The Devil's Twins - "Bad Karma"

Photo by Carissa Johnson

It may be the week after Halloween, but now it's time for us to play catch up on all the great music artists released for Halloween that we couldn't do last week. It wouldn't be Halloween if there wasn't anything new from The Devil's Twins. The Boston band released "Bad Karma," and if you've been a fan for any length of time, you're going to love this new song. It's that perfect mixture of blues, hard rock, and funk that we've come to need from The Devil's Twins, and somehow "Bad Karma" seems like an amped up version of everything we love from them. It might be the killer horn section joining them this time around, or it could be Nikki Coogan seems to give her vocals a little extra oomph for this one, but "Bad Karma" might be their finest release yet!

Guitarist Jeremiah John Louf says of the new song: “We certainly took a cue from The Beatles on this one. Similar to a song like ‘Come Together’, ‘Bad Karma’ is less about what we’re singing and much more about how it sounds when we’re singing it. Something about combining the sound of a swing beat with a steady blues bass, fuzzy ZZ Top-style guitars, and a classic horn section while repeating the word ‘Bad’ upwards of 50 times that just feels so good.” 

You can listen to "Bad Karma" below. For more on The Devil's Twins, check out their website.

shame - "BiL"

Photo by Sam Alexander-Gregg

If you didn't already miss live music, get ready to after seeing this. shame have released a live video for the new song "BiL." Recorded at Brixton Electric, this is one of the very few live videos to actually capture the energy of a live performance. You can almost feel the power of frontman Charlie Steen through your computer screen. "BiL" is an intense alt-rock thrasher that leans heavily on the punk side of post punk. It combines noise punk and post punk that reimagines a band like Refused if they were less metal influenced. After seeing this video, your first priority once live music comes back will be to see shame in person.

You can watch the live video performance of "BiL" below. The video is part of a forthcoming live session film recorded at Brixton Electric. For more on shame, check out the band's website.

Ruby Rose Fox - "Your Old Ways"

Photo via Facebook

Boston's Ruby Rose Fox has always made pop music, but it's always been her own interesting version of pop. It's much darker and experimental than the mainstream would ever allow, which is probably what draws me into it. Her latest single is somehow her most and least mainstream offering so far. According to a Facebook post, she's "... been listening to a lot of bedroom pop, Nina Simone, and Andy Shauf," and "Your Old Ways" reflects that. It starts off slow in a jazzy way, getting you ready for a gorgeous torch song. And then these drums kick is, letting you know this song won't be what you expect. Then, the journey of "Your Old Ways" truly begins.

On the same Facebook post, Ruby Rose Fox explains the meaning of the song: "Heart break and a pandemic definitely led me to a single conclusion. There is no amount of pain I can't survive. The fire always returns. The cup always fills. And so, we continue, we reclaim our boldness and love again. Its amazing how much love the body can endure."

You can listen to "Your Old Ways" below. If Spotify isn't your thing, you can also find the song here. For more on Ruby Rose Fox, check out her website.

De La Soul featuring Styles P, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Mysonne, and Chuck D - "Remove 45"

Photo via Facebook

I know, I know. At this point we're all having election fatigue at this point, and just want this over. But, for those of us that grew up in the 90's obsessed with hip hop, the latest from De La Soul is a complete dream project come true. "Remove 45" is obviously an anti-Trump song, but, aside from that, it features Styles P (The Lox), Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Mysonne, and Public Enemy's Chuck D. From that line up alone there's no way I'm not going to bring this song to you. Plus, it's a great song. A lot of times a song with eight MCs with a message can be an overbloated mess, but everyone keeps this song under control and on focus. Each rapper gets a verse, interspersed with sound bites from the subject matter. In fact, "Remove 45" might be the best thing that everyone involved has released this century.

You can listen to "Remove 45" below. You can find the song here. For more on De La Soul, check out their website.

First Listen: New Releases for 23 October

Ran completely out of time this week, so some quick hits:

Top Releases:

* clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned (Puts basically any other recent rap release to shame.) * Zilched - DOOMPOP (A great, shoegazey, alt-rocky record. A favorite this week.)
* Ben Harper - Winter is For Lovers (Gorgeous instrumental acoustic guitar work.)
* Raye Zaragoza - Woman in Color (Solid country music from a voice with plenty to say.)
* No Thank You - Embroidered Foliage (Great alt-rock, major step up from their debut.)
* Sir Chloe - Party Favors

Of note:

* The Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives (Very adult-alternative of them.)
* Felix Hatfield - False God
* Girlhood - Girlhood
* Ela Minus - Acts of Rebellion
* Loma - Don't Shy Away
* Leah Barley - Bring Out Your Dead
* Ruby Mack - Devil Told Me
* Ivan & Alyosha - Ivan & Alyosha
* Cherry Pickles - The Juice That's Worth the Squeeze
* Juanita Stein - Snapshot
* Laura Veirs - My Echo
* Isabelle Stillman - Heartrender
* Steep Canyon Rangers - Arm in Arm
* Yaeji - What We Drew
* Kelley McRae - This Side of Night
* Faithless - All Blessed
* Jeff Tweedy - Love is the King
* This is the Kit - Off Off On
* Adrianne Lenker - Songs
* Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez
* Sam Prekop - Comma
* Out of Place Artefacts - Vril and Rodhad Presents Out of Place Artefacts

