If It's Too Loud...

NoiseTrade has been on fire the past few weeks with exclusive EPs from some of our favorite artists. This week they did it again with The Sorry is Gone Tour EP  from Jessica Lea Mayfield. Mayfield is about to embark on a tour that was postponed due to a car accident she was recovering from, and to celebrate she's giving away a four song EP exclusively through NoiseTrade. It contains two songs from her recently released album, Sorry is Gone , which will be a contender for us when it comes to best album of 2017. There's also "Feeling Oppressed," which is a b-side exclusive to this release, and a live solo version of the song "Sorry is Gone." Twenty years ago we used to pay $10-$20 for b-sides like these, and now they're just given away. You can get your copy of The Sorry is Gone Tour EP  for free over at NoiseTrade . For more on Jessica Lea Mayfield, check out her website . The dates for her current tour are below. Let's just hope for a rescheduled...

Photo by Devon Bristol Shaw Arriving just a little too late for Halloween is the latest song from Brooklyn's BIRDS, "Most Ghost." "Most Ghost" continues the band's knack for deftly merging classic psychedelia and 90's indie rock. It's starts off with guitar feedback that turns into perfect slacker guitar riffs. The song builds so slowly that you might not even notice. Somehow the guitar solo at the bridge (which feels similar to the Pixies' "Velouria") ends up being the most quiet part of the song. It all closes up with some Mission of Burma style looping, while still being a chill, psychedelic and intense indie rock song and the same time. You can listen to "Most Ghost" over at What Youth . The song is being released as a split 7" with Stuyedeyed on Greenway Records. You can get your copy here . The two bands are also going on a tour together. Dates for that are below (although I don't believe there is a Boston...

Photo by Plastic Mynd Worcester's own The Prefab Messiahs have had an interesting career. The band originally ran from 1981 to 1983 and then was pretty much silent until 2015 when they reformed and released Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive. Since then, they've released a couple of singles, and in January are set to release another full length. Their first song off the upcoming album, "Psychsploitation," is exactly what we want from The Prefab Messiahs at this point. It's a blast of psychedelic garage rock that sounds like it's coming from a band that ran well before the 1980's. It's what I imagine The Monkees might have sounded like if the members had met organically and not on a television show about a band. Hidden in pop hooks and the psychedelic feel are these squealing guitars you wouldn't normally find in this style of music, which just adds to the entire crazed feel of the song. You can watch the video for "Psychsploitation" be...

We're quite open with our love for cover songs here at If It's Too Loud..., and today we bring you one of the most obvious choices for a cover that we've ever brought you before. Jim James of My Morning Jacket was basically created to make complex, dense musical arrangements. He has an upcoming covers album coming out, and one of the more obvious choices is the first song we can currently listen to: His version of The Beach Boys' "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." The song, originally off Pet Sounds , is a gorgeous, lush ballad, with instrumentation far more complex and involved than it seems on first listen. James' version of the song is an almost perfect recreation, with just a few slight changes here and there. You can watch the video for Jim James' version of "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" below. It is off the album Tribute To 2 , which is a sequel to Tribute To . The first in the series was an EP of The Beatles and G...

Another busy week as we race toward the end of the year... Album of the Week : Artist : Common Holly Album : Playing House Quick Description : Surprising alt-rockish debut. Why You Should Listen : You're fully and completely enjoying this Overall Thoughts : Album of the week for me and it wasn’t really close. I thought this would be a gentle folky thing from the limited pieces I heard, but it turns out this has a lot of interesting musical wrinkles throughout. Sometimes it’s alt-rock, sometimes it’s some interesting indie pop, but it always kept me on my toes in the best possible way. The album had me saying wow within the first track, and I was hooked by the third. This one is a late surprise entry in the best albums race, and worth your time. Recommendation : You need to hear this Artist : Dr. Quandary Album : Jukebox Buddha Quick Description : Solid, old-style electronic music. Why You Should Listen : You grew up in the midst of the electronica explosion. Ove...

