Heartbreaking Bravery

This weekend’s theme is going to be a difficult one and in the first piece to run, it’s a little more difficult to swallow than usual. Over the course of the next few posts, the one connecting thread will be loss. Why it’s so difficult to deal with here is because of the situation it’s attached to: it’s not present but it’s impending, unavoidable. Tomorrow night site favorites Geronimo! will be plugging in for one final  run through a discography that never earned the levels of celebration it truly deserved.

For more than five years Geronimo! had been doing nothing but building momentum and when Cheap Trick, what would be their final full-length, was released it felt like a small victory lap. Well-received in the circles that kept tabs on labels like Exploding in Sound, which the band called home, and adored feverishly by the band’s existing fan base, it seemed like a stepping stone towards something bigger. While what’s happened surrounding the band’s tragically-titled EP, Buzz Yr Girlfriend: Vol. 4 – Why Did You Leave Me? (due out next Tuesday), it’s too little, too late- but it’s been a wonderful thing to see the band pick up that acclaim in the throes of their death rattle.

“They Put A Hook Inside of Me.”, “Low Fruit on the Vine”, and “Fires of Hell” constitute the band’s swan song and each earned a high-profile premiere (from VICE, Stereogum, and NPR, respectively). All three songs come with the band’s trademark buzzsaw intensity and near-feral levels of verve. There’s nothing as serene or tranquil as the opening minutes of Cheap Trick‘s “Euphoria” to be found anywhere on Why Did You Leave Me? but there really shouldn’t be, there’s no need. “Euphoria” was a definitive penultimate track and while Why Did You Leave Me? is as furious as possible, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that it’s functioning as an epilogue; one final sprint towards some intangible finish line.

A similar sense of closure was looming during the band’s farewell tour with Meat Wave and the feeling was palpable during the raucous set they delivered as part of Heartbreaking Bravery’s 1 year anniversary party. While that foreboding nature hasn’t always permeated the work leading up to Why Did You Leave Me?, it’d be impossible to fault the band if it had: bands that find themselves in Geronimo!’s precarious position, seemingly always on the verge of something bigger tend to have a high fatality rate- and that’s something that can resonate heavily in those bands’ works. Of course, when the death has been pre-determined, it crystallizes into something fully-realized and utterly engrossing (Why Did You Leave Me? being a perfect example).

Every song on this EP is a powerhouse that’ll serve as a potent reminder of Geronimo!’s enviable talents for crate-diggers generations down the line. From the bleating insistence of “Low Fruit on the Vine” to the whirlwind noise freakouts of “Fires of Hell” to the steady build of “They Put A Hook Inside of Me.” All of the punches that get thrown by Why Did You Leave Me? land at gale force, bludgeoning their way into not only a lasting mark- but a lasting impression. For all of the accolades and notoriety that the band had cultivated within their select niche, Buzz Yr Girlfriend: Vol. 4 – Why Did You Leave Me? sees the band making a spectacular exit at the peak of their powers.

For this release- and for everything else the band’s ever done- show them thanks. Make sure that this band’s celebrated even after they’re gone and continue to celebrate bands like them as they come out of the woodwork. Give Cheap Trick another listen tomorrow, wear a Geronimo! shirt, throw in one of their tapes (Buzz Yr Girlfriend: Vol. 3 – The Metal David Byrne is a personal favorite), or watch some old clips. Give them messages of kindness and thanks on their social media pages throughout the day. Make sure they’re remembered in some capacity and give them the respect that they’ve earned since day one. Embrace the band as much as possible while they still exist- because after the sun comes up on Sunday, they won’t be around any longer.

Get the limited edition cassette from Exploding in Sound now before they’re gone, listen to (most of) the EP in the bandcamp player embedded below, and watch the EP performed in its entirety in the YouTube embed at the very bottom. Most of all, don’t miss the band’s farewell performance with Meat Wave, VAYA, Foul Tip, and Velocicoptor at Beat Kitchen tomorrow night in Chicago– and applaud as loudly as possible when the band takes their final bow. Enjoy the songs, enjoy the footage, and enjoy the hell out of the discography that Geronimo! is leaving behind.

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