If It's Too Loud...

Photo via Facebook It's been a while since we've had any new music from Kitty Kat Fan Club, so stumbling across "Choked by the Weeds" yesterday was a delightful surprise. If you liked their 2019 album Dreamy Little You , the good news is that you're going to love this new song. "Choked by the Weeds" has that retro garage rock meets modern alt-pop sound we loved on their album, but somehow more amped up. The new song is the kind of fun distraction we all could use right now, and little bursts of pure joy and happiness like this are quite welcome. You can listen to "Choked by the Weeds" below. The song is available as a single via Asian Man Records. For more on Kitty Kat Fan Club, check them out on Facebook .

I may be wrong, but I'm going to assume the latest single from the Descendents might be about Trump. The forty two second song is about an "asshole Twitter troll" who needs to "go home" and has "small hands." It's a fast, angry punk song that would have felt right at home with their output in the 80's. Descendents have always been adept at making the most out of incredibly short songs, and "That's the Breaks" is a perfect example of that. In a time when many of their contemporaries (and in many cases even bands that came well after them) have started slowing down and getting more conservative, it's refreshing to see a band double down like the Descendents are. You can watch the lyric video for "That's the Breaks" below. The song is currently available via Epitaph Records here . For more on Descendents, check out their website .

Photo via Facebook Aaron Lee Tasjan is such a difficult artist to try to describe. His latest single, "Don't Overthink It," has a strong base in Americana, but it's not even remotely country, folk, bluegrass, alt-country, singer/songwriter, etc. But yet it is all those things... somewhat. The song also has a little bit of a space element, and some New Wave, and some classic rock. It almost kind of sounds like if David Bowie went country during the 70's, while still sounding like it's music from 2021. All this, and there is still a mainstream element that will appeal to non-weirdos. Tasjan is making great music that truly defies genres while possibly appealing to the masses, which is one of the rarest combinations out there. You can watch the video for "Don't Overthink It" below. Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! will be out February 5 on New West Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Aaron Lee Tasjan, check out his website .

Photo by Amanda Picotte Kalbells are best known as the side project of Rubblebucket's Kalmia Traver, but the band also features members of Sad13, Okkervil River, and more. They have a new single out, and it's going to really demand your attention. "Purplepink" is great for fans of Rubblebucket. The song has that indie rock goes hippie party feel, but "Purplepink" has a chilled out, spacey feel, even without the accompanying video. It's a modern day version of Parliament's spaced out funk, with a few more electronic sounding elements sprinkled in. You can watch the video for "Purplepink" below. Max Heart  is the upcoming album from Kalbells, and will be out on NNA Tapes on March 26. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Kalbells, check them out on Facebook and Twitter .

Hailing from San Luis Obispo, CA, Hayley and the Crushers recently released a new single. "Church of Flag" is this glorious mixture of power pop, pop punk, and glam rock. It sounds as if Letters to Cleo leaned more heavily into influences like the Ramones and Blondie and tried to get on the Warped Tour back in the 90's. It's dripping with attitude and fun, and is one of the catchiest rock songs we've heard so far this year. Not to mention, they have one of the greatest Bandcamp bios of all time: "One part punk-pop, one part sunny surf, all 'poolside glitter trash,' San Luis Obispo, California's Hayley and the Crushers   offer up a tsunami of bold, bad girl fun. Fizzy, frothy, and still a little dangerous, be careful just how far you paddle out. There's blood in the water and the mermaids in this part of the Crusherverse are known to nibble." You can watch the video for "Church of Flag" below. The song is available as a single no...

Photo by Kay Dargin It's been a while since we've brought you new music from Burlington, VT's Clever Girls, but luckily they're coming up with a new album which means we have a new single from the band! Previously I've described their music as Tom Petty Americana meets indie rock, but their new single "Baby Blue" doesn't have a shred of that sound. Instead, the new single is a quiet, mellow, dreamy indie rock song. It's a slightly swirling, restrained song that bubbles with emotion. There is a slight crescendo that brings Clever Girls back to their indie rock roots, but "Baby Blue" shows a new side that almost sounds electronic, focusing on front-person Diane Jean's vocals. You can listen to "Baby Blue" below. Constellations , the upcoming album from Clever Girls, will be out March 26 on Egghunt Records. You can pre-order a copy via Bandcamp . For more on Clever Girls, check out the band's website . Constellations by Cle...

Last month I was smitten with the latest single from Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno, and luckily they Portland, OR duo is back with another song. "Love and Chains" runs a little more to the folk pop side of things than "Will You" did, but when a song is this perfectly done, it's impossible to complain. "Love and Chains" is a gorgeous folk/pop duet between Leva and Calcagno. It's a quiet, contemplative folk song that's going to make you long for the days of summer. It personally has me fantasizing about seeing these two at some outdoor venue just as the sun starts setting, so let's all hope that can be possible this year. You can watch the video for "Love and Chains" below. The self-titled album from Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno is due out March 12 on Free Dirt Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno, check out their website .

Hailing from Sweden, The Boatsmen are a perfect example of modern rock 'n' roll. Their latest single, "When I'm Drunk," is a loud, fast, and in your face burst of pure rock. It's a little too flashy to be garage, and it lives in the same universe as Motorhead, straddling the line between punk and metal, and perfect for fans of both. Plus, there's just the slightest hint of 70's and 80's glam in here to allow it to still be as straight up rock as it is. Also, it's called "When I'm Drunk," so there's no sense of pretention here. It's just a loud, fun rock song. You can watch the video for "When I'm Drunk" below. Versus The Boatsmen , the upcoming album from The Boatsmen, will be out this year on Spaghetty Town Records in the U.S. and Ghost Highway Recordings in Europe. For more on The Boatsmen, check out their Bandcamp .

