28 | July | 2015 | Heartbreaking Bravery

July 28, 2015

A Short Stretch (Video Review)

As was recently explained in the pictorial review of the just-initiated A Short Stretch series, there’s been an increased focus on live documentation. With that being the case, coverage for a few shows gets relegated to the sidelines as this site does upkeep on the current release cycle and features on a handful of other live shows. It’s far from a perfect system but it’d be inexcusable to simply let the photos and footage of shows that don’t get feature reviews waste away on the sidelines. In an effort to amend this, A Short Stretch was created. Here’s how the video portion will work: each band with footage will get a very brief write-up- or capsule review- of their show to accompany the live video(s). So, it’s time to take a look back at some of the great performances from shows that went uncovered.

Eskimeaux

Following a riveting performance at Palisades, Eskimeaux delivered an equally mesmerizing set at Shea Stadium, despite sweltering heat. The below video is the final piece of that set, a characteristically powerful rendition of O.K. highlight “I Admit I’m Scared”.

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Mitski

With Eskimeaux having just set the stage with a beautiful set prior, Mitski went ahead and dove headfirst into an impassioned set that had everyone in Shea sweating, smiling, screaming, and dancing. Starting the night off with two of the strongest highlights on Bury Me At Makeout Creek– one of 2014’s best albums– proved to be a great move.

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Model Train Wreck

Going into Model Train Wreck’s set at Shea Stadium on July 22, I had no prior knowledge of the band and wasn’t sure what to expect. It took them less than a song to ensure my full attention. Dark, bruising post-punk that’s unafraid of embracing a heavy pop sensibility is a look that more bands should consider attempting. This is definitely a band worth celebrating.

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Fern Mayo

After catching Fern Mayo’s ridiculously impressive set at Miscreant’s Northside showcase, catching the band’s live show again was an inevitability. For round 2, the band sounded even sharper than they had a month ago at Palisades, driven by some strong musicianship and the fiercely original songwriting of Katie Capri (who provided this site with an important piece for the inaugural A Year’s Worth of Memories series). This won’t be the last time they’re featured on this site.

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PWR BTTM

It’s taken a little over a month for PWR BTTM to become one of the most-written about bands here at Heartbreaking Bravery. A large part of the reasoning behind the centralized coverage is the duo’s insane live show. Even taking the pointed visual theatrics out of the question, the band’s an absolute powerhouse. Ugly Cherries, the band’s forthcoming full-length, is one of the year’s stronger releases and the band continues to push themselves to their limits when they play, as if they’re performing some sort of self-exorcism for the benefit of their audience. That dynamic was put on full display once again at Shea, where they weathered some technical difficulties to deliver yet another memorable set.

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Johanna Warren

A very select few shows are instantly unforgettable and more often than not the reasoning boils down to circumstance. On this occasion, a last-minute change of location was made in the interest of the people who were hoping to see Johanna Warren (another A Year’s Worth of Memories contributor) perform. The original house venue that was set to host the show discovered a bed bug infestation so the songwriter took to social media to find an emergency replacement. After some negotiating, the show was re-sculpted completely and turned into an all-acoustic affair that was set to take place on a roof in Bushwick, which coincidentally offered a stunning view of the city that stretched outwards for miles. Only a small handful of some of Warren’s friends showed up and enjoyed the perks of such an intimate affair (and the generosity of those who provided free beer, wine, and snacks for the guests). Poetry was read to set the tone and then- with the moon shining brightly- Warren took a seat in front of the Brooklyn (and Manhattan) skylines to play a career-spanning selection of songs (including some that had never been performed in public) for a hushed audience. Not even the overhead jet noise could dampen the spell cast by something so sublime.

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Idle Bloom

Just a week after laying waste to two crowds as Mitski’s guitarist, Callan Dwan (pictured above) wound up playing another show in Brooklyn after meeting up with one of her other two bands in the interim. Idle Bloom was a name that I’d seen on bills before but I’d never really had the chance to delve into the band’s discography- something that’s fairly limited, as of this writing. After Zen Hed (a new band featuring members of some prominent bands) set the stage for Idle Bloom with a shambolic set of scrappy rock n’ roll, the quartet took the stage and proceeded to dismantle their audience with an affecting blend of shoegaze, post-punk, and dark pop that was topped off with some subtle, well-placed psych flourishes. Fierce, grounded, staggeringly powerful, and- at their best- breathtaking, Idle Bloom wound up delivering one of the finest (and most unexpected) sets I’ve seen all year. With their full-length record currently going through the necessary processes in the lead-up to its release, this is definitely a band to watch closely. Stay tuned to this site for more updates on the band (as well as the record) and click play to discover an emerging act that’s worth meeting with no shortage of excitement.

