06 | August | 2016 | Heartbreaking Bravery

August 6, 2016

Watch This: Ending Another Short Stretch of Static

We’ve officially arrived at the 950th post of Heartbreaking Bravery, which means it’s time to offer up another mixtape of some sort or another. Since the Watch This series has maintained radio silence over the past two and a half weeks it only felt appropriate to turn to the over-abundance of incredible material that’s surfaced in that time frame. The 25 clips included below range from old favorites to promising new faces, single songs to full sessions, and generally cover the range of what the series was created to support: the very best of the live video platform. It’s unlikely that anyone will watch through the entirety of this packet (as it runs for nearly four hours, if viewed uninterrupted) but it’s worth taking the time to both explore and return to all of the performances contained in Ending Another Short Stretch of Static. So, as always, kick back, focus up, adjust the settings, settle in, and Watch This.

–

1. Car Seat Headrest – Fill In the Blank (Pitchfork)
2. The Spook School – Gone Home (BreakThruRadio)
3. Meat Wave – Sham King (SideOneDummy)
4. Weaves (3voor12)
5. Ron Gallo (Audiotree)
6. Dusk – Shift Towards Tenderness (This Means War)
7. Izzy True – Which Wish (Bedhead Sessions)
8. Royal Headache – Carolina (Pitchfork)
9. Royal Brat – Avoider + Broken Step (Radio K)
10. Girl Band – Paul (Pitchfork)
11. The Coathangers – Burn Me (Radio K)
12. Japanese Breakfast – Everybody Wants To Love You
13. Free Cake For Every Creature (WKNC)
14. Fear of Men (Audiotree)
15. Majical Cloudz – Silver Car Crash (q on cbc)
16. Jade Imagine – Stay Awake (3RRRFM)
17. Tele Novella – Heavy Balloon (Do512 Austin)
18. Margaret Glaspy (KEXP)
19. Kevin Morby (NPR)
20. PWR BTTM – New Hampshire (WFUV)
21. Wand (KEXP)
22. Declan McKenna – Brazil (The Late Show With Stephen Colbert)
23. Lucy Dacus (NPR)
24. Ólafur Arnalds (ft. Brasstríó Mosfellsdals) – Dalur
25. Julien Baker (Primavera)

August 6, 2016

Mercury Girls – Holly (Stream)

mercury girls

A very full week of new material was essentially topped off over the past few days with excellent new songs from Fond Han (who nearly claimed this post’s featured spot), Bad Sports, Black Marble, Twist, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, JEFF The Brotherhood, Tennis, Swimsuit Addition, Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, His Clancyness, Duchess Says, benjamin783, Tom Brosseau, and Happy Place. There were also great music videos that were offered up by the likes of Trust Fund, Hazel English, Izzy True, Attic Abasement, Vomitface, Beach Slang, Katie Dey, Jude Shuma, and, jordaan mason. While the full streams weren’t as plentiful as they were at the start of the week dozer, Porridge Radio, Drowse, Skux, Creative Adult, and Cay Is Okay managed to end the category on a series of strong notes.

At the end of 2015, Mercury Girls found themselves poised at the top of this site’s odds and ends list, thanks to their scintillating demo and live tracks compilation. Since then, they’ve been on a tear, readying their forthcoming full-length and finding time to participate in a four-way split and release an extraordinary 7″ in the process. Earlier on in the week, the band offered a glimpse at that forthcoming four-way split (with The Spook School, Wildhoney, and Tigercats rounding out the other three slots) by way of “Holly”, another sweeping gem of a song that masterfully blends the best of post-punk and powerpop into something that manages to become bittersweet and triumphant simultaneously.

“Holly” also sees the band’s knack for playing off each other increasing to a velocity that’s practically unmatched, generating the kind of momentum that will cause enough impact to knock out just about anybody. Whether it’s the surging guitars, the soaring vocals, the punchy rhythm section, or the band’s astonishing knack for composition, the band continues to seem mistake-free, casually igniting a fire that seems like it could burn forever. Mercury Girls, now several small releases into their career, have yet to release a track that feels anything less than miraculous.

In roughly three minutes, the band conjure up a winsome atmosphere, flawlessly navigate some galvanizing dynamic shifts, and offer up the kind of cohesive, grand-scale artistry that only the best bands ever manage to achieve. With “Holly”, Mercury Girls continue their breathless pursuit of perfection and — importantly — are showing no signs of diminishing returns (which is a fate that relentlessly plagues their niche genre). Inspired, breathtaking, and warm enough to be its own blanket, “Holly” has the capacity to inspire people to start their own bands. When all’s said and done, no compliment can be higher than that one.

Listen to “Holly” below and pre-order Continental Drift here.

August 6, 2016

Eluvium – Regenerative Being (Stream)

eluvium

Some artists seem to constantly exist on the periphery, never quite breaking through in the way that their work would suggest as a legitimate possibility. Eluvium has been occupying the fringes of that space for some time now, despite being one of the most acclaimed names in ambient music. Throughout seven records and several other releases, the Eluvium project (masterminded by Matthew Cooper) has maintained an air of quiet sophistication that feels both elegiac and deeply personal.

After the recent Life Through Bombardment box set series brought everyone up to speed, Eluvium’s now giving eager fans a glimpse at the forthcoming False Readings On full-length with the transfixing “Regenerative Being”, a characteristically gorgeous composition that illustrates the common thread of False Readings On: cognitive dissonance. For the majority of Eluvium’s discography, Cooper has kept the tone tranquil, unleashing aggression in unexpected ways at unexpected moments. It’s that specific trait that defines “Regenerative Being” and will likely be emphasized throughout False Readings On.

Beginning with a tonal swell, “Regenerative Being” begins to gently unfurl, expanding steadily in both instrumental palette, atmospheric range, and artistic scope. Cooper’s piano (the instrument that anchored An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death, one of the finest works of the past 16 years) glides into “Regenerative Being”, pushing it forward with an intangible kind of support. Not too long after the piano’s introduction, a jarring moment arrives with what sounds like a vocal sample that pierces “Regenerative Being” with a brash urgency.

It’s a process of addition and subtraction from that point forward, the song enveloping the listener as it meticulously unfolds. Though “Regenerative Being” winds up approaching the seven and a half minute mark, its running time is never felt. Like all of the best pieces of Eluvium’s catalog, “Regenerative Being” proves to be a transcendent, transportive experience imbued with a beautiful vulnerability and commitment to raw emotion.

There are few acts more adept at constructing entire worlds via music than Eluvium and “Regenerative Being” should serve as hard evidence. Undeniably beautiful, fiercely intelligent, and masterfully executed, it’s a potent reminder of Eluvium’s immeasurable talent. Beyond all of those things, it’s a piece that’s worth getting lost in, over and over again. With an unfathomable amount of grace, “Regenerative Being” burrows into the listener’s brain and then breathes life, living up to its title in full.

Listen to “Regenerative Being” below and pre-order False Readings On from Temporary Residence here.

1 Comment