If It's Too Loud...

Buckle up before you listen to this new song from Penny Rich. The Cardiff based band has released a monster of a song in "Last Meal." The song was inspired by death row inmates in the US being allowed to choose their last meal before being executed. This is a bombastic and loud song mixing the very best elements of both punk and grunge. Nirvana comparisons are going to be made with this band quite a bit, but I'm also hearing hints of The Jesus Lizard, Death from Above 1979, and Dead Kennedys. "Last Meal" just bursts into a breakneck speed right from the start and never lets up. We say this a lot, but you're going to want to keep an eye on Penny Rich. This band could end up doing huge things. Penny Rich says of their new song: “The song explores the idea of a last meal as a metaphor for empty, superficial pleasures, indulged in to temporarily escape the anguish, anxiety or depression the consumer may be experiencing. It’s the juxtaposition between feelings of...

Detroit is just one of those cities that seemingly cranks out killer garage bands. Toeheads just released a new single, and it's possibly the most Detroit sounding thing we've brought you all year. "Mixed Up" has that early 00's garage revival sound minus all the slickness that usually entails. This one is just pure unhinged rock and roll with a punk edge. It could be a song from a lost Nuggets compilation if songs on those albums rocked this hard. It's a lot of fun and a little ridiculous, but since it throws back to the 00's garage rock revival, 70's Detroit proto-punk, and vintage 60's garage rock, what else would you expect? You can listen to "Mixed Up" below. A Cruel Winner's World will be released on Big Neck Records. For more on Toeheads, check out the band's Facebook and Instagram . Mixed Up / Told You Twice by Toeheads

Photo by Jillian Vaccaro Boston singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Christopher James Martin is releasing music under the name Only Child. This music is dscribed as "queer Boston synth pop," and his new single under that moniker is stellar. "Defeater" is as much fun as the queer Boston synth pop description sounds. It's an upbeat synth heavy pop song that is humorous without being jokey, despite the song being about heartbreak. Of course, since it's a synth heavy song "Defeater" is going to get compared to a lot of 80's music, but Only Child doesn't sound entirely like an 80's throwback. It's oddly cinematic and ridiculously fun. Seriously, if you can't enjoy this one you truly need to take a long hard look at yourself. Christopher James Martin says of his new single: “‘Defeater’ is kind of a continuation of the themes covered in ‘Don’t Call Me BB’, about being infatuated with someone you shouldn’t be, with the added twi...

The latest from Hot Mustard features Jordan McLean from Antibalas on trumpet and TV on the Radio's Dave "Smoota" Smith on trombone. "Mustard Green" is this impossibly funky blend of 70's soul, jazz, and hip hop. It's an instrumental track that slowly wanders its way through all of those genres, and just kind of meanders around different tempos as well. It's one of those impossibly cool songs that truly dares you to define it. This is the perfect song if you like The Roots, Guru, The Soul Rebels, or other genre blurring artists. Even if you aren't a fan of any of those, you should truly check out "Mustard Green." This is the kind of song that will reward you for stepping outside of your usual comfort zone. Jack Powell says of his band's new song: "There is some heavy contrast in this one, part of it is light and easy and part of it is ominous and foreboding. An interpretation that I like is the need to overcome discomfort to rea...

Hailing from Singapore, Subsonic Eye have released a new song that sounds like what Sonic Youth would sound like if they decided to go poppy. "Hurt Your Head" has the same noisy and dark guitar tones that Sonic Youth built a career on, and at times the same breakneck sound. But this song is much more upbeat than anything Kim, Thurston, Steve, and Lee ever released together. This is all of the noise, but "Hurt Your Head" is cheery sounding and fun. There is a hint of menace in the song, but it's a fun, non-threatening aggression and menace. I don't know how anyone could pull this off, but Subsonic Eye do an amazing job with is. Daniel Borces says of the band's new song: "Even though Singapore is filled with colour and nature I always feel a sense of detachment from how it truly is, and that makes it difficult for me to feel peaceful. I don’t know if it’s just my internal life conflicting with my immediate surroundings, but the constant construction, ...

