Heartbreaking Bravery

stevenmps2@gmail.com | @steven_mps | @hbreakbravery
April 1, 2016

Ladada – Hi Five (EP Premiere)

ladada

While anyone that’s been following along with this site’s recent coverage can attest to 2016’s early strength, there have only been a small handful of releases to immediately jump out and make their mark. Ladada’s Hi Five EP is one of those releases. Easily one of the best EP’s I’ve had the fortune of receiving in 2016, I’m thrilled to be hosting its exclusive premiere here on Heartbreaking Bravery.

Nearly every hallmark of the kind of songs that are regularly featured on this site are present in Hi Five: a vicious marriage of basement pop and lo-fi punk, subtle psych flourishes, nuanced songwriting, a palpable sense of energy, and strong dynamic work. Hell, all of that’s evident in “New Psych”, the blistering lead-off track, alone. “New Psych” was Hi Five‘s pull track and, thankfully, was no misnomer. Everything that follows on Hi Five sees Ladada in full-blown demolition mode, ready to unleash a considerable amount of unchecked aggression at a moment’s notice without ever losing its balance.

A handful of intriguing influences permeate Hi Five and lend it a surprising amount of additional intrigue while ensuring its longevity by separating both the release and the band from their peers. Ladada have latched onto something relatively intangible with Hi Five that both advances their identity and increases their appeal. Every track boasts a casual confidence and self-assuredness that most acts operating within the confines of punk-inflected basement pop can only hope to reach. From the contained atmospherics of “Old Wave” to the sprightly, surf-indebted riffing that drives “Roll Back” to the nearly-instrumental “Tappa”, Ladada seems to be completely in control of every aspect of their music.

Song after song, hook after hook, Hi Five sees Ladada proving themselves to be a serious force. As a standalone EP, it’s a revitalizing piece of music. As part of the band’s discography, it’s undoubtedly positioned itself as a calling card for years to come. Everything about Hi Five works- and it works exceptionally well. Whether it’s the half-paranoid lyrics, the scintillating guitar work, or the rhythm section’s tendencies to veer off into near-tribal territory, Hi Five finds myriad ways to stake out its position as a standout release. One of 2016’s first truly great releases, Josiah Schlater’s project has hit its stride and waltzed away with a smile.

Listen to the exclusive stream of Hi Five below and order the double EP — it comes packaged with the band’s impressive self-titled EP  —  from Gold Robot Records here.

1 Comment
April 1, 2016

March 2016: The Streams

thrmls

In keeping with the past several recap posts, a lot of material will be listed below. I wish I could have granted each of these individual songs more words than just a generic introductory paragraph extolling their high quality of work but time can be extremely cruel and leave few desirable options. March was an extraordinary month for music, if you knew where to look and could spare the investment. Below is a list of the individual streams that surfaced during the month, each one worth several looks.

Once again, there’s simply too much material to consume in one sitting so this page is best experienced via a bookmark and return explorations. Following this post, the site will be running a premiere or two and then lists of the very best streams and live videos of 2016’s first quarter but until then, taking a trip through the below titles should be a rewarding experience that keeps everyone occupied. You may even find a new favorite band. Happy hunting. 

The Sun Days – Get Him Off Your Mind | Loco Ono – Sunny Day | Kidsmoke – Heartache | Summer Cannibals – Say My Name | Peter Bjorn and John – Breakin’ Point | Diarrhea Planet – Life Pass | A Place To Bury Strangers – Oh No / Cool Sensations / Gong Home | Marisa Anderson – Into the Light | Pinkwash – Longer Now | Polonium – Tuberculosis | Psychic Teens – End | Magic Potion – Milk | Yoni & Geti – Lunchline | Eagulls – Skipping | The Thermals – Thinking of You | Holy Now – Wake Up | Crow’s Feet – Surge // Swell

Fews – 100 Goosebumps | ShitKid – 666 | Museum Mouth – Incubus Tattoo | Haybaby – Joke/Rope | Jay Arner – Crystal Ball | Mo Kenney – Mountains to the Mess | Oberhofer – Alone Man | Hockey Dad – So Tired | Pacific Heights (ft. Louis Baker) – Buried by the Burden | Moonface and Siinai – Risto’s Riff | Patrick LaBahn – Equanimity | Scott Yoder – Looking Back In Blue | The Coathangers – Squeeki Tiki | Sofia Härdig – Streets | The Person & The People – Hot Summer Nights | Megafauna – Desire | ANGEL DU$T – UPSIDE DOWN

