Uncategorized | Heartbreaking Bravery

October 16, 2015

CMJ: Day 2 Review

To get this straight, right off the bat: CMJ’s second day of festivities was the first day I participated in the proceedings so the title from this point forward will be reflective of the official festival dates and, due to the timely nature of the visual edits that something of this magnitude necessitates, there will be additional supplementary material to this post (and all of the forthcoming review posts) in the near-future.

The very first band I saw at CMJ wasn’t actually a band that I saw play; The Midwestern Charm were in town from Milwaukee, WI and deserve another mention in this space because, despite my best efforts, there level of press/exposure is still lacking (though their recent deal with Texas Is Funny is helping make some amends). After a brief hangout stint in the Artist’s Lounge and at a pizza place, I hopped a train to The Cake Shop where I’d hoped to catch the final two acts. Unfortunately, site favorites Diet Cig had just wrapped when I arrived. Balancing that misfortune out was the fact that I still arrived in time to catch all of Worriers’ set, a band I’ve attempted (and subsequently failed) to see at least five times over the past few months.

Worriers packed in a lot of material from their recent effort for Don Giovanni, Imaginary Life, including their career highlight “They/Them/Theirs“, which was an easy set highlight as well. Immediately after their set, which packed enough power to be memorable, I made the walk over to Santos Party House for NME’s unbelievably stacked showcase. As soon as I managed to sneak past security and into the venue before doors were opened, I linked up with Perfect Pussy, who have meant an extraordinary amount to both myself and this site (they can be at least partially credited for its existence).

I’d initially planned on attempting to catch every act on the bill but the prospect of a trip out to Chinatown with Perfect Pussy and a photographer from The Village Voice (who was dutifully shooting the evening’s events for the publication) proved too tantalizing. After sipping tea and watching everyone devour some dim sum, everyone made the trek back to the venue. The rest of the evening was spent running up and down a flight of steps separating two rooms that were hosting alternating sets.

Hooton Tennis Club were first up on the upstairs stage and managed to make a strong impression by virtue of stage presence and some genuinely catchy songs that skew heavily towards powerpop but have enough punk bite to avoid being pigeonholed into the genre. Car Seat Headrest were the next featured band and, riding a massive swell of buzz on the back of their deal with Matador, had a lot of expectations to meet and surpass. They mostly succeeded but were hampered early on by some strange sound issues. Everything had been resolved by the end of their set, which harbored enough heat to justify the intimidating amount of hype.

Well before Car Seat Headrest had wrapped their set, Seratones had kicked off what seemed to be a powerhouse set on the upstairs stage. Infusing blues, soul, and a healthy portion of straight rock n’ roll, the band came off as a towering force. Comparisons to Alabama Shakes seem inevitable but most will likely seem a little misguided. In any case, as soon as this band’s name starts circulating on a larger scale, they’ll be coveted by festivals and a frighteningly large army of people. As soon as the band closed their set, it was back down to watch Nico Yaryan take a considerable amount of time to set up before riding a few overwhelmingly pleasant songs into the territory of an oddly disjointed sleepiness.

Yaryan’s indie-folk outlier set warranted a return visit to the upstairs stage, where Yung kept my attention rapt by pouring everything they had into a ferocious set of hardcore-leaning basement punk numbers that was at least somewhat reminiscent of NE-HI, albeit a version of NE-HI that was a lot more pissed off. It was the perfect antidote to the preceding proceedings and acted a desperately-needed shot of adrenaline. Shopping (UK) kept that energy going downstairs with a set of minimal post-punk that had a lot of people dancing (myself included). Every song in the band’s catalog is deceptively complex but the band delivers everything with ease (and occasionally throw in a wink or a smile for good measure).

Protomartyr has been picking up all kinds of acclaim for their latest release and a hint of furthered confidence could be evidenced in the band’s characteristically deadpan presence. All of the new songs immediately stood out as highlights and kept a growing audience incredibly engaged (of the three times I’ve seen Protomartyr, this crowd was the most appreciative by far). Before their set ended, it was back to the stairwell for the umpteenth trip down the same flight of stairs to (finally) catch Downtown Boys.

