If It's Too Loud...

Sunday night was a rare completely stacked night for live shows in and around Boston. Of all of the entertainment options Sunday, I had to go with Laura Stevenson playing The Sinclair. I've been a huge fan for well over a decade, and it's been over twelve years since I was able to see her live (TT the Bear's way back in 2013). Luckily for me, I believe I made the correct choice, as the show was excellent and met the mood I needed. Playing as a quartet for most of the show, Laura Stevenson took the stage at roughly 9:00 for a great set of songs. She repeatedly apologized for playing so many sad songs in a row, and at one point said there would be two in a row, and there ended up being five to six. But, the crowd of Laura Stevenson devotees in the audience knew what we were getting into, and we welcomed it. It's a special kind of artist that can play so many sad songs with a sense of joy, and who can make it pleasant for the crowd. Plus, Stevenson's fans may be the mo...

Photo by Johnny Moto Based in Oxford, The August List's latest single is inspired by Neil Young and Crazy Horse along with Alan Resnick's short film This House Has People In It where security cameras capture the family's daughter phasing through the floor. "The Duplex Phase" is an odd and eerie dirty blues song with heavy roots in indie rock. Song that are considered haunting are rarely this rockin', but The August List pull it off. This one is quite simply irresistible, and has a vibe that's going to make things awkward, even though you'll find yourself inexplicably drawn to "The Duplex Phase." The August List say of their new single: "The song is a wish to disappear into the ether to evade anxiety, toxic folks and toxic situations. Who hasn’t wanted the floor to swallow them up on occasion? But, in the end, the desire to connect with another person who can help you stare down this desolation is a strong pull back into the world. So it ...

Image courtesy Speed Week Australian garage punks Speed Week are back with their first new music since 2020. "Subdivision" is a biting and sarcastic song that you're going to love from the opening bass line. It's spoken word vocals are delivered in the style of a carnival barker, and it's all wrapped up in a package reminiscent of Blur meeting Yard Act. It couldn't say that "Subdivision" is a particularly hard or fast song, but it's certainly in your face. It's a fun track, if you're into this sort of thing. We're just discovering Speed Week ourselves, but if "Subdivision" is any indication, we'll be bringing you them as often as we can. You can listen to "Subdivision" below. Weak Speed is due out October 17 on Endless Recordings, and is available for pre-order via Bandcamp . For more on Speed Week, check out the band on Instagram . Weak Speed by Speed Week

Photo by Magen Buse Austin, TX's Stella and the Very Messed have a new song out that might be perfect for a Tuesday morning. "Keds with No Laces" is an upbeat indie pop-rock track with just a hint of a twang. It's a really fun song that oddly reminds me of if the Ramones ever tried to go country. There's a very 90's feel to the song, and this could have very easily made it to MTV's Buzz Bin. "Keds with No Laces" is a pop filled song with biting lyrics, even though we never would have admitted how popy it is if it came out thirty years ago.  You can watch the video for "Keds with No Laces" below. Big Familiar is out now on Double Helix Records, and is available via Bandcamp . For more on Stella and the Very Messed, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Vittoria Pagliaro We last heard from mary in the junkyard back in May, but it feels much longer than that. I'm not sure if that's due to the state of... everything, or that four months without new mary in the junkyard is too long, but luckily the UK band is back with a new single. "midori" shows off the quieter side of the band. It's still a noisy indie rock song, but this one fits more as a power ballad that showcases Clari Freeman-Taylor's vocals, which have never sounded better. It's a lovely and intense disjointed track that rocks harder than most songs that are twice as loud as "midori." mary in the junkyard have been a favorite of ours since last year, and they keep winning us over more with every release. You can listen to "midori" below. For more on mary in the junkyard, check out the band on Instagram . Tour dates opening for Wet Leg are below the song. midori by mary in the junkyard Tue. Sept. 30 - Oakland, CA @ Fox T...