Lattice Moore – Superused | Pinkwash – Burning Too | New Madrid – Darker Parts | Big Deal – Say Yes | Mrs. Magician – No Action | Small Circle – Please Don’t Touch the Moon | Greater Pyrenees – Homemade Blood | Blondfire – Domino | Former Belle – Honey Bee | Parker Millsap – The Very Last Day | Puce Mary – Night Is A Trap II | Turnover – Change Irreversible | Lontalius – I Was More Than | Iska Dhaaf – Invisible Cities | Odonis Odonis – Needs | Beach Skulls – Dreamin’ Blue | Peder (ft. Oh Land) – Still Life | MOURN – Storyteller

Eliza Shaddad – Always | Follin – Memories | Ghost King – Bones 1 & 2 | Steady Holiday – Open Water | Trace – Honey | Guided By Voices – My Zodiac Companion | Former Belle – I Woke Up In Chicago | Gabriel Bruce – Metal Soul | Margo Price – Hands of Time | Krano – Mi E Ti | Head Wound City – Born to Burn | Grayling – Empath | Tuff Slang – Nothing All the Time | Morly – Plucky | Self Defense Family – Baby Mother Home | Jack Frederick – In My Dreams | John Doe (ft. Debbie Harry) – Go Baby Go | Modern Baseball – Everyday

Chris Cohen – In A Fable | John Dillon – Holy Fool | Ben Millburn – Hold Up | Amanda Palmer – Machete | James Bishop – Another Day | Lisa Prank – Starting Again | Foals – Rain | Arthur Moor – Wind Up | Hayes Carll – The Magic Kid | Russian Baths – Ambulance | Colleen Green – Between the Lines | P.O.S. – sleepdrone/superposition | Colin Stetson – SORROW III (Extract II) | Idle Bloom – Good Hope (Demo) | Snow Roller – Cycling | case/lang/veirs – Best Kept Secret | Ashley Shadow – Tired | Beverly – Contact | Dowsing – Dissolve

Yeasayer – Gerson’s Whistle | OCCY – No Way | Iska Dhaaf – Lost | ANGEL DU$T – STAY | Darla and the Blonde – Vampyr | BOYFRNDZ – Hiatus | Summer Heart – The Forbidden | Phosphene – Wild Decay | Mt. Wolf – St. Michael | Seratones – Chandelier | Martha’s View – Baby In Vain | Dowsing – Kept Me Around | Victoria+Jean – Takes You Like A Rose | Dal Niente & Deerhoof – meltDown Upshot: 6. Cherubim (Marcos Balter) | Miserable – Violet

1 Comment
April 1, 2016

March 2016: The Music Videos

PWR BTTM I

While January and February certainly had their fair share of great music videos, March saw an influx of truly great clips find their way out into the world. From Johanna Warren‘s extraordinary “Great Lake” (which I was fortunate enough to premiere over at Consequence of Sound) to a new, patently excellent, video from PUP, the format’s found its stride. Apart from the music videos, there was an outstanding Vaadat Charigim mini-documentary chronicling their first US tour.

Since there were so many clips — and since so many were so exceptional — they’ll be split into two categories below. At the very bottom of the page will be the honorable mentions category and above that will be a slew of videos that have positioned themselves to be early year-end contenders. Since “Great Lake” was already mentioned above, it won’t be below. Similarly, since Yours Are the Only Ears’ aching, gorgeous video for “Low” is the only non-YouTube entry, it will simply be listed in this paragraph (but rest assured, it’s more than worth your time). For the sake of convenience, 31 music videos are featured- one for each day in March.

Watch some of the finest clips of a young 2016 via the embed (with an accompanying tracklist tucked underneath) and explore the laundry list of exceptional titles in the honorable mentions category below the player. Enjoy.

–

1. PWR BTTM – West Texas
2. Dilly Dally – Snakehead
3. Palehound – Molly
4. Foul Tip – Drifting
5. Greys – Blown Out
6. Big Ups – National Parks
7. PUP – If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will
8. The Crookes – The World Is Waiting
9. Mutual Benefit – Not for Nothing
10. Alex G – Mud
11. Free Cake For Every Creature – Talking Quietly of Anything With You
12. Lucy Dacus – I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore
13. El Perro Del Mar – In the Woods
14. Kevin Morby – Dorothy
15. Abi Reimold – Mask
16. Daughter – How
17. Eluvium – Life Through Bombardment Vol. 2
18. Bent Shapes – New Starts In Old Dominion
19. Nancy Pants – I’ve Got A Crush On You And Everybody Knows It 
20. Outer Spaces – I Saw You
21. Eleanor Friedberger – Never Is A Long Time
22. PJ Harvey – The Community of Hope
23. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said
24. James Edge and the Mindstep – On A Red Horse
25. Furnsss – Slow Dark Water
26. The Lemons – Ice Cream Shop
27. Quilt – Roller
28. Marissa Nadler – All the Colors of the Dark
29. PAWS – No Grace
30. Savages – Adore
31. Hayden Calnin – Cut Love

