Live Shows: Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys and The Devil's Twins, ONCE Ballroom, Somerville, MA 12/31/19

I'm not a huge New Year's Eve guy. I hate nights where you feel obligated to go out and have fun because you need to. Of course, I'll go out if there's something specific to do, and this New Year's Eve Boston was packed with great things to do. STL GLD, Latrell James, and Cliff Notez were at Oberon. Oompa was at Great Scott. Deer Tick was playing The Sinclair. These Wild Plains were somewhere. But as soon as I saw that Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys were playing with The Devil's Twins at ONCE for $10, I knew I had plans.

Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys closed out the night starting their thirteen (naturally) song set just before midnight. Our favorite steam crunkers brought the party hard, playing a set of their loudest rockers with nary a ballad in sight. Opening with my personal new-ish favorite "Dino Domina," Walter Sickert and Mary Widow started off singing in the crowd, which became a recurring theme of mostly Sickert wandering offstage when it worked out. The band broke out the rarely played "The Legend of Squid and Moon" by request. It might be odd that I referred to this as their party set since this song has a refrain of "Death to your patriarchy" and they also played songs with titles like "Doomsday Disco" and "28 Seeds" (which has a chorus of "Is this really the end of the world / Well I hope so"), but The Army of Broken Toys make it work. They also broke out their cover of The Rolling Stones's classic "Paint It Black," which has become a setlist standard for them.

Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys had the unenviable job of playing after The Devil's Twins, who are an absolute powerhouse live. The blues/metal/noir group was playing as a five piece this night, with Jeremiah Louf and Nikki Coogan being joined by a drummer and two horns. Somehow they were one of the loudest bands I've heard in years, and captivated the crowd with favorites like "This Skeleton Living in Me" and "Street Rat," with lyrics taken from Disney's Aladdin. They're another band that somehow takes the darkest of songs and turns them into a party, so they might be the perfect band to complement The Army of Toys.

The two openers were odd choices, but for a night like this, oddball choices are even more perfect. According to their Bandcamp profile, Lunar Throne are "shitheads attempting prog." I would normally recoil at anything described as prog, but Lunar Throne play a loud instrumental blend of rock that leans heavily towards metal. It's much heavier and less chin scratch inducing than most prog you can think of, so definitely check them out. Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys play the kind of neo-lounge you could probably hear at bars across the country on NYE, but no one was quite playing it like them. They played mostly standard covers, including "Chain of Fools" and "Piece of My Heart," but their medley of Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" and Britney Spears's "Toxic" was a highlight of the entire night.

Special shoutout to TeeJay Horn who played drums for three out of four bands. Also, it was a shockingly family friendly night with many of the bands having their members' preschool age and toddlers in attendance. But that's just how an Army of Toys show works, and part of why we love them.

Pia Fraus - "Love Sports"

I'm a little embarrassed that Pia Fraus have been around for over twenty years and I'm just discovering them now. It could be that they're from Estonia, and we don't hear many bands from Estonia here in the US. But, better late than never since their latest song needs to be heard. "Love Sports" is a perfect slice of what is now known as dream-gaze, the wonderful world of music that incorporates dream pop and shoegaze. Plus, there's a hint of the swankiness of the short lived but much loved (around these parts, at least) 60's lounge revival from the 90's.

You can listen to "Love Sports" below. Empty Parks, the new album from Pia Fraus, will be out January 20 (Friday release day be damned!) via Seksound. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Pia Fraus, check them out on Facebook and Twitter. Current tour dates are below the song.


Jan. 17  Tallinn, Estonia - Von Krahli Theater
Jan. 18  Tartu, Estonia - Armastuse saal, Aparaaditehas
Jan. 28  Tokyo, Japan - LUSH, Shibuya (with Bertoia, Seventeen Years Old And Berlin Wall)
Jan. 30  Nagoya, Japan - Tightrope, Aichi (with Ringo Deathstarr)
Jan. 31  Osaka, Japan - americamura FANJ twice (with Ringo Deathstarr)

En Attendant Ana - "Do You Understand?"