Photo by Cal Quin The latest single from Ruby Boots pounds some of our favorite genres into a single cohesive song. "It's So Cruel"  has the chugging guitars, beat, and attitude of the whole indie rock/garage rock sound. Plus, it's has the grooviness of the 60's go-go boots era personified by Nancy Sinatra and the glam of T-Rex. The whole thing is wrapped up in the twang of outlaw country. And those are just the obvious elements. While blending this many genres into a solitary song might create a listening disaster, this is far from what happens with "It's So Cruel." Instead, Ruby Boots has created what might be the coolest song you've heard in years. Not to mention that she's originally from Australia and now resides in Nashville, which might be the two greatest places for a musical artist to call home. You can watch the video for "It's So Cruel" below. Ruby Boots' Blooshot Records debut, Don't Talk About It,  wil...

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. It's the only time of the year when visiting old cemeteries isn't "weird." It's "festive." That also means it's time for our annual Halloween playlist. Every year we try to avoid the usual "Monster Mash" and "Thriller," and instead bring you a playlist reflective of the kind of music we listen to all year round. We have classic alternative (Beat Happening, Dinosaur Jr, Tori Amos), neo-folk/country (Jason Isbell, David Wax Museum, Marlon Williams), classic rock (Bob Dylan, The Jam), some hip hop (Ghostface Killah, Swet Shop Boys), old school punk (The Cramps, Dead Milkmen, Ramones), and even some metal with Dead Cross. At just over two hours, it's perfect for Halloween parties, to put on during trick or treating, or to play during work to drown out your co-workers playing "Wereworlf of London." Happy Halloween!

Since starting this blog, there have been two things I've been unabashed in my love for: Free music and Lydia Loveless. My two loves have finally joined together with Boy Crazy and Single(s) Sneak Peak , yet another offering of free music via NoiseTrade. It's a sampler of the just released Boy Crazy and Single(s) collection, which was comprised of the five song Boy Crazy EP along with six non-album singles and B-sides. The sneak peak contains five of the eleven songs on the full compilation, and they definitely didn't skimp on what you get for free. Included in the sampler are "Boy Crazy," which have been the band's legendary closer for years and her cover of Elvis Costello's "Alison." If you haven't listened to us and picked up Boy Crazy and Single(s) , this should convince you. You can download your own copy of Boy Crazy and Single(s) Sneak Peak  for free now at NoiseTrade . You can get your own copy of Boy Crazy and Single(s) via Blood...

I love riot grrrl bands far more than any man in his 40s should, and I'm thrilled at this current resurgence of the sound of my college years retooled for the current generation. My most recent discovery is London's Dream Nails, who describe them selves as "feminist punk witches." With that description, how are you not going to love them? Their latest single, "Tourist," is "...  about men who present themselves as a hero but all they really want to do is fetishise sad girls, make them emotionally attached and then abuse that power. We can smell those guys a mile away and they’re creepy," according to frontwoman Janey Starling. Their sound is similar to Bikini Kill, but nowhere near as aggressive, but instead with a little bit of fun. It's kind of like Bikini Kill meets Bis.  You can listen to "Tourist" below. Dream Girls' debut EP, Dare to Care , will be out tomorrow, October 27. For more on Dream Girls, follow them on Faceboo...

Hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota, The Persian Leaps have been an early favorite of If It's Too Loud... They have this great jangly guitar pop sound that we've compared to The Afghan Whigs and The Sheila Divine in the past. The band is back with a new EP, Bicycle Face, which may be their best to date. The Persian Leaps haven't changed their sound on Bicycle Face. Instead they've perfected it. Bicycle Face  is a collection of five incredibly tight indie rock pop songs. It reminds me a ton of the mid 90's when fuzzed out guitars and catchy as hell hooks were all the rage of 120 Minutes. The EP's opener, "Picture My Reaction," is this indie rock anthem that shoots for arenas with it's pure size and force. "Even Less" could secretly be an outtake from Superdrag's Regretfully Yours.  You can listen to "Picture My Reaction" below. Bicycle Face is available now on Land Ski Records. You can get your own copy over at Bandcamp . ...