EPs:

* Molly Payton - Porcupine
* Desert Blonde - Live Slow Die Old
* Poppy - Music to Scream To
* Olafur Arnalds - Loom
* Winona Oak - SHE
* Anna of the North - Believe
* Nosaj Thing - No Mind

Also out:

* Bruce Springsteen - Letter to You
* Junglepussy - Jp4
* The Dandy Warhols - Tafelmuzik Means More When You're Alone
* Tchami - Year Zero
* Ghostemane - Anti-Icon
* Yung Gravy - Gasanova
* The Bouncing Souls - Volume 2
* Fuzz - III

Citrus Clouds - "Whoa"

Citrus Clouds have long been our favorite shoegaze/dream pop artists coming out of Phoenix, AZ, and their latest single helps solidify that. Maybe it's just that I'm writing this in the middle of a streak of drearily rainy New England late October days, but "Whoa" is hitting my mood perfectly. It has the kind of dark vibe that gives you hope it will one day be over. Plus, as with any truly great shoegaze song, droning guitars are front and center, slowly and slowly building into one of the most gloriously lovely noise crescendos I've heard in a long, long time.

You can listen to "Whoa" below. The song is available as a single on Citrus Clouds's Bandcamp. For more on Citrus Clouds, check them out on Facebook.

Seba Kaapstad - "Konke"

Multi-national neo-soul/jazz collective Seba Kaapstad are back with a new single off their upcoming album. "Konke" translates to "everything," and the song "Konke" is a celebration of everything. It features Zoe Modiga and Ndumiso Manana singing about the simple and not-so-simple things they want, which hits harder in the time of COVID. It's this incredible blend of soul, R&B, hip hop, and jazz that truly shows off every style and every genre. Just when you think the song is leaning more towards any style, it shifts ever so slightly into another while staying the course of the song.

You can watch the video for "Konke" below. Konke, the upcoming album from Seba Kaapstad, will be out November 13 on Mello Music Group. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Seba Kaapstad, check out the band's website.

Descendents - Suffrage

Remember earlier this month when we brought you RebUke, a three song EP of anti-Trump protest songs from Milo Aukerman recorded on ukulele because he wanted to get those songs out faster than he could with the Descendents? Well... we now have two of those three songs recorded with the band! Suffrage is a new two song single from the Descendents that includes the two songs "On You" and "Hindsight 2020." This time the anger in Milo's lyrics and vocals is matched by the music. The Descendents have never truly been an overtly political band, but on Suffrage they go all out with politics. There's no questioning what they mean with lyrics like "#MAGA MAGA / What a fucking joke."

You can watch the lyric video for "On You" below. Suffrage is available now via Epitaph Records here. For more on the Descendents, check out their website/Tumblr.

October and The Eyes - "Playing God"

Photo by Alexander Schipper

New Zealand born and London based artist October and The Eyes may only be twenty three, but she's been producing and recording her own music since she was twelve. Her musical style is a self-proclaimed "collage rock," which is why her latest single is so hard to pin down. With influences like David Bowie, Bauhaus, Siouxsie Sioux, and Suicide, "Playing God" is a glorious mess of a cluster of noises. The song is definitely a pop song, but it's a nearly impossibly noisy one. It's a burst of celebration, but with an edge that is front and center. It's not rock, it's not pop, it's just October and The Eyes.

October explains the new song:

“‘Playing God’ is about the innate human desire for power and control but also our ability to cry ‘poor little ole me’ when it all gets too much. We’ve seen it time and time again throughout the history of man, and perhaps it feels even more relevant now than ever witnessing the powers that be struggle with the moral handling of a global pandemic. It’s also hugely laced with irony, humour and contradictions - I’ll be the first to admit my lust for control, yet I’m also ready to laugh at myself (at my own expense) at how farcical our trivial desires for such things seem in the grand scheme of life.”

You can watch the video for "Playing God" below. Dogs and Gods, the debut EP from October and The Eyes, will be out November 20 on KRO Records. You can pre-order the EP here. For more on October and The Eyes, check out the artists' Twitter and Instagram.

Divided Heaven featuring Lydia Loveless - "They Poisoned Our Fathers"

Photo via Facebook

Note to all musicians: If you're looking to get written about here at If It's Too Loud..., it certainly helps to bring in Lydia Loveless to guest on your song. Divided Heaven, aka Jeff Berman, has released a protest song and brought in Lydia Loveless for additional vocals. The song lands on the more pop side of the current Americana sound, but Berman brings a unique feel to the genre. It could be the venom in his voice, or maybe just his voice itself, but "They Poisoned Our Fathers" sounds like a more rootsy Placebo.

Jeff Berman explains the meaning behind the new song:

"Touring during the trump years has been telling. I’ve had countless conversations with people who share their grief and abhorrence that a fascist president has emboldened the worst traits of many of our fathers, brothers, uncles, neighbors, and coworkers. 'They Poisoned Our Fathers' is meant to serve as a personal statement of resistance: resistance against trump, his poisoned minions and the spineless politicians enabling it all."

You can listen to "They Poisoned Our Fathers" below. The song is currently available as a single via Bandcamp. For more on Divided Heaven, check out the artist's website.