15 | December | 2014 | Heartbreaking Bravery

Watch This: Vol. 63

[Please refer to Vol. 59 for the introductory paragraph.]

1. White Reaper (BreakThruRadio)

BreakThruRadio has a wonderful habit of hosting bands that just can’t help but lose their minds a little when they play. White Reaper look like they’re practically jumping out of their skin here, with everyone seemingly set to their most vicious attack mode. It’s difficult to tell what’s more electrified; their guitars (and synth) or the people controlling them. A few brief-but-entertaining interview segments are included and they accentuate just how ridiculously energetic White Reaper are when they perform. All of the evidence is below.

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2. Day Creeper – Turning Into A Man (The Mug and Brush Sessions)

The Columbus-based Day Creeper already appeared once on this series previously and made a pretty deep impression. They’re back now, with a casual vengeance and just as much grit. “Turning Into A Man” emphasizes their more creative tendencies while also allowing a more unobstructed view of some surprisingly strong lyricism. While this was said once already, it deserves repeating: Day Creeper are a band worth watching.

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3. Big Ups – Not Today (BreakThruRadio)

Big Ups are making a dangerous push towards being the most featured band on Watch This, which- considering their typically blistering performances- isn’t all that surprising. Eighteen Hours of Static was one of 2014’s first truly great albums and the band’s only been building momentum since its release. They’re building up a head of steam as they charge headfirst towards the new year, pity anyone who gets in their way. In yet another monster performance for BreakThruRadio, they flick back and forth between detached empathy and boiled-over frustration with a terrifying precision, casually teasing their fast-clip tension/explosion dynamic. At this point, it doesn’t seem like there’s all that much out of their reach- and that’s partially in thanks to performances like this one.

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4. Allo Darlin’ (KEXP)

It’s always a pleasure to hear something as downright winsome as We Come From the Same Place. Allo Darlin’ have created something that feels timeless and sounds ridiculously lovely. There’s a certain soft romanticism (often marginally damaged) that plays a central figure to the best indie pop and that holds true for We Come From the Same Place– a record that could (arguably) wind up standing as a genre classic. In the interview segments, the band’s personable. In the performance set pieces, they’re nearly transcendent.

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5. La Sera – Losing to the Dark (Last Call With Carson Daly)

Rounding out La Sera’s triumphant Watch This trifecta is a wild-eyed run through one of 2014’s most unexpectedly ferocious lead-off singles, the errant firework that is “Losing to the Dark“. As rabid as the song sounds on record, Katy Goodman and her band kick it up a few levels live- to the point where it almost seems like the entire band is trying to outrun themselves for fear of being trampled by their own creation. All manic adrenaline and seething resentment, it transforms itself into both a shot in the arm and a knife to the jugular. Vicious guitar riffs make the incisions and by the end of it all, the band’s already laughing everyone out of the room- and, somehow, the only viable option is to beg for seconds.

[Due to some technical issues, this video can only currently be seen here.]

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December 15, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 62

[Please refer to Vol. 59 for the introductory paragraph.]

1. Lower – Bastard Tactics (Radio K)

Seek Warmer Climes was a restless and unforgiving record that found Lower making huge strides and revealing a widescreen ambition. “Bastard Tactics” was one of the standout moments and a song that suggested the band was in search of something more. Radio K let the band invade its studios and filmed them as they tore the subtly foreboding “Bastard Tactics” to shreds.

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2. Perfect Pussy (Pitchfork)

