If It's Too Loud...

Normally I would do a decent write up for a live performance I attended, but I wasn't able to stay for a huge chunk of And the Kids's set during the Nu Muse Festival in Nashua, NH last Saturday night. I had my daughter with me, and it was a late night for her. Plus, kids these days aren't used to being subjected to smoking, so she started to feel a bit nauseous. If you're curious how they are live, I go into much more detail with my review of their double bill with Lucy Dacus last month . But, I took some pretty great pictures Saturday, so please check them out.

Photo by Liz Maney For white Americans, Nikkie McLeod's "Deep Cry" is going to be an interesting listen. The most prevalent instrument is a steelpan, and when we hear the steelpan we reminisce about Caribbean vacations and happy times. Nikkie McLeod is originally from Trinidad & Tobago, so they don't have the same connections. "Deep Cry" is an intense song about the loss of McLeod's mother. The feeling the song captures is the duality of celebrating and grieving life at the same time. "Deep Cry" isn't a quiet, reflective song about loss and death. At times, it is deeply noisy, and almost violent. But that's how grief can work. It's a beautiful song about an intensely personal and difficult time in McLeod's life. It's a song we all need to truly listen to. You can listen to "Deep Cry" below. Quarrel , the new EP from Nikkie McLeod, will be available on October 30, their mother's birthday. For more on N...

Photo by Kathryn Stabile The latest single from Andre Costello and the Cool Minors is the perfect song just as we start summer. "Kinda (Makes You Feel Good)" is drenched in lazy summer vibes. It has a retro cool classic rock feel, in that southern California 1960's way. That gives it a little bit of a folk texture, but in the way that Neil Young can be kind of folk. You also get some soul in there, but mostly in singer Andre Costello's vocals. Slowly the song builds, while keeping its laid back feel, and starts going into indie rock territory, in the Wilco way. It goes into some great melodic noise, and some absolutely killer guitar solos. All while remaining completely chilled out. You can watch the video for "Kinda (Makes You Feel Good)" below. Resident Frequencies , the new album from Andre Costello and the Cool Minors, will be out on May 11 on Misra Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Andre Costello and the Cool Minors, be sure to ...

Just a lot out this week, so we'll do highlights. Artist : Skating Polly Album : The Make It All Show Quick Description : New album from the indie rockers. Why You Should Listen : Skating Polly is similar to Speedy Ortiz in some regards, and they are poised to break out. Overall Thoughts : I liked Skating Polly’s last effort, which was a sort of car crash of musical sounds and styles that had me hooked. Even still, it wasn’t without its flaws, but that was more than okay – it was still a great listen. This new album feels a lot more organized and structured, and the result (while a little less chaotic) is something that really shows growth as a band without losing the sort of manic quality that sets them apart. Recommendation : A favorite this week. Artist : Parker Milsap Album : Other Arrangements Quick Description : New album from a favorite here. Why You Should Listen : You're looking for a little more adult alternative in your life. Overall Thoughts : We’v...

Boston used to be a great city for free live music. Back in the 90's, both modern rock radio stations, WFNX and WBCN, used to host free shows at the Hatch Shell and City Hall Plaza multiple times each summer. There was the notorious Green Day show in 1994, and shows featuring Letters to Cleo, Folk Implosion, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Amazing Royal Crowns, and more, all for free. The last big free show was the Outside the Box Festival back in 2013 that featured Buffalo Tom, The Lemonheads, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. There have been a few smaller free live shows since then, but those have been pretty sparse, and have featured bands like Smashmouth. It's made me dream of cities with great, free live music like NYC, or even Portsmouth, NH's Prescott Park Art Festival. Thanks, to WERS, free live music is coming back to Boston this summer. Somehow a college radio station has put together the show of the summer, all for free on the Boston Common. They've announced four b...

Our newest favorite Australian export, Gabriella Cohen, has released the latest single off of her upcoming album. "Music Machine" isn't quite as much fun as "Baby" was, but we're still digging it. Cohen's 90's slacker style vocals are even more monotonous on "Music Machine," and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. The part that will suck you in is when the backing vocals, which have been merely peeking in here and there throughout the song, come in full force in the second half of the song. I could describe the song in more detail, but I think Cohen's words about the song basically nail the vibe: "'Music Machine' was born about the time when I came back from my first U.S tour and found myself down and out crashing on a friends couch in West Brunswick, Melbourne. It was a strange patch of time, where I felt comically displaced, coming from the glitz and glamour of New York straight to desolate suburbia...

Forgotten Fridays is an occasional feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. We go back and remind you of their existence, and help decide if they were any good. I recently discovered I could use the Google to look up old top 30 lists for my old college radio station, so there went a huge amount of productivity. It brought back this insane flood of memories of bands and albums I adored but had forgotten about. But then I saw the name Frogpond, which did not sound familiar at all. Their album Safe Ride Home  was up in the top three albums of the week way back in 1999, but the name didn't sound familiar at all. I decided to do some research. Frogpond formed in 1994 in Warrensburg, Missouri. They took local opening slots for Everclear and the Toadies. Mike Mills became a fan and Frogpond played R.E.M.'s tour wrap p...

One of our favorite things about Matt Pond PA were their love of covers, since, as we always remind you, we're pretty fond of cover songs here at If It's Too Loud... Matt Pond's love of cover songs remains intact with his new project, Spaceland (name subject to change). The latest cover he's given us with this name is a great version of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun." Covering The Beatles can be tricky since die hard fans will freak out about any change or just the fact that an artist is daring to try. Spaceland do a fantastic job, slowing down the song slightly and giving it a bit of a spacey feel. It's the perfect kind of cover song since it stays completely true to the original while adding just enough of their own sound to it to make it worthwhile. Plus, the song comes at the perfect time since the extended winter we've been experiencing in the Northeast United States appears to finally be over. You can listen to Spacelend's version ...

