If It's Too Loud...

I've been praising Prescott Park Arts Festival since the very beginning of If It's Too Loud... They always book a bunch of artists we love, and there's just something great about watching a world class artist play for a $7.00 donation on the Portsmouth, NH waterfront in the summer. It's especially great since a lot of artists they book tend to normally charge more than I'm comfortable paying for a concert. In the past I've seen Carolina Chocolate Drops, Nikki Lane, Deer Tick, David Wax Museum, Shovels & Rope, Steve Earle, and Mavis Staples here, and every show is always a highlight of my summer. This year year they've only announced three shows so far, but all three could easily be the highlights of the entire season: Jenny Lewis: June 16 Drive-By Truckers: June 30 Conor Oberst: July 17 For more information on the Prescott Park Arts Festival, be sure to check out their website .

New York's Danielia Cotton has a blistering blues rock single released earlier this month. I almost hesitate to refer to it as blues rock, since we all have a certain idea as to what blues rock is. "She Too" is far more intense than what you picture that genre to be. It's more of a soul/almost metal hybrid, like the less clunky sound of later White Stripes. The song is an anthem that demands gender equality. It's loud protest rock, the kind we could use more of these days.  You can listen to "She Too" below. The single is available now via Cottontown LLC. For more on Danielia Cotton, check out her website .

Even if it didn't include a cover of Guns n Roses epic song "Estranged," we'd be impossibly intrigued by Droneflower's debut album. Droneflower is the pairing of folk/dream pop artist Melissa Nadler and Stephen Brodsky of metalcore bands like Cave In and Mutoid Man. It's not a pairing I ever thought we'd see, but the two became friends when Brodsky went to see Nadler on tour, which lead to the formation of Droneflower.  For their cover of "Estranged," Droneflower cut the song down by two minutes. It still clocks in at over seven minutes, so they kept most of the epic scope. It leans more towards Nadler's artistic output than it does Cave In. It's haunting folk, but there is more of an edge and noise lingering than you might expect. It's folk with an unexpected menace and droning guitars. This is such an interesting pairing, and we can't wait to hear more. You can listen to Droneflower's cover of "Estranged" bel...

When you get a press r elease that lists the "for fans of" as  Dismemberment Plan, Faith No More, Soundgarden, Primus, and Jesus Lizard, the music is going to be strange. And the latest single from Yucca King definitely fits that. "Panic Attack" is loud, noisy, and groovy, fitting every single one of the previously mentioned bands in some way, with more than a little Frank Zappa sprinkled in. Vocalist Greg Arent describes the song much better than I possibly could: "When I was in my early days of sobriety I struggled with crippling panic attacks. Every time I had to go out and be social without booze I would have a total meltdown. I always wanted to write a song about that feeling and the music in this song seemed to fit; with the dirty bass, screaming guitar and herky-jerky drumbeat. We want the song to actually make people feel anxious." You can listen to "Panic Attack #2" below. Popcorn, but also House Fire , the new album from Yucca Ki...

A super busy release week this week, but not a ton of true highlights for me. Artist : John Paul White Album : The Hurting Kind Quick Description : Latest solo effort from half of The Civil Wars. Why You Should Listen : This is his best effort yet. Overall Thoughts : I am sure John Paul White would like to escape the long shadow of The Civil Wars at this point, but I’m not sure how realistic that will be. With that said, this album will likely help, which is possibly the best merging of classic country and modern roots/folk. There are so many positive moments here that my fear is that this will be overlooked either due to how stacked this week is or because people expect something else from him entirely. Recommendation : Don’t miss out on this one. It’s worth the time investment. Artist : Reese McHenry Album : No Dados Quick Description : Genre-bending indie stuff. Why You Should Listen : This is a truly special record that you'll likely fall for. Overall Thoughts...

Photo by Mark O'Brien Sometimes a song just hits you perfectly. It takes so many things you love about music and just injects them straight into your consciousness. "Before the Dog" by Albany's Greens does that for me. It combines rootsy Americana with fuzzed out indie rock into this laid back but still intense power ballad, which is far for epic than its short two and a half minute time. Greens is the project of Alex Brooks, who's been playing in Albany in various bands as a drummer and bassist, and his first time being a lead singer/songwriter. We can't wait to hear more from Greens. You can listen to "Before the Dog" below. The self-titled debut EP from Greens will be released on May 3 via Five Kill Records. For more on Greens, check out their Twitter .

Photo by Nicola Rowlands The latest single from Los Angeles based Bleached isn't quite what we'd expect from them. First, they appear to now be a duo as opposed to the trio that recorded 2016's Welcome the Worms. Second, "Shitty Ballet" is fair more chill than anything off their previous album. It's a quiet, kinda quirky acoustic ditty instead of the updated sound of The Donnas that we had come to love. It takes a little time, but you slowly adjust to the new sound and begin to genuinely love it on its own. And then the rock kicks in at the end, bringing us back to what we've always loved about Bleached. You can watch the video for "Shitty Ballet" below. For more on Bleached, check out their website . Upcoming tour dates opening for Refused and The Hives (!!!!) are below the video. Mon. May 20 - Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theater * Tue. May 21 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant * Wed. May 22 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall * Fri. May 24 - Denver...

Photo by Chet Tilokani Toronto's Skye Wallace is back with a new single off her upcoming album. "Suffering for You" was written while Wallace was Dawson City Music Festival's songwriter in residence, which had her staying in the Yukon during the month of January in a potentially haunted house. (I've actually been to Dawson City way back in the 1900's, and if it was that dull in June I can't imagine what January is like...) The song is about a group of people that get separated from their expedition and trapped on an ice floe for months. With that knowledge, "Suffering for You" becomes haunting. Somehow Wallace takes that subject matter and turns it into this epic, uplifting semi-punk power ballad.  You can listen to "Suffering for You" below.  Skye Wallace's self-titled debut album will be out June 7. For more on Skye Wallace, check out her website .