Photo by Tyler Squires We thought we had Joelton Mayfield pegged as an alt-country artist (and a damn fine one, too), and then he goes and defies our expectations with his latest single. "The Shore" opens up with what certainly sounds like a drum machine, and then meanders through multiple styles. It's laid back, but oddly intense, as it plays around with indie folk, alt-pop, and indie rock throughout it's five plus minute run. As laid back as "The Shore" is, it's absolutely epic. It's reminding me of an artist like Bruce Springsteen or The Killers, but a more grounded version. Mayfield may not be quite at the stadium headliner lever yet, but "The Shore" is showing that he's ready if any stadiums will have him. You can watch the video for "The Shore" below. Crowd Pleaser is due out October 24 on Bloodshot Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Joelton Mayfield, check out the artist's website . Upcoming ...

Photo by Ginger Fierstein Afro psych-rock band Orchestra Gold have a new single out, and while their recent singles have been more rock based, "Dakan" ups that even more. "Dakan" is a hard rocking psychedelic single that grooves just as hard as it rocks. This one goes far past the whole world music label, and is going to appeal to anyone that likes psychedelic hard rock, and if you also happen to love West African traditional music, it's all a bonus. "Dakan" isn't exactly at the mosh friendly level of heavy music, but it's not all that far off. Orchestra Gold are the kind of band that could have huge crossover appeal, and a song like this shows exactly why. Singer Mariam Diakite says of the band's latest single: " 'Dakan'  is a Bambara word from Mali, translating to 'destiny' or 'fate,' and also implying a shared purpose. This concept inspired the title of our album after I wrote a song by the same name. often, ...

Erick Sermon is officially a hip hop legend and was a member of the highly influential group EPMD. His upcoming project is an album featuring hip hop duos, and the first single features Method Man and Redman. "Look at 'Em" is exactly what you need and want it to be. Sermon's track sounds more modern than the 80's and 90's throwback you might expect it to be, but its roots are in the golden age of hip hop. Plus, Method Man and Redman always seem to bring out the best in each other, and their collaborations are always a good time. "Look at 'Em" is exactly what I look for in modern rap, and Sermon delivers perfectly. Erick Sermon says of his upcoming album: “ Dynamic Duo’s Vol. 1  is eight brand new songs from some of the greatest Hip-Hop duos of all time. I hope fans enjoy it as much as I did putting it together.” You can listen to "Look at 'Em" below. Dymanic Duo's Vol. 1 is due out in November. For more on Erick Sermon, check ou...

Carissa Johnson is one of Boston's favorite singer-songwriters, even if she now splits time between here and New York. Her latest single with The Cure-Alls packs quite the sonic punch. "Millennium" keeps her garage rock/pop/punk sound intact, but something about the song feels much more raw than we're used to from Johnson. It's a fun and catchy rock song that has Johnson's emotions just spilling out. Johnson doesn't reinvent any genres with a song like "Millennium," but she has this certain quality that you know it's her as soon as a song starts. Her specialty is songs that exist right on the line between pop and rock, which this one certainly does. "Millennium" is the rare song that is going to satisfy the most snobby indie rock critic and someone who exclusively listens to Top 40. That's the magic of Carissa Johnson. Carissa Johnson says of her latest single: " This song was written after a very difficult and sudden break...

Photo by David Harrison The Sha La Das are a family doo wop band consisting of seventy-nine year old Bill Schalda and his sons: Paul, Will, and Carmine. Their latest single, "Stop Using My Love," isn't a modernized version of the genre. Instead, it sounds like a long lost release from sixty years ago. The Sha La Das have nailed the sound of classic doo wop, right down to the production. If you grew up listening to your local oldies station with your parents and developed a love for classic hits of the 60's, "Stop Using My Love" is going to feel wonderfully familiar. This one is something truly special. Bill Schalda says of his band's latest single: “An example of our collaborative songwriting… they just throw you a hook or a couple of chords and a rainstorms of melodies and words starts coming down. Paul came up with the hook, then came Tommy’s chords and the rest of it exploded it out. I can’t say how I created it. It's just there and flows out.”   ...