No band has meant more to this site than Perfect Pussy. No band has been covered on this site more than Perfect Pussy. Why? Time plays a factor; the band was just starting to emerge when the site was just starting. Perfect Pussy’s politics match up with what this site strives to enforce either implicitly or explicitly. Their music exists on a spectrum that this site was built to support and the band readily embraces a DIY ethos that this site was built to celebrate. They’ve become one of the most divisive bands of the last several years and incited a staggering amount of vitriol over policies built off of an empathetic foundation. Vocalist Meredith Graves has emerged as one of the stronger voices in a variety of things that can no longer be neglected and has penned some of the most memorable lyrics of the past two years. While a lot of these statements are extremely subjective, one thing isn’t: this band lives for the live setting. No matter how battered they are mentally or physically, no matter how much adversity they’re (somewhat inexplicably) forced to face, and no matter how downright exhausted they are, one thing never changes: they transform into extremes of themselves after all of their amps are up and running. Graves may be on the verge of losing her voice because of her repeatedly public exorcisms (which are often violent) of extremely personal information while on stage and things may sound like their threatening to fall apart at any given second but that’s part of what makes the band fascinating. There’s a palpable sense of danger and uncertainty that the band conjures up while they’re on whatever stage they’re given and, no matter how rough things get, they’ve never failed to come out of the other side grinning through their collective grimace, that much stronger for the battle. Their marathon set for Pitchfork Paris? No exception.

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3. Strand of Oaks – Mirage Year (Out of Town Films)

Strand of Oaks’ Heal was as immersive and elegiac as just about anything to have been released over the past 12 months. Easily the band’s finest work to date, it saw them expanding on early promise in leaps and bounds. “Mirage Year” was one of the most startlingly gorgeous moments on an already unreasonably strong album. Out Of Town Films set up camp and turned their lenses on the band as they set to work on delivering a jaw-dropping performance that only gets stronger as it goes, with everything culminating in a breathtaking guitar freakout that brings the song to a smoky close. Add in some top-tier cinematography and the end result’s not only inexplicably moving- it’s also one of the best live clips this series has ever had in its ranks. Watch it below.

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4. Ought (Pitchfork)

Was there any record more unexpected this year than Ought’s More Than Any Other Day? More importantly, how many were as brilliant? For just about 46 minutes, the band fearlessly collapses the connections between post-punk, electro-pop, noise-punk, and brit-pop while exploring the lightly-treaded territories that best suit their whimsy. More than just about any record, More Than Any Other Day sounded like a mission statement that was shot straight through with youthful abandon, disregard for conventionalism, and a slightly askew professionalism. Endearingly spastic and undeniably strange, their set for Pitchfork Paris becomes hypnotic and nearly impossible to evade once it’s in motion. Piercing and precise, the band’s already shockingly close to a willfully weird perfection.

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5. La Sera – Hour of the Dawn (Last Call With Carson Daly)

In 2013, Mikal Cronin made his name known by virtue of releasing the perfect summer album in MCII. La Sera came dangerously close to achieving the same thing this year with the towering Hour of the Dawn. Last Call With Carson Daly has been the most music-centric late night network television program going for some time now, allotting multiple-song performances to their featured artists on a regular basis. As was previously mentioned, even in crowded company, La Sera’s stood out as one of the best the show’s ever seen. “Hour of the Dawn” is the second of the three songs to be featured in one episode- and in this setting, it comes vibrantly alive.

[Due to some technical issues, this video can only currently be seen here.]

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December 15, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 61

[Please refer to Vol. 59 for the introductory paragraph.]

1. LVL UP – If I Leave (WDBM)

Hoodwink’d was easily one of 2014’s most brilliant records. LVL UP managed to conjure up a stunning combination of unfiltered personality, natural charisma, an obscene level of synergy, and a thrilling collection of individual songs that worked as well as a whole as they did on their own. All of it resulting in a career-best effort that turned more than a few heads. WDBM recently had them in studio and produced a beautiful, low-key live clip for Hoodwink’d‘s penultimate track, “If I Stay”.

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2. Girlpool – Cut Your Bangs (NME)

Two things this site hasn’t shied away from expressing serious amounts of love for: Girlpool and Radiator Hospital’s “Cut Your Bangs“. So, when Girlpool stepped up and unveiled an arresting reworking of “Cut Your Bangs”- which was lensed gorgeously by NME- it’s appearance on a Watch This was a foregone conclusion. An endearingly sweet moment was made even sweeter when Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-Parrott responded in kind and turned this into one of the year’s most heartening exchanges.

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3. The Dirty Nil – Cinnamon (Exclaim!)