Photo by Chloé Lecarpentier

Back in November we went pretty nuts over En Attendant Ana's song "Words." If you went as nuts as we did, you'll be thrilled with their latest, "Do You Understand?" It's more of the same: incredibly lush indie pop mixed with indie rock. The latest song is even more bouncy and fun, almost as if Stereolab decided to rock out a little more.

The band explains the song: "As opposed to "Words" that we started to work on quite rapidly but which took so much time to finish, "Do You Understand?" was finalised in a short period of time. The lyrics came easily as well. Really fast, like automatic writing. It's also the first of our new songs that we played live. We were nervous about people's reaction. It's a song about friendship and the unexpected reassuring shoulders you can find when you need them. The importance of your surrounding when the times get rough. These kind of cheesy but important things."

You can listen to "Do You Understand?" below. Juillet, the new album from En Attendant Ana, will be out January 24 on Trouble in Mind. You can pre-order the album here. For more on En Attendant Ana, check them out on Facebook.

The Secret Sisters - "Hold You Dear"

Last month saw the release of "Cabin," the long awaited new single from The Secret Sisters. It was a much more mainstream sound than we've come to expect from the duo, and, as I said then, it actually kinda rocked. Their newest single, "Hold You Dear," shows a return to more traditional folk than the previous single did, although it's mostly by comparison. "Hold You Dear" is more modern than earlier releases from The Secret Sisters, but it's still fairly traditional at heart. As the band explains the song: "This one is especially personal, but we believe you will know exactly what we felt in its conception.  It is a song about time and the way it runs out.  It is a song about living moment by moment, and savoring the precious gifts life offers each of us." And yes, the song is just as heart-wrenching as that description makes it out to be.

You can listen to "Hold You Dear" below. Saturn Return, the new album from The Secret Sisters, will be out February 28 on New West Records. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on The Secret Sisters, check out their website. Current tour dates are below the song.

March 25 - Brooklyn, NY - Murmrr Theatre*

March 27 - Boston, MA - City Winery*

March 28 - Philadelphia, PA - City Winery*

March 29 - Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere*

March 31 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Revival*

April 2 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk*

April 3 - Wausau, WI - The Grand Theater*

April 5 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater*

April 8 - Des Moines, IA - Wooly’s*                     

April 9 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads*

April 10 - Saint Louis, MO - Off Broadway*

April 24 - Palm Springs, CA - Alibi

April 25 - San Diego, CA - Casbah^

April 28 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room^

April 29 - Berkeley, CA - Freight & Salvage^

May 1 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall+

May 2 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre+

June 10 - Bury St. Edmunds, UK - The Apex

June 11 - Bury, UK - The Met

June 13 - Gateshead, UK - Sage Gateshead

June 14 - Sheffield, UK - Firth Hall

June 16 - Leeds UK - Brudenell Social Club

June 17 - Milton Keynes, UK - The Stables

June 18 - London, UK - Union Chapel

June 19 - Bristol, UK - St. George’s

June 21 - Tunbridge Wells, UK - Black Deer Festival

June 24 - Paris, FR - Les Etoiles

June 25 - Lier, BE - Ripsique/Cultuurcentrum Vredeberg

June 26 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso 

*with Logan Ledger

^with Leslie Stevens

+with Anna Tivel

Forgotten Fridays: Jordy - "Dur dur d'être bébé! (It's Tough to Be a Baby)"

Forgotten Fridays is an occasional feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. We go back and remind you of their existence, and help decide if they were any good.

Allow me to break from our normal format for Forgotten Fridays where I bring up a beloved if forgotten indie album, usually from the 90's. I don't typically use this for top 40 music, but every so often I'll say something like "Hey, remember when that French toddler had a hit song about how hard it was to be a baby?" and everyone looks at me like a rambling drunk. This has happened so many times I finally looked it up to make sure it wasn't just my poor memory. It wasn't.

Back in 1992, a French record company gave a record contract to a four year old. Jordy Lemoine, recording under just the name Jordy, had the number one song in France with "Dur dur d'être bébé!" This song was such a hit that and English language version was also released in the US with the title "Dur dur d'être bébé! (It's Tough to Be a Baby)." The song reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's catchy, novelty Euro dance pop that spends over three minutes discussing the difficulties a baby must endure. Somehow while other early 90's novelties like "I'm Too Sexy" and "Cotton Eyed Joe" still endure at weddings and karoake, "Dur dur d'être bébé! (It's Tough to Be a Baby)" has all but disappeared. 