Earlier this year I stumbled upon Brass Against and fell in love with their brass band covers of Rage Against the Machine, as well as a few other hard rock/metal legends. They've truly outdone themselves with their latest cover: Beastie Boys's biggest hit "Sabotage." Personally I would have preferred another song, but "Sabotage" fits into their repertoire perfectly. Plus, Sophia Urista's vocals might just be perfectly made for this song. She brings the ideal level of intensity needed for "Sabotage," and if the Beastie Boys can no longer perform this song for us, Brass Against are more than welcome to take it over. You can watch the video for Brass Against's cover of "Sabotage" below. For more on Brass Against, be sure to check out their website .

Lucinda Williams should be covered a whole lot more. Her songs are simply perfect, and as respected as she is, it doesn't seem like enough people pay tribute to her music. Luckily, Ransom Pier are releasing a new EP and are including a cover of Williams's "Fruits of My Labor" off her 2003 masterpiece World Without Tears. Ransom Pier cover the song magnificently. Their version is just a tiny bit slower than the original, and Hayley Harrington does an unbelievable job with Williams's impossible to duplicate vocals.  You can watch the live video for Ransom Pier's version of "Fruits of My Labor" below. Feels Like Home to Me , the upcoming EP from Ransom Pier, will be out on April 24. You can pre-order a copy on Bandcamp . For more on Ransom Pier, check out their website .

Hailing from Portsmouth, NH, Chelsea Paolini writes on her Bandcamp bio that she's a "...  guitarist , electric and some acoustic . songwriter about love, life and weird problems. kind of a singer." She's definitely correct, as her latest EP, Medicine Cabinet , has some absolutely killer guitar work, which seems rare for a mostly pop record. By pop, we don't mean modern Swiss produced pop, but 90's alternative power pop. Paolini is definitely  a rock artist at heart, no matter how catchy these songs get. And they are certainly catchy in their own little awkward way. As for Paolini's claim that she's "kind of a singer," we have to agree, but we mean that in the best possible way. Paolini isn't the kind of singer that would ever make it on a big televised competition, and she's certainly not a traditionally great singer. However, she has her own really unique and interesting voice that will force itself into you with an insane amount ...

Photo by Eat Humans After hearing the first single off her upcoming album we thought we had Atlanta's Faye Webster pegged. "Room Temperature" is a groovy indie country ballad heavy on pedal guitar. Her latest, "Flowers," couldn't be more different. "Flowers" features fellow Atlanta artist Father, and is a straight up hip hop/R&B song. In fact, the song is meant as an homage to Awful Records which is a hip hop collective that helped launch her career. We never would have guessed that based on "Room Temperature." While "Flowers" is a hip hop song, it's also an odd hip hop song. It's incredibly mellow, and doesn't have the beat or instrumentation anyone would ever expect with hip hop. But it's still hip hop, although weird in the best possible way. You can watch the video for "Flowers" below. Atlanta Millionaires Club , the upcoming album from Faye Webster, will be out May 24 on Secretly Canadian...

Photo by Kelly Davidson Savage Our very favorite steamcrunk band Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys have released their submission for the 2019 NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest, and it's a new song! (At least I can't find this song on any of their previous releases, but I could be wrong...) "Lonely Children" follows along with their other most recent single, "Dino Domina," by being a faster, more intense song. Since it's a Tiny Desk entry, it's a more stripped down, seated version, so I simply can't wait for the full on rock song this promises to be. Plus, it features some of the most hardcore viola action you've ever heard.  You can watch the Tiny Desk submission video for "Lonely Children" below. Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys's new album, War Gospel , is set to be released this year. For more on the band, check out their Facebook and Twitter . If you happen to be in the Boston area, you can see the...

According to his brief Bandcamp bio, " Keith A/B is a singer-songwriter from the Providence area." But that doesn't really describe his newest album, Without Grievance. The opening song, "Hey Kelly," does not fit what you'd expect from a singer-songwriter. That term conjures an image of an acoustic guitar and something along the lines of folk, or maybe some mainstream, straight up rock music. Instead, "Hey Kelly" sounds like Jason Lowenstein's contributions to Sebadoh. It's much louder and more dissonant than a singer-songwriter usually sounds. From there "I'd Be a Success" sounds more like a singer-songwriter, but only because it's more mellow. It still has an undercurrent of abrasive noise lurking underneath. It's not until the fourth track, "No Black Magic Required," that Without Grievance  almost sounds like a traditional singer-songwriter, but once again even this song goes off in its own direction. ...

Photo by Cara Totman Three of the things I love the most are covers, J Mascis, and Tom Petty. All of these things have collided with a J Mascis cover of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers's 1979 classic "Don't Do Me Like That." Mascis's version stays mostly true to Petty's original. In fact, it's much more true to the original than I had expected. That being said, it's still a song being performed by J Mascis, so there's plenty of the fuzzed out guitar that we'd want from that. The cover has a sense of what you'd expect from a bar band covering Tom Petty. This is just a bar band cover that happens to feature J Mascis. You can listen to J Mascis's cover of "Don't Do Me Like That" below. The song is available on your favorite digital platform via Sub Pop. For more on J Mascis, be sure to check out his website . Mascis's current tour dates are below the song. Apr. 16 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya WWWX Apr. 17 - Os...