Canadian punk stalwarts The Dirty Nil have been kicking away ferociously for as long as they’ve existed and now, after the band took off at full sprint, the rest of the world’s finally starting to catch up. Exclaim! caught them absolutely ripping through a very impassioned take on “Cinnamon” at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto. It’s a fierce performance that subtly demonstrates the band’s hunger for bigger and better things.

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4. Mitski – Townie (Don Giovanni Records)

At this point, it’s hard to know where to start when discussing Mitski. The young songwriter’s sudden emergence? Age? One of 2014’s most stunning albums? Innate and immeasurable talent? The absolute perfection of “Townie“? It really doesn’t matter; pick a point of reference and it kickstarts an avalanche of jaw-dropping material and one of music’s most promising talents. Full band or solo, Mitski is an absolute force of nature. Here, Don Giovanni captures Mitski giving a characteristically powerful (and candlelit) performance of one of the best songs to have come out of the past few years.

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5. La Sera – Running Wild (Last Call With Carson Daly)

Over the course of the shows past few seasons Last Call With Carson Daly has started to emerge as the network television late-night show most attuned to this site’s most frequently covered genres. Even just scrolling through some of the shows most recent performances and featured artists, it’s hard not to gape a little: Shannon & the Clams, Meatbodies, Dum Dum Girls, King Tuff, Bleached, and The So So Glos all make appearances. Even in such formidable company, the session the show hosted with La Sera wound up being one of their most memorable moments in recent memory. It’s precisely why this will be the first of three Watch This installments to feature a song from that showcase. Up first: a particularly fiery take on “Running Wild”.

[Due to some technical issues, this video can only currently be seen here.]

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December 15, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 60

[Please refer to Vol. 59 for the introductory paragraph.]

1. Two Inch Astronaut – Cigarettes, Boys And Movies (BreakThruRadio)

One of late 2014’s real gems was Two Inch Astronaut’s current career-highlight, Foulbrood. Filled with a nervous tension and exploring curious bridges between genres, the band zeroed in on the remarkable formula set out by their thrilling debut. Sound in structure, compelling in atmosphere, and engaging live, they make for perfect candidates to places like the venerable BreakThruRadio, which recently hosted a live session for the band which found them delivering a stunning live version of the excellent “Cigarettes, Boys And Movies”.

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2. Broncho (3voor12)

Snotty punk’ed out basement poppers Broncho recently swung through Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht. 3voor12, as ever, was on hand to capture the band tearing through a manic set of earworm-friendly numbers. Broncho, for their part, deliver their songs with a wide-eyed gusto. Legs tap rapidly up and down, hips sway unapologetically, and the band loses themselves in their music. It’s an outwardly strong performance that suggests that Broncho, even having been on the scene for a handful of years, are nowhere close to being done.

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3. Liquor Store (3voor12)

Le Guess Who? (and 3voor12) not only managed to rope in Broncho for a stellar showcase but celebrated punk act Liquor Store as well. Anyone familiar with Liquor Store knows what the video immediately below holds in store: an abundance of snarling riffs, shouted lower-register lyrics, an off-the-cuff feel, and a whole lot of deceptive slop. For years the band’s built a sound that plays directly to their strengths as both songwriters and performers. Once this band steps on the gas pedal, they never decelerate; they only know how to apply pressure.

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4. Protomartyr (Sound Opinions)

Under Official Color of Right catapulted Protomartyr into the greater public’s eye on sheer strength. One of 2014’s most fascinating records, the band filled it with restraint and a tendency to lean towards an atmosphere of disquiet. At times it’s an almost unbearably tense experience that benefits from a vice-like grip rooted in unrelenting bleakness. Somehow that combination translates to an odd brand of contained catharsis when kept to a singular listening experience. Live, the band taps into the same mood without any kind of hesitation- and they strengthen it with their physical presence. Sound Opinions catches them exactly where they should, right in the act.

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Sonic Avenues (KEXP)

One of a handful of smaller bands going who can boast a near-perfect discography, Sonic Avenues have been the deserving center of praise from quite a few genre specialists. With both an incredible reissue and an incredible new record out in 2014, it’s felt (increasingly) like the band’s just a few steps shy of exploding. Affable and energetic, they deliver one of the best sets KEXP’s hosted in some time. None of them seem to be able to contain their excitement while playing and it’s a beautiful thing to watch- so quit reading and click play.

