If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Hannah Cohen Last year saw Twisted Pine's Rachel Sumner release her debut solo album Rachel Sumner & The Travelling Light , and she's back with a new single (although it did win a Lennon Award in 2021). "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison)" tells the tale of the young women who were knowingly exposed to radium poisoning in factories in the 1920s, and the cover up by the companies involved. Sumner's song is a beautiful and haunting folk song that tells the true story of these women without pulling any punches. It's a heartbreaking story, but one that needs to be told, especially by a songwriter as talented as Sumner. Rachel Sumner says of her new song: “To this day it boils my blood to think about what happened to these women, but the day I first read about them I was absolutely livid. It had been nearly a hunded years since radium dial companies started cropping up. I took my urge to shout their story from rooftops and focused it into crafting a ballad t...

The Green River Festival is always a highlight of any year. They've just released the line-up for the 2021 edition, and somehow this is just the initial line up. It's safe to say that this is by far their most exciting line-up ever! As always it skews heavily towards folk/Americana, but they've truly outdone themselves this year. Headliners for the three days are Jon Bastiste, Shakey Graves, and Ani Difraco, which would be thrilling enough. The other announced bands include long time If It's Too Loud... favorites like Drive-By Truckers, Deer Tick, and JD McPherson, alongside more newly discovered favorites like Sierra Ferrell, Twisted Pine, Rachel Baiman, and Bella White (who I just discovered over the weekend and haven't even had a chance to post about yet!) Plus, there are other artists we're big on like Valerie June, Mandolin Orange, Bonny Light Horseman, Charlie Parr, and Rebirth Brass Band that are all playing.  Green River Festival will run August 27-29 at...

Artist : Kathleen Edwards Album : Total Freedom Quick Description : First album in eight years from the Americana favorite. Why You Should Listen : Kathleen Edwards is one of the best singer-songwriters out there... Overall Thoughts : ...and she hasn't missed a beat. It's been too long, and I gushed about her back catalog in May, so my hopes were high and just every song here lands near-perfectly. The album opens in a good tone, the slower songs are still incredibly compelling, and the total package is one of her better efforts in a catalog without many misses. This is required listening this week, and one of the best of the year. Recommendation : A great listen. Artist : A. G. Cook Album : 7G Quick Description : PC Music head finally puts out a solo album. Why You Should Listen : With 40-odd songs, you'll find something to like. Overall Thoughts : The PC Music brand is very specific and maybe an acquired taste, but A. G. Cook's long-awaited debut dabbl...

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...

As we prepare for this weekend's Freshgrass 2018 (checking the weather report every hour, repeatedly listening to the festival's Spotify playlist ...), we thought we'd share what we're most looking forward to this weekend. Of course, these could be dropped instantly for another set or by getting lost in the galleries of MASS MoCA, but as of right now, these are our top 5... Rhiannon Giddens, Saturday, 5:00 pm, Courtyard D My first trip to Freshgrass included seeing the Carolina Chocolate Drops in 2014. I've been obsessed with them since then, which has included following each member's solo careers. I still haven't seen Rhiannon Giddens solo live, but that will change on Saturday. Her solo work has been a bit more mainstream than Carolina Chocolate Drops and I'm very curious to see how that plays out live. Seeing how Carolina Chocolate Drops stole the entire festival in 2014, this could be the must see of 2018. Flogging Molly, Saturday, 9:00 pm, ...

Back in May we brought you a handful of some of the smaller music festivals you should be checking out. It's been a couple of months, so we have some updates for you! Here are three late summer/early fall festivals that should be worth your time! The Cranking and Skanking Fest August 25, Worcester, MA If you're like me, you spent many years attending the Warped Tour, only to quit as you seemed to age out. My last year was 2002 (?), when I realized I was only there to see four bands (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, The Damned). When they announced that this would be the final year of the tour, I hoped they'd reach out to some of the more classic bands that have played in the past, and maybe they did, but you'd never know it by looking at it. This might be why I'm so excited about The Cranking and Skanking Fest. Sure, it's in the parking lot of the Palladium in Worcester which isn't the most glamorous location, and I prefer when ...

Americana (particularly bluegrass) covers of punk/new wave songs are pretty cliche, but sometimes a band just completely nails one. Boston's Twisted Pine are releasing an all covers EP on Friday, and one of those songs is Blondie's beyond classic "Heart of Glass." The Blondie original might be one of the most perfect songs of all time, but Twisted Pine rise to the challenge and make "Heart of Glass" their own. The song is instantly recognizable once the vocals kick in, and they take very few liberties with the melody. Instrumentally, it's obviously going to be a much more stripped down version, but you'll definitely recognize it. As someone that loves cover songs, this might be one of the best I've heard in years. You can listen to Twisted Pine's version of "Heart of Glass" below. Dreams , the covers EP from Twisted Pine, will be out June 8 on Signature Sounds. It will also feature covers of classics by The Cranberries, Scissor ...

Album of the Week : Artist : Waxahatchee Album : Out in the Storm Quick Description : Latest from the indie singer-songwriter. Why You Should Listen : Katie Crutchfield has improved with every album under the Waxahatchee moniker, and this is her best yet. Overall Thoughts : I don't know how to describe this, even now, because Waxahatchee has always filled its own little nook in the indie world. Trying to compare it to anything else is a little bit of a challenge, and that's fine - at its core, it's a unique indie listen, and this is no different. But this album also gives us songs like "Silver" and "Never Been Wrong" that speak to a positive evolution in her sound that just works for me. I can't recommend this enough, and I hope it has some solid staying power. Recommendation : Easily the best of the week. Artist : RAC Album : EGO Quick Description : Turntablist/DJs continue their pop ways. Why You Should Listen : They've traditio...