Honorable Mentions

Kino Kimino – Passion | Car Seat Headrest – Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales | NOTHING – Eaten by Worms | The Mynabirds – Velveteen | Miya Folick – Oceans | Laura Carbone – Swans | Wilder Adkins – Our Love Is A Garden | Head Wound City – Scraper | Fear of Men – Island | Thin Lips – Never Again | Sioux Falls – Dom | La Sera – I Need An Angel | Tim Heidecker – In Glendale | DTCV – Capital Ennui | José González – With the Ink of a Ghost | B Boys – Get A Grip | Trevor Sensor – Pacing the Cage

Teen Suicide – The Big Joyous Celebration | Ladada – Old Wave | Dam Gila – The Undertow | Brodka – Horses | Ashley Shadow – Tonight | Hurry – Nothing to Say | Mumblr – Super! | Long Beard – Porch | We Are Scientists – Buckle | Steve Gunn – Conditions Wild | My Bubba – Charm | Amber Arcades – Right Now | Kwesi Foraes – Devils Child | Saul Williams – Down For Some Ignorance | NOTHING – Vertigo Flowers | The Amazons – Stay With Me | Holy Pinto – Hospital Room | Whitney – Golden Days | Luke Top – Chariot

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Gamma Knife | Eskimeaux – Drunk | Andy Shauf – The Magician | Innerspace Orchestra – One Way Glass | Crows – Whisper | Deep Sea Diver – See These Eyes | The Hunt – Hawk | Jerkagram – Cloud Builder | Julianna Barwick – Nebula | The Dirty Nil – Wrestle Yü To Hüsker Dü | Sarah Neufeld – We’ve Got A Lot | Cat’s Eyes – Drag | Zones – Tides | The Drones – Taman Shud | Andy Stott – Butterflies | The Lemons – Shark Bait | Grey Waves – Remember Me | Wood Lake – Hollow | Black Mountain – Florian Saucer Attack | Fleabite – Missing Everyone | Haelos – Separate Lives | Nada Surf – Rushing | PAWS – No Grace

2 Comments
April 1, 2016

March 2016: The Full Streams

tancred

Once more, a lot of material has surfaced since this site’s last regular update. A few premieres are in the (very) near future, though, as are a series of recaps. A few of those — like this very piece — will be limited to March, while the others will cover the first, very rich, quarter of 2016. Since so much has amassed in that period of time, a lot of these will simply be presented as lists with hyperlinks. As much as I wish I could grant all of these individual pieces the attention they genuinely deserve, the most I can do at this point is make sure they don’t go completely unnoticed. Now that all of that’s covered, please enjoy this list of March’s finest full streams (the best approach to consumption would be to bookmark the page and explore it at will). Keep an eye on this site for a lot more in a very short span of days as it claws its way back into regular coverage.

Tacocat – Lost Time | The Sun Days – Album | Bent Shapes – Wolves of Want | Littler – Of Wandering | Tancred – Out of the Garden | Mermaidens – Undergrowth | Orations – Incantation | Bruise Bath – The First Two | Soft Fangs – The Light | Slingshot Dakota – Break | Museyroom – Pearly Whites | Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing | Music Band – Wake Up Laughing | Hit Bargain – Hit Bargain | Audacity – Hyper Vessels | Woods – City Sun Eater in the River of Light | B Boys – No Worry No Mind | Japanese Breakfast – Psychopomp | Holiday Home – Greetings From | Govier – Predator | The Wandering Lake – From James’ Garden / Ashame | Meatbodies – Valley Girl Hibernation

Oddissee – Alwasta | Shya – Trying | Say No! To Architecture – SN!TA | John Congleton & The Nighty Nites – Until the Horror Goes | Pissed Off – 😡 2 | Lil Yachty – Lil Boat | SMILE – Rhythm Method | Tournament – Teenage Creature | Night Idea – Breathing Cold | Human People – Sleep Year | Foul Tip – Forever Driftin’ | Fat Tony – Look | Public Memory – Wuthering Drum | Snow Roller – What’s the Score? | Beat Awfuls – Nothing Happens | RJD2 – Dame Fortune | Dumpster Tapes – Monster Compilation: Vol. 2

1 Comment