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December 15, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 59

Video mixtapes aside, it’s been quite a while since a standard volume of Watch This has been posted. This is due to some lingering technical complications but, rest assured, everything that’s been posted over the past few weeks has been studied and collected. It’s why tonight will see the posting of five new installments of the (usually weekly) series. Great live music collides with outstanding documentation in each and every one of the forthcoming entries. Ranging from full sets to DIY takes to stunning single song performances, the contents of this post- and the posts following- cover a wide breadth. All of it’s worth remembering. For the sake of time, convenience, and to avoid all of the inevitable redundancy, this current installment (Vol. 59) will be the only one to contain a written lead-in. All of tonight’s subsequent posts will follow the same pattern that the series has implemented all along: 5 great live-take videos that have emerged since Watch This‘ last five entries. So, as always, relax, turn on the speakers, turn up the volume, lean back, and Watch This.

1. Benjamin Booker – Have You Seen My Son? (WNYC)

Benjamin Booker had a breakout 2014 that saw him light up a number of festivals, earn the ardent support of outlets like NPR, and release a fairly extraordinary self-titled LP on a revered label. While all of that adds up to an impressive tally, it’s the live department where Booker and his cohorts excel. Teeming with determination and moxy, the trio also knows how to let its hair down and are capable of just going off at any given moment. For WNYC, they make their way through a raucous set that includes Benjamin Booker highlight “Have You Seen My Son?”- and it’s undeniably powerful.

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2. AJ Davila Y Terror Amor (KEXP)

Beibi was one of the best records to be released by Burger Records this year- yet it never quite received the love it deserved. AJ Davila (also of Davila 666) put together a rousing collection of songs with the Terror Amor collective. KEXP recently brought the band in for a session and they made the absolute most out of the time they were given. Infectiously catchy and exploding with personality, this session doubles as a perfect introduction to the band for the uninitiated.

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3. OBN IIIs (WKNC)

OBN IIIs are an absolute force to be reckoned with in the live department. It’s become nearly indisputable (especially following the incendiary Live in San Francisco) and isn’t all that surprising, considering the band’s collective pedigree. Here, they tear through a blistering 10-minute set for WKNC with ease and the overall performance eventually becomes something like a battering ram. If there’s smoke by the end of “Standing”, it’s either coming from the gun that OBN IIIs are holding in one hand or because of the lit fuse in the other.

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4. Ex Hex (KEXP)

Mary Timony’s newest project, Ex Hex, was one of 2014’s more pleasant surprises. Rips, the band’s full-length debut lived up to its bold title with an excess of finesse. Yet, for as good as the record is, seeing the band live is an entirely different experience. Everything takes on a more visceral edge and their performances turn into showcases for tasteful showmanship. KEXP invited the band into their studios to film a live session that turns into a comprehensive document on how to do things right.

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5. Lightning Bolt (unARTigNYC)

Much was made over the closing of beloved venue Death By Audio. The final weeks of shows there turned into hot-ticket events for everyone eager to preserve its memory. Tribute pieces trickled out and their were definitive look-backs that were published. Death By Audio took it upon themselves to create a documentary of the venue’s final days. A slew of think-pieces arrived and were guided by the hands of very capable writers. Another pair of hands held the camera that filmed the last performance in the venue from legendary noise-punk duo Lightning Bolt. Most of the set on display in this video captures the raw fury that’s constantly present in their music but takes a sharp left turn a little before the 9-minute mark where the video ceases becoming a document and starts becoming a statement. For more than 20 minutes, unARTigNYC loops drummer Brian Chippendale’s heartfelt two-word salute to Vice, the establishment credited with Death By Audio’s corporate takeover. “Fuck Vice”, over and over, an inescapable mantra that fully captures the mindset of a legion of people; some close to the venue and some far removed. “Fuck Vice”, over and over, looped into oblivion. “Fuck Vice”, over and over, until there is nothing left. “Fuck Vice”, over and over, echoing out into eternity. “Fuck Vice”, over and over, until everything fades to black.

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