While I’m still lukewarm on their recorded material, the band’s a juggernaut live. Vocalist Victoria Ruiz comes off like a vigilante dictator, espousing rousing political speeches about broken systems between songs (speeches that often serve as extended introductions to the song) before the very talented band finally joins her explosion. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy only a few songs in, which was my cue to run upstairs to catch Perfect Pussy.

As mentioned above, this site has a long history with the band (it was built primarily as an outlet for me to have a place to interview the band’s vocalist, Meredith Graves, who quickly became the patron saint of this place by featuring it in any way she could whenever she was given the opportunity). Even with that history running deep, I’d never seen the band play without their synth player, Shaun Sutkus. Sutkus was away on business (he’s still very much a part of the band, so rest easy, concerned parties) but everyone else was present and ready to go.

The band delivered a typically blistering set that included a new song entitled “The Women” that was written as a sort of pro-Planned Parenthood war cry. It was one of the first glimpses at the band’s new material, which they’re justifiably excited about releasing. Seemingly nothing but left turns, stop/start dynamics, and a variety of other compelling tricks, “The Women” is one of the most fascinating things that Perfect Pussy have ever played to an audience. While it didn’t quite get the roaring reception of “Interference Fits“, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s well on its way.

As soon as Perfect Pussy started winding down, I made a beeline for the basement to see a band I’ve waited nearly two years to see: site favorites Dilly Dally. Playing to a crowd at around one in the morning can be a difficult prospect, especially when you’re already dealing with the pressures that accompany having one of the most celebrated records of the moment. Throw in my own personal feelings about the band and the anxiety levels were high; could they live up? Dilly Dally responded by throwing down a monstrous set that exceeded the confines of the festival and quickly registered as one of the best sets of the year.

Every conceivable aspect of a live show was covered: the banter was entertaining, the band’s four members all fully committed to their stage presence, they conjured up a wall of sound that was enough to send shockwaves through my torso without ever having any sound issues, and at one point Katie Monks– the band’s vocalist/guitarist– got intense enough to break a string. Monks’ voice on its own is an incredibly powerful thing and she can wield it like a loaded weapon but when it’s supported the way it is by her bandmates, it becomes unforgettable.

By the end of Dilly Dally’s set, they’d played a handful of tracks from 2015 highlight Sore, “Candy Mountain“, and covered Drake with a surprising level of menace. It was a jaw-dropping set and provided the perfect note to end an opening day of showgoing. Unforgiving in its raw power and weirdly poetic nature, Dilly Dally’s performance set an unbelievably high bar and the rest of this week will be given an added element of intrigue: will anyone be able to top what they pulled off? It’ll be exciting to find out.

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October 14, 2015

S – Remember Love (Music Video)

One of the quietest, most unassuming records of 2014 also turned out to be one of its most memorable. Intentionally muted, S‘s Cool Choices still allowed for a bevvy of personality to slip through its cracks; flowers bloomed in between the pavement. Since that record’s release, Jenn Ghetto has died and resurrected as Jenn Champion. Opting out of the former for reasons of sensitivity, the songwriter (who was also a part of the sorely missed Carissa’s Weird) made a conscious decision to be recast as something approaching a stand-in as a small beacon of hope for anyone who’s experienced a meaningful rejection.

It’s that same spirit that helps characterize “Remember Love” the latest clip from S, which headlines a very strong pack of music videos which included memorable outings from Deerhunter, Dan Friel, EMA, Weyes Blood, Foals, and The Big Moon (who very nearly earned this post’s feature spot). In the end, though, this post’s focal point fell to S for much of the same reason the “Losers” video earned a spot in this site’s list of last year’s best music videos; its humanity.

Director Jimmy Bazan and Champion construct a world that’s at once relatable, despairing, and intimate in a way that feels painfully honest. Ostensibly about the impact an ex can have after a relationship, the skeletal metaphor winds up extending deeper and carries an equal, if not greater, amount of heft touching on the purest moments of heartbreak- the moments you forget for a fleeting moment that a loved one is gone.

Shot in an incredibly effective verite style, “Remember Love” allows death to linger around its every corner, even while featuring a skeleton front and center. It’s a deceptive trick that rewards investment and the effort of thematic exploration. Taken as a statement on the messy endings of a failed romantic entanglement, the metaphorical aspects of the video come close to seeming excessive but, driven further into an actual death, reels back towards feeling slight. As an open-ended possibility that accounts for both, it’s a sublime middle ground that winks at both scenarios.