A slower week, but an abbreviated post given my schedule blowing up again. The Plan - Nervous Energy : This is a different one, for sure. The Plan is absolutely going the strange, stilted indie rock route with this, and the returns are interesting in and of themselves. I can’t say for sure whether I liked it, but this is an album of odd song structures and challenging listens. I didn’t love it on first listen, but this is absolutely an album I want to revisit. I recommend giving it a shot, especially in a slower week. Various Artists - Tegan and Sara Present The Con X : A tribute/covers record of Tegan and Sara’s The Con . It’s not my favorite T&S record at all, and my familiarity with the songs has deteriorated with time. The versions here? As with any album like this, it’s hit-or-miss. Some interesting takes, other ones that just don’t work. Take what you like and leave the rest, I think. Dori Freeman - Letters Never Read : We enjoyed Dori Freeman’s previous record,...

Photo via Facebook Leonard Cohen wrote "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" about a real woman who was forced to give up her child because she gave birth out of wedlock in 1960's Ontario. Because of this, she took her own life with a gun. Ruby Rose Fox covered the song as a response the mass shooting that took place during a Las Vegas country music festival. Since she recorded her version of the song and its release, it has also gained new significance with the #metoo movement of women sharing their personal stories of sexual assault and harassment to show just how wide spread it is. Ruby Rose Fox's version of "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" and the accompanying video is haunting. It's haunting to the point that I'm hesitant to use that term since it doesn't feel strong enough. There is an occasional use of a whispered backing vocal that will just chill you to the core. The song, although beautiful, isn't a pleasant listen by any means. But that's...

Photo via Facebook Any regular reader of If It's Too Loud... will know that I'm fairly obsessed with Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. One of my other favorite things is exploring abandoned places. The Live From Nowhere video series pairs bands performing live with abandoned locations. In the greatest news of the week, Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys have recorded a video for Live From Nowhere . They wrote a new song just for the space, which is an abandoned (and possibly haunted) movie theater. "Animals Like Me" is a creepy intense slow burn of a song, and the accompanying video just adds to the vibe of the song. It's intensely lit with perfect use of shadows, plus it's shot like the viewer is creeping around, spying in on the private performance. You can watch the video for "Animals Like Me" below. To find out more about Live From Nowhere , check out their Facebook page . For more on Walter Sickert & The Army of B...

We haven't brought you a Friday Freebie for far too long, but, luckily, today's is a great one. As I'm sure you're all aware, Belly is back after a 20+ year break. They are currently working on new material and have started a PledgeMusic for fans to pre-order their upcoming new album, but for right now Tanya Donelly and company are giving out a four song sampler of live material and rarities. Out of the four songs, the only live one is "Dusted." The rarities are absolutely fantastic and must haves for any fan of Belly. The first two are from the 90's glory days of film soundtracks: "Thief" was originally from the Tank Girl  soundtrack and "Spaceman" came from the Twister soundtrack, which I guess was a thing? The final song on Belly Noise  is the absolute must have. It's a cover of "Trust In Me (The Python's Song)" from Disney's The Jungle Book.  You can get your own copy of Belly Noise right now over at NoiseT...

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. Oh, the mid 1990's. It was the glory days of the compilation album, where labels would just throw a bunch of bands on a cd, knowing that as long as you liked two or three of the bands, you'd but the entire album since there was no way you'd ever have any other way to get a copy of the exclusive songs. One of their favorite ways to put one of these together was a tribute album. You'd get a bunch of bands that would usually never be associated together, often covering an artist you'd never expect.  One of these tribute albums was Twisted Willie , which is a mostly alternative tribute to Willie Nelson. Including Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings ...