridge, MA Fiel...

Despite The Jacklights and Double Star being local bands that each play out a lot, I had yet to see either of them. Sometimes schedules don't work out, and that kept being the case over and over and over again. Finally, things worked out and both bands played a double EP release show at The Square Root, a new-ish venue I've been meaning to check out! Harry & The Hot Flashes opened the evening up. I had never heard of them before, but according to their Facebook profile they are "Harry and three menopausal chicks." They might need to update their profile, since their membership has ballooned to six total members. They seemed like a group of friends that share a love of music and get out and play every so often. It was a garage rock meets blues kind of style that fits a local bar band quite well, especially when they play such a covers heavy set. Of course, what set them apart from other such bands is the mix of songs they played. Their set included Creedence Clearw...

Boston's The Jacklights are quickly becoming one of our favorite pop punk artists out there, and their new EP helps solidify that. It certainly doesn't hurt that two of the four songs have a Halloween theme to them. The previously heard "Final Girl" takes the horror movie trope of a final girl to survive the slasher at the end of the film into a love song, and "Haunted," which is a fast and furious melodic punk song. It's much more Bad Religion-esque than pop punk, and is just a solid punk song. A song like "Past Tense" reminds me of all those 90's bands that worshipped the Ramones, or a more punk version of Letters to Cleo. "Anniversary" is more of a 90's style power pop song with a ton of fuzz on the guitars and punk breakdowns. You can listen to "Haunted" below. Final Girl  is available now via Bandcamp . For more on The Jacklights, check them out on Facebook and Instagram . Final Girl by The Jacklights

Photo by DWJ Creative The Jacklights are one of our favorite pop punk bands out of Boston, which is saying quite a lot. Their latest single is their most fun yet, and hits a few personal sweet spots for me. "Final Girl" is a love song inspired by the horror movie trope of the final girl who survives the slasher at the end of the movie. It has fuzzed out guitars straight out of the 90's, but singer/guitarist/songwriter Nilagia McCoy is crooning her vocals straight out of the 50's. It's a collection of sounds that mesh perfectly together despite the mish mash of time periods. "Final Girl" is a fun song that is going to be impossible to not become enamored with. Nilagia McCoy says of her band's new single: “The forthcoming EP is about major life changes and heartbreak, couched in some horror-influenced metaphor. The title track, ‘Final Girl’ is about those times in your life when you’re not sure how you’re going to make it, when life feels daunting or e...

Faces Brewing Co. and RTT have been doing an amazing job booking shows lately, and this Saturday night is one of the most exciting. It's a fantastic triple bill of Kepi Ghoulie (ex-Groovie Ghoulies!), Brad Marino, and The Jacklights. It's sure to be a night of some of the finest pop infused punk rock 'n' roll you'll hear all year, and the best part is that we have a pair of tickets to give away for free! You know you've loved Kepi's music for far longer than you'd like to admit, and if you've been here for a while you've read us gushing about both Marino and The Jacklights for the past few years. All you have to do is email us at ifitstooloudblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Kepi" and you'll be entered. The winner will be drawn and notified Friday morning.  For more information on shows coming up at Faces Brewing Co., check out their website here . They have a ton of If It's Too Loud... approved shows coming up, including  C...

Boston's The Jacklights specialize in ultra-hyper pop punk, and their latest double single is a perfect example of that sound. "Womanchild" is almost too fast to be this melodic. It's the kind of pop punk song that's impossible to sit still during. It's an absurdly fun song that seems to mostly be Nilagia McCoy apologizing for bad behavior, which is very, very genre specific. While many of their peers could make this kind of song sound crass or immature, McCoy comes off charming and genuine. "Underachiever" slows it down a bit, but it's still a fuzzed out as possible upbeat pop punk song. It's rare to find a band in this genre that makes music equally fun with clever lyrics, but The Jacklights are quickly becoming masters of that. You can listen to "Womanchild" and "Underachiever" below. The single is currently available via Red On Red Records, and you can download a copy via Bandcamp . For more on The Jacklights, check ou...

According to The Jacklights' Bandcamp profile, they are "Melodic punk with a 90s vibe." If that sounds appealing to you, you're going to love "Eat the Young." To get very specific, it reminds me a lot of Letters to Cleo's pre- Aurora Gory Alice output that was collected in 1998's Sister , but with a little more of a punk edge. "Eat the Young" has that same raw feel and energy. It's what it would have sounded like if mid-90's post punk/power pop bands leaned even more heavily into their Ramones influence. (I didn't think that could be possible, but The Jacklights have proven it is.) This is a really great fun punk song by a still brand new artist we can't wait to watch grow for a long time. You can listen to "Eat the Young" below. Drift is due out July 27 on Red On Red Records. You can pre-order a copy over at Bandcamp . For more on The Jacklights, check them out on Facebook and Instagram . Drift by The Jacklights

After the extreme cold spell we just had in New England, we're definitely feeling the latest from Boston's The Jacklights. "Winter" isn't exactly an ode to the season, it's more of an ode to hating the season, particularly the stretch between January and spring. As with previous songs from The Jacklights, this new one is straight up pop punk, but leaning more on the punk than pop. Since most pop punk is really smooth and tuneful, I'm even hesitant to call it pop punk. "Winter" is a rough around the edges punk song with just barely enough tunefulness to be considered pop punk. Nilagia McCoy explains the new song: "'Winter' was inspired by some not-so-great experiences I had over the years. Part of it was a New Years' Eve event I wasn't really enjoying, and part of it is that sluggish, seasonal affective disorder feeling, where even the littlest things feel like more effort. Though I've lived in the Boston area for more tha...

We knew there would be songs written about COVID-19 and the quarantine, but luckily most have been pretty good. The latest is from Boston's The Jacklights. "Bad Memory" is a pop punk song without the overproduced sheen covering most pop punk. It's catchy and fun, but with a little bit of grunge covering it. This could be since it's still at the demo phase, but it's nice to see a pop punk song that's more punk than pop. As far as the pandemic, the song may be stuck in how miserable everything is currently but stays hopeful with the lyrics " Someday this will all be a bad memory /  But today is just another shitty day." You can listen to "Bad Memory" below. The song is currently available for the "name your price" option on The Jacklights's Bandcamp . For more on The Jacklights, check them out on Facebook and Instagram . Bad Memory (Demo) by The Jacklights