Heartbreaking Bravery

Over the past week, there have been outstanding records by Real Life Buildings, Yellow Paper Planes, Molly Drag, Bluffs, pickle darling, Guilty Optics, Eric Slick, Good Good Blood, cooking, Sundae Crush, Monograms, Exhibition, Go By Ocean, dead man hammock, Kelly Moran, BENT, Raj and the 100’s, Tara Jane O’Neil, and Priests all finding release. Records weren’t the only things making an impact over the stretch. There were more than a few great music videos to surface and one of them came from site favorites Pleistocene.

In the most recent edition of A Year’s Worth of Memories Pleistocene bandleader Katie Preston talked a great deal about camaraderie and fostering healthy relationships, especially through shared interest. Those values are all reflected in the band’s new BUBL-T-directed music video for “Your New Life”, Spear‘s excellent lead-off track. The clip turns the focus onto the world of roller derby, where physical toughness is brought out with feverish intensity.

In addition to that toughness, there’s a dedication to the sport’s virtues that turn the people who immerse themselves in that world from casual spectators to role players to near-obsessives. There’s an undeniable ferocity to the game that manifests itself in the players, who, in turn, support each other. Since it’s not the most visible sport, that kinship intensifies considerably.

All of the values that are clearly evident in the sport wind up being analogous to the ones that Pleistocene have preached over the course of their discography, whether it be the inherent power of sisterhood, the willingness to stay resilient, or the importance of camaraderie. “Your New Life” distills everything into an energetic, effective, honest, and oddly moving portrayal of one of the great fringe sports. It’s a powerful piece from a band that, like derby, a lot more people should grant investment.

Watch “Your New Life” below and pick up a copy of Spear from the band here.