We're obviously huge fans of Sarah Shook & The Disarmers here at If It's Too Loud..., and I've been gushing about Gorman Bechard's Lydia Loveless documentary for the past two years. Once I saw that his new documentary about Sarah Shook & The Disarmers was having its world premiere at the Boston Independent Film Festival, I knew I had to clear out my plans to check it out.  It's going to be pretty easy to draw comparisons to Who is Lydia Loveless? and What it Takes: film en douze tableaux  as it is to compare Lydia Loveless and Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, so let's get that out of the way now. Both are directed by Gorman Bechard. Both are about bands fronted by a female with mostly older male band members. Both play a version of alt country heavily infused with rock and punk. Both are on Bloodshot Records. The main difference between these films is structure and subject matter. Who is Lydia Loveless? had three acts: The first focused on Lydia hers...

The new single from Nashville's Oliver the Crow is truly something special. "Ashes of a Day Gone By" is modern folk. This isn't a throwback by any means. Oliver the Crow make unique, progressive folk/bluegrass, but it's still recognizable as folk/bluegrass. With Kaitlyn Raitz on cello and Ben Plotnik on fiddle (and both providing vocals), they play a very stripped down, minimalist version of modern folk, but somehow still have a full, lush sound. The music isn't truly beautiful or abrasive. Instead, their sound is compelling. In its quiet, it will make you want to listen and focus on what is going on. That's rare and is a gift in a song. You can watch the video for "Ashes of a Day Gone By" below. Oliver the Crow's self titled debut album will be out June 22. You can pre-order their album on Bandcamp . For more on Oliver the Crow, check out their website .

Photo via Facebook It feels like it's been forever since we heard any new music from Kingsley Flood, but a lot has happened in the world since Another Other  was released in October 2016, so that's probably it. The band has been on the threshold of superstardom for a while now, and every release just seems to be the one that will bring them there. If "Find Me Out" is any indication, their new album could be the one to do it. The song starts off in typical (aka great) Kingsley Flood fashion, with their blend of Americana infused indie rock. Although it's a pretty straightforward mid-tempo rock song, something about it just feels more urgent. It builds on this and becomes this mini epic that feels built for the huge fields of the summer festival circuit. We've said this before, but if there is any justice, this will be their breakthrough. You can watch the lyric video for "Find Me Out" below. Neighbors and Strangers , the new album from Kingsley ...

And the rest! Artist : Dr. Dog Album : Critical Equation Quick Description : The latest from the popular indie act. Why You Should Listen : Dr. Dog is pretty consistent and loved for a reason. Overall Thoughts : People love Dr. Dog and I’ve never 100% understood them, but this record feels like a pretty solid effort from the band. The opening track really grabbed me, and I found the rest of it to be fairly listenable on a whole. I don’t know how fans will feel, but I dug this. Recommendation : Worth a shot. Artist : Forth Wanderers Album : Forth Wanderers Quick Description : Latest from a group I'm really fond of. Why You Should Listen : This is an act that you should know if you don't already. Overall Thoughts : I've enjoyed this band for some time, and the new album is the same sort of sneaky quiet great stuff that I’ve come to expect. This is one of those bands where you listen to a couple songs and start to wonder why this band isn’t more popular. Rec...

Photo via Facebook It feels like I've been obsessed with Sarah Shook & The Disarmers for years now, even though it's been just over a year. I unfortunately was unable to make their one Northeast trip for Sidelong , so when I saw that they were playing at the end of April, I knew I had to make it, despite it being another Month of Too Many Shows. Luckily, they are completely worth staying up far too late on a Sunday night. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers play the kind of country punk that translates much better live than on record, and, considering how much I've loved Sidelong  and the just released Years , that is saying quite a bit for their live show. It's nearly impossible to pick a few highlights for the songs they played live. "The Bottle Never Lets Me Down," "Fuck Up," "The Nail," etc were all just as equally great as the last song they played. Despite not being much of a touring band before signing to Bloodshot Records, Sar...

We're a third of the way through the year already. How did this happen? With 17 new releases, we're splitting this in two Album of the Week : Artist : Kathinka Album : Kathinka Quick Description : Dreamy indie pop. Why You Should Listen : This is a gorgeous musical mix. Overall Thoughts : My biggest problem with this album is that it’s only eight songs long. I’ve had them looped in my playlists for some time, but this album so perfectly straddles the line between alt-rock and dreamy pop rock that it’s difficult to find any real problems with it. Recommendation : It’s simply a must-listen this week. Artist : Kasey Chambers and The Fireside Disciples Album : Campfire Quick Description : Deep roots music from a perpetually-underrated roots artist. Why You Should Listen : Kasey Chambers has been consistently great for decades. Overall Thoughts : With the other Kacey sucking up a lot of the country air, it’s easy to forget that another country Kasey is still maki...

Since Margo Price had my #3 album of 2016 and my #1 album of 2017 and her set was the highlight of the 2016 Green River Festival, I've been dying to see her perform her own show, but it's just never worked out until this past Wednesday, when her Nowhere Fast tour came to Boston at the Paradise. Knowing it's only a matter of time until she moves out of clubs, I had to go out too late on a work night. Playing her own set in front of her own adoring fans and not a shortened festival set in front of a crowd gave Price more freedom. She moved from guitar to keyboards and even drums in a way that felt organic and not just showing off. If she did showing off, she did it in her absolute mastery of a live performance. She and her band are impossibly polished for clubs, and it showed in each and every song. Songs like "A Little Pain" and "All American Made" just take on a whole new life live. My favorite song at Green River was once again my favorite at the Pa...