12 | May | 2016 | Heartbreaking Bravery

May 12, 2016

Mutual Benefit – Lost Dreamers (Music Video)

mutual benefit

Back when Mutual Benefit experienced a breakthrough with the excellent Love’s Crushing Diamond, the project secured the attention of a lot of new listeners and I counted myself among that crowd. As much as I liked those songs on initial listen, they’ve grown on me exponentially over time. It wasn’t until “Not For Nothing” that a Mutual Benefit song knocked me flat (and was very nearly named this site’s Best Song of 2015).

“Not For Nothing” set an extremely high bar for the rest of Mutual Benefit’s upcoming Skip A Sinking Stone, as did its accompanying video. Thankfully, the arrival of “Lost Dreamers” quelled any doubts over whether or not Jordan Lee’s project was capable of living up to the task of matching the masterpiece that was “Not For Nothing”. A great song from the outset, “Lost Dreamers” took on even more poignancy when paired with the Ethan Samuel Young-directed music video. Separation, again, seems to be the defining crux of the song, only this time around that separation is more worldly than physically intimate.

All throughout “Lost Dreamers” there’s an acceptance of the world’s majestic sweep, that’s emphasized by erasing the human torso, allowing the viewer to get a more sprawling sense of the surroundings on display throughout the clip while simultaneously de-emphasizing our place as humans in that world. There’s a statement to be found about nature and industry but that large-scale issue is given minimum impact while the video chooses to present a more acute commentary on human perspective.

Suitably, gorgeous landscape shots comprise the bulk of “Lost Dreamers” visualization while flashes of everyday city life are integrated into the scenery in thought-provoking ways. With the palette almost exclusively leaning towards brights and tans, “Lost Dreamers” eventually registers as more of a celebration of humanity than a condemnation (while still showing a keen awareness of humanity’s potential to be irrevocably damaging).

Eventually, the formula’s switched and instead of erasing the torso, it’s the heads and hands of the people in the clip that have evaporated, subtly illustrating — once again — the importance of human perspective. By switching the focus to physicality, the clip touches on our relative meaninglessness in a way that encourages us to make the most out of what we’re given. In the end, “Lost Dreamers” stands as a moving, subversive reminder of why our own humanity matters while making a case for greater awareness. It’s a sublime piece of art that doesn’t deserve to be forgotten anytime soon.

Watch “Lost Dreamers” below and pre-order Skip A Sinking Stone here.

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May 12, 2016

WRAY – Pined (Music Video)

wray

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of the most unbearably tense music videos of 2016 came by way of WRAY‘s Dillon Hayes-directed clip for the outstanding “Pined”. Expertly lensed by Hayden Mason, “Pined” plays almost exclusively to the anxious paranoia that serves as the song’s driving function. Painstakingly choreographed, “Pined” is so meticulously composed that at more than one point it becomes a genuinely unnerving experience.

A loose narrative thread begins to emerge more than full minute into the clip that may or may not involve the occult but definitely involves an eerie woodland ceremony. At some point a series of shots involving a statue, tree branches, and a reflective body of water are interwoven to amplify the unsettling nature of “Pined” to an even greater magnitude. In the video’s closing moments, all three members of WRAY surround a cassette recorder that plays back field recordings before the POV switches to a skybound view of the trees, allowing some sunlight in, releasing the viewer from the relentless fear that imbued the rest of the clip (while letting it linger via the unanswered questions).

“Pined” is one of the more masterful videos, at least as far as classic filmmaking craft is concerned, to be released in recent memory. It’s difficult to parse, impossible to shake, and easy to admire. Tense and unforgiving, it’s a miniature masterpiece that succeeds in securing interest as it piles on a formidable amount of intrigue. As much of a short film as a music video, it’s the kind of clip you’ll want to show to your friends just so you can spend the next few days dissecting all of its potential meaning (and spend a few more hours getting lost to its spell).

Watch “Pined” below and order Hypatia from Communicating Vessels here.

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May 12, 2016

Patsy’s Rats – Rock N’ Roll Friend (Music Video)

patsy's rats

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Every once in a very rare while, a great song gets a great hangout clip that world-builds so effectively it’s easy to want to dive right into whatever’s being depicted onscreen and just get completely immersed in the experience. The clip for Patsy’s Rats standout single “Rock N’ Roll Friend” is that rare video. Kicking things off with a wink is the shot of someone in an Oldsmobile turning up the radio as the song swells up in the background.

What follows is a whole array of quintessentially Californian imagery: open roads, old muscle cars, skateboarding, and a quality selection of open fields. The band mimes their way through the song, throws guitars to each other, lights one on fire, and very clearly just enjoy each other’s company. It’s a video that lives in a very pure moment and it serves as the perfect antidote to the increasingly grim videos that have been populating the format’s landscape in recent times. Give it a watch (or five) and then call up some friends, take a trip, or just spend some time outside… and then do the whole thing all over again.