Photo by Chris Valle The musical description of "cosmic canyon rock" might not make sense until you hear the latest single from Other Brother Darryl, and then it makes perfect sense. The song also has a bittersweet meaning, as it is the first released since the unexpected passing of band co-founder Dave Mirabella. This is the kind of song that would have made Gram Parsons proud. It has that timeless quality that is soaked in 70's AM radio sweetness but is far too country to be a rock song, or even a soft rock song. But "Until I Do" doesn't sound like a throwback song. It has elements of the classics from the 70's, but it's a modern song. If you've ever loved anything considered alt-country, this one is for you. Dan Nicklin says of the band's new song: “I think this tune, in particular, one of the earlier song ideas that sat idle for eight years until we started writing in earnest, is a good choice. The song has also taken on a double meaning ...

I've been a fan of Little Hag ever since stumbling on their music back when Avery Mandeville was still playing under her name. One frustrating thing about running a music blog is discovering musicians I really like in other areas that never make it to the Boston/New England area. Luckily, Little Hag teamed up with Yawn Mower for a short tour of New England. Dover, NH is a little outside of the distance I normally travel for shows, but it's better than the drive down to Asbury Park so I couldn't resist. Little Hag opened up the show with a fairly short set. Opening with "Tetris" was perfect and set the mood for the night. Mandeville pours everything she has into her performances and might be one of the most energetic performers I've seen in years. The rest of the set drew from 2021's excellent Leash , including favorites like "Red," "Blood," and "Schlub." Wrong Brain's set up provided for a unique stage set up. Surrounded b...

Photo by Ryann Logeais Ebersole New York's Godcaster are back with more of their foreboding psychedelia. Their latest single, "Diamond's Shining Face," is this has this building menace lurking behind it. Typically psychedelic music is bright and happy, but that's not the case with Godcaster. It's reminding me a lot of that one weirdo freak out song on early Stooges albums. The song is like The Stooges meets a more modern psych band like The Flaming Lips. As the song builds, it eventually breaks out into these cathartic releases of noise bursts before going back to the slow and plodding structure of the song. This is a fairly odd song, but if you know Godcaster that is exactly what you want. Lead vocalist Judson Kolk says of the new song: "This song’s music and lyrics are inspired by the great western novelist Zane Grey and by a heartbreaking man named David Diamond who I met on the internet and who was in the process of losing his mind and becoming increa...

Apparently we're going to keep bringing you Christmas music and apologizing that we know it's too early until at least Thanksgiving... The latest is from Taylor Ashton. The Canadian musician who is now Brooklyn based has what is probably the best titled Christmas song of the year: "Santa's Song (I Don't Believe in Myself)." It's a modern folk song that straddles the line between traditional folk and a more mainstream, pop based folk sound. It may lean a bit more into the mainstream side, but just barely. What's great about this song is that it uses jingle bells at a bare minimum and doesn't actually mention Santa by name, so we can almost get away with sharing this one so early. It's a fun little Christmas song that takes mental health seriously. Taylor Ashton says of his new song: “Carving out a music career in this day and age definitely requires a little suspension of disbelief. It's not always easy to believe in your own gifts, or to be...

Photo by Nate Lemuel of Darklisted Photography "My Blood Runs Through This Land" continues Black Belt Eagle Scout's (aka Katherine Paul) move towards a more indie rock sound. This song is just absolutely an epic. It only lasts five and a half minutes, but the song feels bigger than that. It's filled with a giant guitar solo along the lines of something from J Mascis along with Paul's intense vocalizations. This one is more along the lines of classic early 90's indie rock and grunge than the "shoegaze meets folk" that we are used to from Black Belt Eagle Scout. "My Blood Runs Through This Land" just keeps building and building with some of the most killer guitar shredding around. If you have yet to jump on the Black Belt Eagle Scout bandwagon, now you're chance. Katherine Paul says of her upcoming album: “I created  The Land, The Water, The Sky  to record and reflect upon my journey back to my homelands and the challenges and the happine...

Photo by Pooneh Ghana Earlier this year I was lucky enough to see shame and it might have been one of the best shows I've seen in years. I'm thrilled we already have new music from the South London band, and especially since it's such a sonic shift for them. "Fingers of Steel" is much more melodic than anything off 2021's Drunk Tank Pink  while still sounding like what we love about shame. It's a new style of post punk that's less aggressive and more sonically pleasing although it's also more discordant than they typically get. Everything about "Fingers of Steel" seems just slightly off and out of tune, but that's kind of what makes the song great. It's so close to being a mainstream straight up modern rock song, but shame just could never quite do that so you get another wonderfully unique song like this one. You can watch the video for "Fingers of Steel" below. Food for Worms is due out February 24 on Dead Oceans, whic...

Photo by Jeaninne Kaufer Only a band like Fucked Up could write and record a full album in twenty four hours and have it actually be this good and polished. Of course, polished is subjective. Their latest single, "Found," is this glorious mix of straight up alt-rock, indie rock, punk, and hardcore. Damian Abraham's vocals are always going to be gruff, but a lot of the rest of "Found" is surprisingly melodic. There are some killer vocal harmonies on the outro of the song, and the guitars almost have a Mission of Burma goes prog rock thing going. The gang vocals are more melodic than you would expect, and harmonizing with Abraham's growl can't be easy. Guitarist and songwriter Mike Haliechuk says of the new song: "I used to live on Davenport Road, which is one of the oldest streets in North America, and has been a First Nations trail for thousands of years, running along the north shore of Lake Iroquois, which receded after the last ice age. Just to t...

Photo by Kara Sheridan I agree that it's too early for Christmas music, but this is a cover of Wham!'s immortal "Last Christmas," which is my personal favorite Christmas song, but ironically and unironically. Nashville's Goldpark take their shot at the song, and it's a mostly faithful version that updates the sound of "Last Christmas" while keeping the roots of the 80's original. This is pure pop cheese done in a glorious modern indie rock way, and you can tell that Goldpark had a ton of fun with this one. And isn't that all we truly want with a Christmas song? Goldpark says of the song: "' Last Christmas' was one of the first songs that came to our minds when thinking about Christmas songs that we would like to cover.  It strikes this interesting balance of being warm and bringing a smile to your face while also giving you a sense of sorrow. Those two things together tend to make a great Christmas song." You can listen to G...

Photo by Jessica Gurewitz Based in Brooklyn, TVOD (aka Television Overdose) are considered "disco-punk" which makes perfect sense once you hear their newest single. "Goldfish" has all of the aggression and discordance you would expect to hear with punk, but it's oddly dance friendly.  I don't mean in that way that a lot of modern punk borders on dance music.  It's even... fun? Which is unsually considered forbidden in a song this punk. "Goldfish" is punk even by the more strict definitions of that genre. But it's going to make you want to genuinely dance. It's kind of post-punk in that way, but this is more punk than post-punk typically gets. Hence disco-punk. Lead vocalist and songwriter Tyler Wright says of the story behind the song: "Our guitar player Jason and I were messing around before band practice one day and started hammering out these very primal bass & drum beats. I couldn't help but use my goldfish 'Phoebe...

Photo by Craig Newton Based on their name, Holy Moly & The Crackers sound nothing like what I expected them to sound like. They're also from Newcastle, and "Hot Red" isn't anything like what I'd expect a band from the UK to sound like. This is a killer straight up soul/rock song. I don't think saying a song like "Hot Red" doesn't stray too far from the genre is a negative because when a band nails a genre like Holy Moly & The Crackers have, why change things up too much? To me this sounds like a cross between Amy Winehouse and the more rootsy sound of Julie Rhodes. We typically get really into this kind of sound, so expect to hear more from these folks in the near future! Band co-leader  says of the new single: “Hot Red's about being addicted to the road, about moving from horizon to horizon.  I guess it was on our mind a lot over the last few years when we couldn't go further than our local park. It's the first track from our...