Image courtesy of The Sound Cove Figures On A Beach were a Boston/Detroit synth pop band that disbanded in 1991, leaving behind unreleased music that never saw the light of day... until today. "Play" is the first unreleased song from the band in thirty-four years, and it's a glorious time capsule. It perfectly captures that period of time when the 80's were becoming the 90's. It's rooted in the 80's, but doesn't quite fit what you expect to hear from synth pop from that decade. Also, "Play" is simply a killer college rock song, to use the descriptor of its day. If you're like us and are only discovering Figures On A Beach now, welcome aboard, and get ready to do some deep diving along our side. Anthony Kaczynski (vocals/keyboards) says of his band's newly released single: “I always thought ‘Play’ summed us up perfectly, including the rock and a hard place we found ourselves at in 1991. I very much wanted the band to continue; it had b...

Photo by Kim Christoffello Cusp have such a bright and refreshing take on indie rock. Their latest single, "Oh Man," injects quite a bit of pop into the genre, which a lot of bands do these days, but not quite like this. The song is a delightfully quirky and mostly straightforward song that borrows from garage rock and shimmering pop to make a song that just kind of does its own thing. "Oh Man" is a delightful song that is sure to put a smile on your face, which is quite a challenge in 2025. Cusp have given us a song that is truly fun, and an impossible to resist alt-pop rocker. Seriously, just try not to restart the song as soon as it finishes after one listen. Jen Bender (vocals/guitar) says of her band's latest single and video: “Like ‘Follow Along,’ ‘Oh Man’ is a caricature of my (very) late 20s. It captures a heightened and nagging need to be ‘accomplished,’ to pursue the Dream, and to be taken just seriously enough. The video is a snapshot of all of us at ...

Photo by Meghan Hancock New York City's bloodsports formed in 2023 and are set to release their debut album next month. The band's latest single, "Rot," does the loud/quiet/loud thing expertly. The song starts off in the vein of slowcore, with a little more volume and noise for the chorus. It's a plodding and oddly beautiful song, even at the noisier parts. It's a slow build of a song that defies the vast majority of the trappings of the alt-rock genre, and when "Rot" reaches it's crescendo, it's absolutely epic. bloodsports are the kind of band that are doing their own thing and are guaranteed to blow you away. Bandleader Sam Murphy says of the band's latest single: “'Rot' is about someone who has ended a relationship, and trying to justify their behavior that led to the split, blaming the other for mistakes they’ve made.  Eventually it deteriorates into a self-obsessed, egotistical delusion resulting in the screamed line of ...

Photo by Tanner Deutsch Of all the bands doing the 90's inspired alt-rock thing in 2025, we have a little soft spot for Rocket. The Los Angeles band has a new single out, and while it might have its roots in the mid 90's, "Another Second Chance" sounds like 2025. It's an incredibly catchy and infectious rock song that sounds like summer lingering on. It's reminiscent of the period in the 90's where grunge was starting to fade out and a more pop focused sound was taking over. "Another Second Chance" sounds like if Letters to Cleo had formed in southern California and not Boston. As poppy as the track may be, there is plenty of alt-rock distortion to keep everything interesting. Desi Scaglione (guitar) says of the band's upcoming album: “Recording the second half of the album eight months after the first half gave us a lot of time to think about what we were doing. We ended up re-recording three songs because we felt like we could just do bette...

The Cords are quickly becoming our favorite Scottish sister indie pop duo, and their latest single will show you why. "When You Said Goodbye" could be considered folk by some people, or at the very least folk adjacent. But, if you came of age in the 90's, you're going to hear a delightful throwback to that era. "When You Said Goodbye" has just the slightest haze of fuzz over it's jangly guitars which is reminding us of our favorites from The Sundays. The song feels like a warm blanket covering you, and is sheer joy to listen to. There's also a feeling of twee put out by The Cords, giving the song a Belle & Sebastian meets The Sundays feel, which we're going to find impossible to resist. Eva and Grace say of their latest single: "When You Said Goodbye" is about losing someone and still having things to do and say to them before they are gone. It's quite different from other Cords songs but it's our favourite."  You can l...