Watch “Rock N’ Roll Friend” below and pick up a copy of Patsy’s Rats here.

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May 12, 2016

EERA – Drive With Fear (Music Video)

EERA

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Back when this site ran the Best Songs of the First Quarter list, one of the more singular songs it contained was EERA‘s tremendous “Drive With Fear”, a hazy song that proved to be instantaneously gripping. Now, the song’s received a Katia Granfield-directed video, comprised almost entirely of grainy footage that manages to come across as, disconcertingly, connected and irreparably divorced.

There’s not a solid narrative function to be found in “Drive With Fear”, with Granfield instead adopting an approach more similar to what Shane Carruth managed with Upstream Color: a video designed to play directly to emotional response rather than painting a by-the-numbers plot. What’s surprising is how well Granfield succeeds on that count, “Drive With Fear” is an unsettling watch simply because of how easily it manages to evoke a variety of deep-seated feelings, playing to the songs strengths all the while.

Both a clip worth studying and worth experiencing, “Drive With Fear” winds up being difficult to shake by almost any measure. Strangely, the cognitive dissonance it creates winds up being more inviting than off-putting and, unsurprisingly, investment’s rewarded tenfold. In the end, “Drive With Fear” should be celebrated for its brave refusal to play into something easy; we need challenging art now more than ever and, by that count, this is a perfect introductory piece.

Watch “Drive With Fear” below and pick up a copy of the self-titled EP here.

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May 12, 2016

Ought – Beautiful Blue Sky (Music Video)

Ought VIII

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Very few acts have been as immediately intriguing as Ought, a quarter who experienced a breakthrough with the exceptional More Than Any Other Day and continued to make good on their seemingly endless promise with last year’s strong Sun Coming Down. The band’s still finding ways to promote that latter release and the heady clip for album standout “Beautiful Blue Sky” (one of this site’s picks for the Best Songs of 2015) is the most recent example.

The Bobby McHugh-directed clip seems to focus squarely on a man in crisis, which plays to the neurotic anxieties of the song to a tee. Beautifully shot by Jacob Rosen, “Beautiful Blue Sky” foregoes in easy narrative for something more ambiguous, allowing the viewer to infer and project their own personal interpretations to the proceedings. It’s a neat trick; much of Ought’s music requires investment and a sizable amount of involvement so it’s nice to have that aspect of the band catered to more directly in the visual format.

A committed performance from Matt Drews enhances the clip as he injects his character with a startling amount of emotion, whether he’s in stasis or executing a series of gorgeous lyrical dance moves. Ultimately, “Beautiful Blue Sky” stands as an invigorating piece of art not simply because of its beautiful execution but because it refuses to condescend to its audience. More often than not, those are the exact types of pieces that both beg and reward repeat visits. Be prepared to be thinking about the clip’s contents for quite some time (and enjoy all of the return trips).

Watch “Beautiful Blue Sky” below and pick up a copy of Sun Coming Down here.

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May 12, 2016

Told Slant – Tsunami (Music Video)

felix

Over the course of 2015, I gave the better part of my energy to living/surviving in Brooklyn and made a lot of memories and friends, all of which became deeply important to me. Several of those memories involved (and a few of those friends were) members of The Epoch, including Told Slant‘s Felix Walworth. I already wrote about one specific instance involving Felix and the new Told Slant record towards the bottom of this list but the recently released video for “Tsunami” may resonate on a level that’s even more acute.

Filmed and directed exclusively by members of The Epoch (namely Walworth, Gabrielle Smith, and Jack Greenleaf), “Tsunami” operates on dual levels: partly as an endearing tour documentary and partly as an intimate character study of the people on the other side of the camera. Like everything that comes from The Epoch camp, it feels tremendously open and honest whether it’s taking on a more introspective self-exploratory tone or one that outwardly celebrates the people and things that make life worth living.

Throughout “Tsunami”, cameos are made by Smith, Greenleaf, Oliver Kalb, Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker of Girlpool, Maryn Jones of All Dogs/Saintseneca/Yowler, all of Frankie Cosmos, and more. It’s the communal aspect that provides the song’s refrain of “isn’t this silly and aren’t you beautiful?” with an even greater amount of heart. Poetic, revealing, and inspiring in equal measure, “Tsunami” immediately carves out a place among the collective’s most lived-in works. It’s a place that encourage you to get lost and offers you a blanket, some tea, and a place to sleep. Turn the offer down and miss out on a whole host of great memories; accept the offer and be welcomed into a new home.

Watch “Tsunami” below and pre-order Going By from Double Double Whammy here.

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May 12, 2016

Ratboys – Not Again (Music Video)

ratboys

Ever since the release of last year’s excellent AOID, site favorites Ratboys have been on a very winsome streak. The current culmination of that streak is their outstanding digital single “Not Again“, which saw the band continuing to elevate themselves into a serious force via their own organic evolution. Now, the band’s unveiled a charming music video to accompany the track.