Comrade Nixon - Comrade Nixon Takes Kentucky!

I don't know why, but I always envision Vermont to be the Land of 1000 Jam Bands. I may or may not be right, but Burlington's Comrade Nixon shatters my preconceptions. On their latest, Comrade Nixon Takes Kentucky!, the band starts off with just a ridiculous barrage of noise on "Yellow Black." This is noise punk with extra punk. It's just fast and pounding and as in your face as it could possibly be. Seeing as Comrade Nixon is a New England based noise duo, it's going to be easy to compare them to Lightning Bolt, which is kinda fair. But Comrade Nixon seem to have a more song based approach even though their songs seem even less structured. That may not make sense now, but if you listen it somehow will. It's an approach that is far less jammy than some noise rockers and more in line with old school punk and hardcore. And it's the perfect thing to listen to in order to purge all the Christmas music you've been listening to for weeks now.

You can listen to "Action Jackson" below. Comrade Nixon Takes Kentucky! is available now via Bandcamp. For more on Comrade Nixon, check them out on Facebook.

Sweet Pill - "Miss This"

Philadelphia's Sweet Pill are currently being labelled as emo, and I guess they are, in a way. But they're emo in a way that newer bands tend to be: they drop the annoying more whiny aspects of early 00's emo and just bring the heart and fun. Their new single, "Miss This," reminds me more of 90's power pop bands like Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt than anything else, but, sure, with a little pop punk edge. It's not a sound I would have expected to like with that description, but I would have been wrong. "Miss This" is this bouncy but incredibly earnest indie pop rocker that just sucks you in more and more with each listen.

You can listen to "Miss You" below. The song is available as a single with the B-side "Tell Me" via Know Hope Records. You can get a copy on Bandcamp. For more on Sweet Pill, check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Love Love - "Christmas Killing Spree"

Photo via Facebook

As you can tell by the title, "Christmas Killing Spree" by Love Love isn't exactly your traditional lovey dovey Christmas song. Although, if you aren't really paying attention, it would really sound like it. As the band explains: 

"It has become our tradition to write and record a Christmas song every December. This year we decided to recall how stressed our moms sometimes were around Christmas time—the shopping, the wrapping, the hosting, the pleasing… Perhaps an outrageous and comical fantasy about escaping Christmas at home and going to Italy all by herself would release some of the tension?"

You can listen to "Christmas Killing Spree" below. For more on Love Love, check out their website.

Wolff Parkinson White featuring Norah Jones - "Department of Failure"

Photo by Lucy Shaw

Jochen Rueckerts is a well known jazz drummer, but when he decides to dabble in electronic music he goes by Wolff Parkinson White. He has released a new single featuring Norah Jones on vocals, "Department of Failure." For those of us that remember the electronic boom of the late 90's, "Department of Failure" is going to feel charmingly familiar. It's a blend of the most chilled out trip hop you've ever heard melded with jazz. Wolff Parkinson White took an old genre we all have intensely warm feelings for but rarely hear these days and updated it just slightly enough to make it sound modern, but like it was still made for us. This is trip hop for music fans with mortgages and who need to really pay attention to what health care plan to choose.

You can listen to "Department of Failure" below. Favours, the new album from Wolff Parkinson White, will be out February 7. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Wolff Parkinson White, check out his website.

Charming Disaster - "Longest Night of the Year"

Seeing as Charming Disaster are more of a gothic cabaret/murder ballad band, it makes complete sense for them to make music for Halloween, but for Christmas? Well... kinda. Their latest single, "Longest Night of the Year," isn't really a Christmas song, but a "Winter Solstice-inspired song to celebrate the holiday season." The cheery, upbeat sound of the song masks the true meaning: Performing ritual sacrifice to make sure the sun comes back and winter actually ends. Plus, it involves lots of monsters which is always a bonus.

You can listen to "Longest Night of the Year" below. The song is available now via Charming Disaster's Bandcamp. For more on Charming Disaster, check out their website.