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July 28, 2015

SPORTS – The Washing Machine (Stream)

As the week picks up, so too does the new release schedule. Great new songs saw first light today, featuring material from the following artists: OBN III’s, Minden, Grass House, Wolf Prize, OBNOX, and Places To Hide. Music videos fared just as well with some tantalizing clips that included Fake Palms’ oneiric “Sparkles“, BEAK >’s arresting “The Broken Window“, Flesh World’s tranced-out “Just To Tear Me Down“, Rocky Votolato’s deeply impressive “Hospital Handshakes“, and Communions’ striking “Forget It’s A Dream“. Rounding things out were the full streams, which featured fantastic entries from The Glow (a band led by LVL UP‘s Michael Caridi), Sloth, Adult Mom, Reservations, and Soviet X-Ray Record Club. Even in that slew of genuinely outstanding material, today’s featured item- SPORTS’ “The Washing Machine”- managed to stand out.

For a few years now, SPORTS have been kicking out the kind of scrappy punk-infused basement pop that dominates Salinas’ impressive roster (Swearin’, Radiator Hospital, All Dogs, Purple 7, etc.). The band recently signed with Father/Daughter Records (who have earned themselves a wealth of love from this site) for the release of their forthcoming full-length, the genuinely outstanding All of Something (which was, incidentally, engineered by none other than Kyle Gilbride of Swearin’). The band’s already teased the record with the energetic “Saturday” and offered another look earlier today with the release of “The Washing Machine”.

A touch more grounded than “Saturday”, the band’s latest is a show of both maturation and force, emphasizing a subtle southern sensibility (in a manner not too dissimilar from Hop Along) to produce one of their best songs to date. Like a (thankfully) increasing number of bands in the DIY fold, the band gets a lot of mileage from fixating on elements that constitute life’s minutiae rather than opting to retread the same tired territory. While the overarching narrative still hinges on a relationship, it’s the way the relationship is colored that sets the song apart from a lot of the band’s contemporaries. Balanced, nuanced, and unerringly heartfelt, SPORTS pack enough punch, grit, and scuzz into this 3 minutes and change number to run away with today’s featured spot.

Listen to “The Washing Machine” below and pre-order All of Something from Father/Daughter ahead of its October 30 release date here.

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July 28, 2015

Dogs On Acid – Make It Easy (Stream)

As a general rule, if a song’s already been covered here, then it’s out of contention for a feature spot, allowing for very rare exceptions. Today’s one of those exceptions. Way back in August, Dogs On Acid released an extraordinary self-titled 7″ on the remarkably reliable RANCH label. It was a release that was spearheaded by “Make It Easy”, which was a big reason why that 7″ landed up towards the very peak of this site’s best 7″ records of 2014 list.

Now, the band’s offering up a slightly cleaner version of the song as a single in their rollout campaign for their upcoming self-titled full-length (their first for punk institution Jade Tree). All of the hooks that helped make the first one so sharp are still intact and there’s no real deviation but- even a year after the song’s initial release- it’s still an exhilarating whirlwind of punchy basement pop that feels fresh despite having very clear roots to movements that happened decades ago. Catchy as hell, unabashedly melodic, and laced with enough punk sneer to win over a legion on converts, it’s as high-impact now as it was in 2014. If the rest of Dogs On Acid can sustain this level of songwriting, it’ll be a very real contender for Album of the Year.

Listen to “Make It Easy” below and pre-order the band’s debut full-length from Jade Tree here. Beneath the official stream, revisit the band playing the song live at DBTS.

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July 28, 2015

A Short Stretch (Pictorial Review)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been fortunate enough to take in a lot of shows- but as that number quickly balloons, it becomes difficult to post features about each and every one. It may be due to an extenuating factor like a repeat bill (Eskimeaux, Elvis Depressedly, and Mitski played two shows in a few days and I attended both) or a heavy amount of coverage rightfully bestowed on a particular act in a short amount of time (as was the case with PWR BTTM). Additionally, if there’s only one musical act playing an intimate friends-only type of affair (Johanna Warren), it becomes almost sacred; an event that should go largely untouched. Conversely, if it’s a one-act spectacle rooted in confined mystery (Ronnie Stone & The Lonely Riders), it’s best to uphold the convictions of the artist. With all of that taken into account, it still seemed appropriate to eventually share a brief gallery of some of that documentation. A gallery of most of the artists mentioned above- and a few more that weren’t listed- can be seen below. Enjoy.