The endearing clip, which comes courtesy of Kenna Hynes and Tiny Ship Co., finds an empowering bent in a fairly simplistic structure; the band practices, the band gets into a paint fight, and the paint fight becomes a more communal act once the band opens themselves up to the public. It’s in the latter part of the clip’s composition where the subtle, elegant metaphor kicks in and touches on the dynamic shifts from practice to performance. It’s a surprisingly elegant statement, made even more uplifting for the warmth its given in the visual treatment.

The slow-motion sequences of “Not Again” are beautifully composed and both video and song wind up in a healthy symbiotic relationship that pushes each foundation to greater heights. It’s another perfect step forward for Ratboys, who are hitting a formidable stride. More importantly, it’s a reminder that embracing music can be as important as embracing your friends (and vice versa). Funny, heartening, and just about perfect, this is a clip worth remembering.

Watch “Not Again” below and pick up the digital single from the band here.

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May 12, 2016

Deerhoof – Plastic Thrills (Stream)

deerhoof

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Few bands have held the capacity to surprise as readily or as consistently as Deerhoof, who have elevated themselves into legendary status by that very virtue. The band has a tendency to be abrasive and difficult to parse, which makes “Plastic Thrills” all the more surprising. A very immediate blend of proto-punk, basement pop, and sloppy garage rock, it essentially scans as the band riding a very unexpected — and completely exhilarating — sugar high.

Now, this is still recognizably Deerhoof and there are very different sections that comprise “Plastic Thrills” but somehow the band manages to bludgeon them into something that’s not only coherent but something that sustains and builds the song’s excess energy. It’s a very sharp left turn from a band that’s perfected the move. “Plastic Thrills” is the kind of song that a lot of people won’t want to end, which injects its incredibly abrupt finish with a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor that ensures a reasonable amount of people will consider this a left-field classic.

Listen to “Plastic Thrills” below and pre-order The Magic from Polyvinyl here.

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May 12, 2016

Lady Bones – Ice Cream (Stream)

Lady Bones II

Lady Bones have had a fascinating trajectory. Following through a sensible progression that saw them drawing closer to a sound that their Boston-area contemporaries have all but defined, they’ve managed to carve out their own niche imprint on the varying hallmarks that make up that branch of sludge/grunge-leaning post-punk. “Ice Cream” (and all of Terse, really) is exhilarating proof.

In its opening seconds, “Ice Cream” seems like it could bloom into a sunny powerpop number and there is a strong pop bent to the ensuing proceedings but they’re all mired in the kind of relentless darkness that encourages far more bruising sensibilities. Before long, the trio’s conjuring up an awe-inspiring storm of noises that keep “Ice Cream” hurtling toward its finale. Wisely, the band opts out of a wildly climactic moment and allows the song to vanish into its own smoke, creating an air of intrigue that effectively teases the record that houses “Ice Cream”.

Those final seconds, despite their quiet nature, speak volumes of how much Lady Bones has grown as a band. Never before have they sounded as in control or as confident as they do on “Ice Cream”, which easily registers as one of the finest songs of an impressive discography. It’s a powerful number and it goes a long way in demonstrating Lady Bones’ future is one that never ceases to look increasingly promising.

Listen to “Ice Cream” below and pre-order Terse here.

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May 12, 2016

Alexis Taylor – I’m Ready (Stream)

AlexisTaylor

Hot Chip‘s excellent The Warning can rightfully be regarded as a classic record of a certain age and, at some point, it may even be viewed as definitive. A large part of its success can be directly attributed to principal songwriter Alexis Taylor, who maintained a strong grasp on a project that’s ideas frequently came across as boundless. The warmth that Hot Chip exuded was often slightly undercut by his penchant for the bittersweet but that still doesn’t make the reveal of the devastating “I’m Ready” any less jarring.

Taylor’s newest project, and the first under his own name, is a solo piano venture that trims out any excess in favor of an intimacy that’s startlingly direct. Taylor opens the track with a wistful line that registers as more of a question than a statement, wavering in a relative uncertainty: “Don’t you know I’m ready?” As the song progresses, Taylor builds up a heartbreaking case for self-worth as an air of ambiguity increasingly deflates any projected confidence.

No track in 2016 has stopped me cold and stolen my breath faster than “I’m Ready”, which somehow manages to incorporate silence as an effective instrument (even when it draws to an unceremonious close, the noises of everyday life seem like an integral part of Taylor’s statement). There’s beauty to be found in all of the cracks and bruises that life administers in varying portions and “I’m Ready” combines them all into something heartrending and poignant. Simply put, “I’m Ready” is unforgettable.

Listen to “I’m Ready” below and pre-order Piano here.

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