If It's Too Loud...

The latest single from Minneapolis's Catbath will bathe (no pun intended) into two seemingly disparate sounds. Despite being based in the northern midwest, "Scuttlebutt" has a very distinct 1960's southern California vibe, a la the Mamas and the Papas. Just as strong is the attitude and the vibe of late 90's psychedelic indie rockers like The Dandy Warhols or The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The result is this fun and sunny but dripping with hipster cool sound. You can listen to "Scuttlebutt" below. The new album from Catbath, Glitterbox , will be out soon via Guilt Ridden Pop. For more on Catbath, check out their Bandcamp and Facebook . Scuttlebutt by Catbath

Photo by Victor Alonso Luke Winslow-King's great 2016 release, I'm Glad Trouble Don't Come Always , was a dark slice of Americana. He had recently gone through a divorce, and while it was uplifting in its own way, the album was filled with heartache.  His new single, "Leghorn Women," is a blues-meets-indie rock barn burner. The vibe feels completely different. I'm sure it doesn't help that the new album was recorded in the Tuscan village of Lari, Italy. While most indie rock meets blues songs have a dirty feel, "Leghorn Women" is clean and smooth. Normally I'd see that as a negative, but with Winslow-King, it just feels right. It's polished, but nowhere near overproduced. It's just a lightning fast blues epic with some of the best guitar work you've heard in years. You can listen to "Leghorn Women" below. Blue Mesa , the latest album from Luke Winslow-King, will be available on May 11 via Bloodshot Records. You c...

We were huge fans of Stef Chura's 2017 album Messes , so we're pretty excited that she's already back with a new song. "Degrees" was originally planned to be included on Messes , but didn't quite make the cut. She ended up pairing up and collaborating with Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest, and that helped revive the song which will now be issued as a 7".  "Degrees" is an absolute epic. It starts off relatively mellow, firmly in the territory of alt-singer/songwriter. After about a minute it breaks out into a much heavier (and noisier) rock song, and then just goes loud/quiet/loud for the remainder of the song, building into this brilliant anthem. Toledo and Chura and also collaborating on her second album. If "Degrees" is any indication, that is now one of our most anticipated albums. You can listen to "Degrees" below. It will be available as a 7" on Record Store Day, April 21st, via Saddle Creek. For more on Stef ...

Every now and then we stumble on a release from a band way after it's released, sometimes a year or so after it's been released. Most times I'll let it slide and let you folks know about more current releases, but sometimes I discover something that I feel that I need to tell you about. The latest release from The Only Things is one of those ones. Released back in May 2017, Hitlist  is a blast of good old fashioned alt-rock that the universe seems to be lacking these days. It's part The Replacements, part Archers of Loaf, and part Dropkick Murphys. It's hard rock without being overly aggro and alternative without being twee. If you've been missing guitar heavy rock that just rocks, you're going to love this EP. You can listen to "The Quiet Man" below. The latest (albeit almost a year old) release from The Only Things, Hitlist , is available now as a free download on their Bandcamp . As always, if you download this for free, at least give them...

Photo by Heather Hemmeger There's an overwhelming amount of country/Americana out there right now. A new artist has to have a completely unique take on the genre in order to stand out from the crowd. Except for the few that don't. There are some that aren't rewriting the genre, but are just nailing it perfectly. Joel Levi is one of those. "Will We Ever Change?" is one of those country songs that makes both mainstream and alt-country fans take notice. You've heard songs like this before, but Joel Levi just does this one to absolute perfection. It kind of hits you in the same way that Jason Isbell and Justin Townes Earle do with a perfectly crafted song of heartbreak and pain that is purely roots/Americana and pop.  You can listen to "Will We Ever Change?" below. Joel Levi's self-titled album is due out on May 4. For more information, check out his website .

The Green River Festival has slowly shed it's identity as being one of New England's best kept secret and is now a truly great festival. Gone are the years when the hot air balloons were the main focus and the music was just a bonus. 2018 might boast its greatest line up yet, and given the history of the festival, that's saying a lot. Michael Franti & Spearhead, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Josh Ritter had been announced last month, but today Green River announced most of their 2018 line up, and... just... wow. They've added Dr. Dog, folk supergroup I'm With Her, Deer Tick, Robert Earl Keen, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Lucy Dacus (!!!!), Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express, Birds of Chicago, The Ballroom Thieves, Bella's Bartok, and more!  The 2018 Green River Festival will run July 13-15 on the campus of the Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, MA. For more on the festival including tickets, head on over to their website .

Photo by Zoran Orlic The more I hear music from FACS, the less I miss Disappears. "Primary" is their latest single, and it's starkly minimalist. While the song retains enough of a lush sound that it doesn't feel that it's lacking anything, it does so with more missing than showing. It's an incredibly dark, moody song that will leave you with a sense of foreboding. While post-punk is considered minimalist, I don't believe there is even enough here for that category. Every so often you get the impression that it's going to explode and finally, finally let loose. But it never does. You can watch the video for "Primary" below. Negative Houses , the debut album from FACS, will be out on Trouble In Mind on March 30. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on FACS, be sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter .

I'm going to warn everyone with this release: This will not be for everyone, but at the very least it's one of the more interesting albums we've brought you in a long, long time. Amanda White just released her second studio album, the wonderfully titled Kittens Give Zero Fucks. She's an operatically trained singer that splits her time between New York and Boston. What makes Amanda White unique and different is that her music rocks. It also has this odd sense of humor I wouldn't expect from anyone trained in opera. The line "Every virgin has been unchasted," along with song titles like "Fuckall Rockstar," "Whackadoodle World," and "Where the Hell is Amy?" show that this isn't an artist that takes herself fully seriously. Like I said at the beginning, this definitely won't be for everyone. But, if you want your hard rock with some opera and a sense of humor, you'll probably be into Amanda White. You can listen to...

