Heartbreaking Bravery

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December 13, 2013

Majical Cloudz – Savage (Music Video)

2013 was a standout year for a lot of things, inventive lyric videos among them. From Neko Case to Okkervil River to Vampire Weekend, there were a plethora of extraordinary examples of the format. This week has already seen Tokyo Police Club step up to the plate and absolutely crush it. Adding to the unlikely string of successes this year comes an extraordinarily beautiful from Majical Cloudz, who are responsible for one of the year’s most stunning albums.

One of Impersonator‘s biggest strengths is that it always came across as so fucking personal. There were more than a few moments on that record that felt as if frontman Devon Walsh was allowing uninhibited voyeurism into his entire being. Songs like “Childhood’s End”, “This is Magic”, and, especially, “Bugs Don’t Buzz” were the kind of bare-all exercises that had the impact to freeze virtually anyone that was lucky enough to be listening; they were allowed in.

“Savage”, which has been making the rounds for a month or so now, didn’t wind up on Impersonator but carries the same emotional resonance as the best songs on that record. Today the band unveiled a lyric video in keeping with their stark bare-bones aesthetic. All that’s featured in the video for “Savage” is an unnamed person (presumably Walsh, who also directed the video) scrawling the lyrics to the song out by hand as they happen. There’s no way to accurately predict just how this band’s penchant for tight-roping the line between ferocity and understatement is going to affect any potential listeners but as long as they keep doing it this successfully (in both songs and music videos), they’ll be a band worth following.

Watch the video for “Savage” below.

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December 13, 2013

The Dead Weather Unleash Killer New Single

The Dead Weather have been quiet as of late, with their only noteworthy news being a singles series campaign plan. As of today, the plan has come to fruition and the band has released the very first single in the ongoing series (available exclusively via Third Man’s Vault subscription) which features lead-off single “Open Up (That’s Enough)” as the A-side and “Rough Detective” as the flip. While only subscribers get the full benefit of the physical release, “Open Up (That’s Enough)” has been posted to YouTube and is currently streaming… and it’s a killer.

“Open Up (That’s Enough)” may be the band’s most accurate distillation of the band members various projects that preceded The Dead Weather to date.  There’s a familiar organ that kicks things off that owes a clear debt to The Greenhornes, a dirty bluesy riff that drives the song worthy of Icky Thump, the start/stop dynamics that litter the best work of Queens of the Stone Age, and a vocal performance from Allison Mosshart that blows most of her work with The Kills out of the water. It’s a raggedy lo-fi blast that may stand as the group’s single best offering since they came into existence. This particular song is the first of many, each song eventually culminating in a 2015 record alongside some songs the band’s reserving specifically for the album. If each song that follows the extraordinary heights of “Open Up (That’s Enough)”, 2015 may have an unlikely Album of the Year contender on its hands.

Until 2015 rears its head, there’s still a year’s worth of singles to get through. It’s already hard to wait for the next one. Listen to “Open Up (That’s Enough)” below.

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