Photo by Melissa D Fields We all know Concrete Blonde's song "Joey." It's one of those songs that seems to transcend genre, and it's almost in our marrow at this point. Covers of it are oddly rare, so we're thrilled to have this new one from Jeremy Pinnell. The country artist has released a quarantine solo version as a single, and to say he owns this version of the song is an understatement. Somehow Pinnell takes a cover and transforms it with his unrestrained passion. It hardly sounds like a cover at all, but an incredibly personal song to Pinnell. This is the kind of cover on par with Johnny Cash's transformation of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Chris Mueller (Sofaburn Records founder and Jememy Pinnell's manager) says of the cover:  "After over 300 tour dates in the previous three years, Jeremy was sitting at home last summer, and, because of the pandemic, realized he was going to be there for much longer than he was hoping. Refusing t...

Artist : Ben Kweller Album : Circuit Boredom Quick Description : New album from the indie stalwart. Why You Should Listen : Feels like a nice back-to-basics indie record. Overall Thoughts : I think we all loved Ben Kweller when he started out, and I know I felt like I was losing touch with his music as I got older. This new album, though? A very solid listen that feels like the Weezer-esque indie rock we all fell in love with 20 years ago, but with some modern, mature overtones. As one of the first releases of the new year, it's a pretty great way to kick things off. Recommendation : Give this a listen. Artist : Fantasy Non Fiction Album : Fantasy Non Fiction Quick Description : Lovely genre-hopping indie rock. Why You Should Listen : A number of these songs could easily become favorites. Overall Thoughts : Ken sent this one over not long before the end of the year, and I think I was wholly and fully blown away by the second song. There's something truly special her...

As we prepare ourselves for Friday's release of a brand new solo album from Chris Brokaw, it turns out one of his many projects also has new music! The Martha's Vineyard Ferries, Brokaw's band with Bob Weston (Shellac, Mission of Burma) and Elisha Weisner, has a new song, "Betty Ford James." The song itself comes in at just less than a minute, but that's all they needed. It's a fuzzed out indie rocker that definitely does not overstay its welcome and obviously leaves you wanting more. It's probably a little less experimental sounding than you would expect from the band's members and a little less punk considering the short length. In fact, it's almost a pop song, but obviously no one involved would ever allow that to happen. You can watch the video for "Betty Ford James" below. Suns Out Guns Out , the upcoming album from The Martha's Vineyard Ferries, will be out February 26. You can pre-order a copy via Bandcamp . 

Photo by Rachel Cabitt We last brought you new music from Psymon Spine over the summer, but the band is set to release a new album, which means new music! The latest is "Jumprope." It's a ridiculously dance friendly song without being even remotely mainstream. "Jumprope" is post punk and psychedelia joining forces to make a straight up dance track. It's like if Le Tigre and Bodega decided to get serious about their love of 80's Madonna and Deelite. And this is all while fully dedicating themselves to some serious 60's psychedelia. You can listen to "Jumprope" below. Charismatic Megafauna , the upcoming album from Psymon Spine, will be out February 19 on Northern Spy. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Psymon Spine, check out the band on Facebook and Twitter . Charismatic Megafauna by PSYMON SPINE

Last week was one of the craziest weeks in my memory. Just as we thought it couldn't get crazier, Friday night brought news of Donald Trump being permanently kicked off Twitter, with the rest of social media to come. Friday also saw the release of the video for Leland Sundries' new single, the appropriately named "Another Friday Night News Dump." It's a resigned song about how we've all come to expect another piece of crappy news released on Friday nights in the last four years. If it can be a considered a protest song, it's one I can relate to as it's more just a sighing, depressed song more than one calling for an uprising. Musically, it fits into what we love about Leland Sundries. It's an indie rock meets Americana song, but for this one they've injected a little 80's New Wave without the New Wave (I promise it will make sense once you listen). You can watch the video for "Another Friday Night News Dump" below. The song is ava...

Photo via Facebook Boston's War On Alexandria hit my own personal hard rock/metal sweet spot that rarely finds much these days. They are firmly in that genre, but they are definitely not a thrash or a particularly heavy metal band. Their latest single, "California," is going to appeal to a certain breed of metal fans. It's a straight up metal power ballad. Now this is far from "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" or "Love Bites." While "California" does edge into pop, it's more the lost metal ballad like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica used to pull off. Sure, it's a ballad, and it's a quiet song, but it still rocks. Plus, War On Alexandria truly let this ballad rock in a way few ballads ever get the chance to. You can watch the video for "California" below. For more on War On Alexandria, check out the band on Facebook .

Photo by Kanya Iwana There are a quite a few David Bowie covers out there, for good reason. Bowie's music remains timeless, and his influence will always be felt in music. BBE Music has an upcoming David Bowie tribute album due out in May, but instead of the normal rock and pop oriented artists, this compilation will feature Bowie's connection to R&B, jazz, funk, and gospel. The first song up is We Are KING's version of "Space Oddity." You've heard covers of Bowie's 1972 hit before, but never quite like this. We Are KING keeps the feel of Bowie's original, and even amplify the space feel of the song. This is a space soul/R&B version of "Space Oddity." It's unusual and unexpected, but everything about the man was, too, so this is a very fitting tribute to the late icon. Amber and Paris Strother of We Are KING explain their choice of "Space Oddity":  “ There were so many amazing Bowie compositions to choose from but ‘Space...