It got way too busy, so here's some quick hits. Must Listens : Lucy Dacus - Historian : Believe the hype. This is not only the best album of this week, but maybe of 2018 so far. It's a brilliant record that combines the best of Margaret Glaspy, Sharon Von Etten, and a ton of our favorite singer-songwriters lately to bring a raw, compelling album that just sticks to your guts. I loved it on first listen, and I put it back on earlier today because I wanted to and it just has so many great layers. Don't miss out on this. Tracey Thorn - Record : If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve liked but haven’t loved Thorn’s solo work. That changed considerably with this latest effort, which feels more essential and urgent than anything she has put out since her Everything But the Girl days. I’d expect things to not be this way given Thorn’s lengthy career up to now, but there are just so many songs on this record that are rock solid. If you’ve jumped off the bandwagon, now i...

Photo by Clemens Mitscher Just when you think you have A Place to Bury Strangers pegged as one of the premier punk/metal/noise rock bands around, they surprise us all with their newest single, "There's Only One of Us." Sure, the song is still noisy and falls into the art rock category, but it adds a heaping amount of post punk and new wave. It has a distinct The Human League meets Sonic Youth feel to it. It's almost pure new wave, except for the level of noise that permeates the entire track, slowly building and rescinding until it threatens to take over towards the end of the song. Yeah, we're 100% in on this one. You can watch the video for "There's Only One of Us" below.   A Place to Bury Strangers's new album,  Pinned , will be out April 13 on Dead Oceans. For more on the band, check out their website . 

Last March we were pretty high on Clever Girls's EP, Loose Tooth . Here we are pretty much exactly a year later and the Burlington, VT band is set to release a full length album. The first song off that album, "Loom," is everything we loved about Loose Tooth , but more so. It's a little less Tom Petty style Americana than the songs off Loose Tooth , and is more like Tom Petty's more rock style but mixed with the Pixies's loud/quiet/loud alt-rock. It's one of those musical blends I never knew I needed, but from this day forward I'll be obsessed with. You can listen to "Loom" below. The new album from Clever Girls, Luck , will be available on April 2. For more on Clever Girls, check out their website . Loom by Clever Girls

As those of us in the Northeast brace for another Nor'easter and are desperately looking for an end to winter, we might start looking to summery music to help remind us that warmer weather is around the corner. We probably wouldn't expect that music to come from Toronto, but here are Tallies with just that sound. Formerly known as Thrifty Kids, Tallies have released a new single, "Mother." (In case you want to feel ancient, the origins of the band start way back in 2006 when guitarist Dylan Farkland met drummer Cian O'Neill at School of Rock Camp when they were thirteen and twelve.) The new song blends some diverse retro sounds into something completely new. I already brought up a summery sound, so there's some obvious comparisons to The Beach Boys. Staying pretty close is a heavy dose of 50's doo wop. They also throw in some 90's with the dream pop before it was a genre sound of The Sundays, along with some of the more upbeat, jangly mid-90's ...

Living in New England, February is a garbage month. You're just want winter to finally be over, but it's a miserable, cold, wet month. There are only two days to look forward to: The 15th when Valentine's Day candy goes on sale, and the 28th when our favorite punk/folk/burlesque/rock/steamcrunk band Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys release their entry for the RPM Challenge. This year brings us A Little More Life . For the most part, the Army of Toys' RPM Challenge releases tend to be more mellow than their official albums. As much as I enjoy them, I have a preference for their songs with a little more oomph. A Little More Life  is no exception, but the more quiet songs are gorgeous, which I don't believe is a word I've ever used to describe their music before. Album opener, "A LITTLE MORE DEATH," is one of the most lush songs I've heard in a while. "KING CLONE" has a little R&B and hip hop edge to it. The album picks u...

Photo by David Doobinin "Physical" is the song by Olivia Newton-John I most relate to her. That song was everywhere back in the early to mid 80's, and since it had an aerobics inspired video, it's always the go to for anything set in the 80's that needs an aerobics scene.  Needless to say, once the tracklist was revealed for  Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, I could not wait to hear her version of "Physical." The song is now available to listen to, and let's just say it does not disappoint at all. It seems more like an Evan Dando cover since it's more than a little noisy and sloppy. Of course, that isn't meant as an insult at all, and you can tell Hatfield is having a blast covering one of her idol's most iconic songs. Plus, it features a mind blowing guitar solo that you don't always hear in Hatfield's music.  You can watch the video for Juliana Hatfield's version of "Physical" below.  Juliana Hatf...

Photo by Mert Gafuroglu When a band is described as an "art rock unit," you know the art is going to be more important than the music. That's not the case with Brooklyn's BODEGA. Their new single, "How Did This Happen!?" is far too rocking and catchy to just be art rock. To steal from the band's press release, it is a mixture of "...  post punk, contemporary pop, hip-hop, kraut rock, and folk-derived narrative songwriting." That sounds like a total mess of genres that would just be a trainwreck, but the song works perfectly. It's far more fun than art rock has any right being. You can watch the 360-degree interactive video for "How Did This Happen!?" below. BODEGA's debut album will be out this summer on What's Your Rupture? For more on BODEGA, check out their website . Their current tour dates are below the video. March 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool w/ Mind Spiders March 13-17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW March 24 – ...