In either case, the sense of loss is palpable and Champion effortlessly evokes the kind of hopeless nostalgia that’s unfailingly heartrending. As Champion retraces stubbornly held onto memories with a skeleton (played with a surprising amount of verve by Arwen Nicks, who also came up with the video’s concept), the clip finds its home striking a tonal balance not too dissimilar from Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine. An exhilarating joy is balanced with a brutal sadness and fondness is met with regret. As incredible as everything that precedes it is, the video’s final shot of Champion is unforgettable, extending S’s unlikely winning streak with a moment of total devastation.

Watch “Remember Love” below and pick up a copy of Cool Choices from Hardly Art here.

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October 14, 2015

Sheer – Uneasy (Music Video)

Only two days into the week and it’s already overflowing with new material. Fall’s referred to as Awards Season by a sect of people primarily concerned with film but the same logistical rules tend to apply to the the music releases as well. A good placement on any notable publication’s year-end list is a huge PR boost and– depending on the publication– it can open a lot of avenues to the artists as well. This generally causes numbers to balloon in fall, in hopes that those releases stay fresh in the minds of people who have the power to genuinely affect their career trajectory.

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, then, that the past few days have seen artists like Wildhoney, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Pet Cemetery, Martitime, Woozy, and Labasheeda all unveil full lengths. In addition to that Paper Trail Records released a staggering compilation, new songs from Sudakistan, METZ, Bethlehem Steel, Very Fresh, Casket Girls, Django Django, Cross Record, Martin Courtney, JEFF The Brotherhood, and Cass McCombs surfaced. While those are all worth taking in at least once, it’s a new name earning this post’s primary focus: Sheer.

Over the near two years of this site’s existence, there’s been a tremendous amount of focus on acts incorporating elements of shoegaze, grunge, early ’90s slacker punk, and basement pop. So a band that filters all of the former elements through the guise of the latter is going to have my full, undivided attention. Enter: Sheer. “Uneasy”, the music video for their forthcoming record of the same name, is Sheer’s first major piece of publicity having formed just a touch over a year ago.

The band comes off as fully formed, bringing a strong sense of identity to the Colin McCaffrey-directed clip for “Uneasy”. Nothing feels out of place and the band’s sense of control over every aspect of their craft is impressive. Primarily a performance edit for the verses, McCaffrey heightens the band’s atmospheric half-time drop in the chorus by augmenting it with some stunning visuals and seamlessly merging the two for the song’s breathtaking bridge. Soft transitions, lens flares, and a faded color palette all lend to the palpable sense of damaged romanticism in “Uneasy”. It’s a startlingly beautiful look at a band that’s well on their way to becoming a much bigger name right out of the gate.

Watch “Uneasy” below and pre-order the band’s debut from The Native Sound here.

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October 13, 2015

DBTS: BS2 (Compilation Premiere)

The first building I stepped foot inside of after moving to Brooklyn in June was David Blaine’s The Steakhouse (DBTS for short). Montana and the Marvelles were wrapping up a practice and it took less than a minute for things to start coming across as familial. It was a sense that continuously expanded as time passed, making it incredibly clear that it was a venue that helped foster a tight-knit community of like-minded people. It’s in that spirit that the DBTS: BS compilation series was created.

DBTS: BS1, the first entry into the series, was a collection of demos, outcasts from a variety of notable projects all connected to the DBTS family in one way or another. It was an intriguing project that helped kick off would what prove to be a remarkably successful year for the residents of DBTS and their wide-reaching network of ridiculously talented friends.

Now, just ten months after the debut compilation, they’re issuing a sequel, DBTS: BS2. All of these songs are either sourced from idling projects, covers, castoffs that would otherwise be bound for homelessness, or early stage demos. Members of LVL UP, Downies, Slight, Porches., Painted Zeros, Glueboy, Bethlehem Steel, and Big Ups all contribute material through either their main vehicle, a side project, or as a solo or collaborative effort.

It’s an impressive effort from a collective that keeps spreading outward and gaining momentum without ever losing sight of a steadfast commitment to a DIY ethos. So, with all of that in mind, it’s with honor and admiration that I present the premiere of DBTS: BS2, the latest step forward for the makeshift family that’s given me a place that’s easy to consider as a home.

Initially, this was going to be a name-your-price ordeal for a limited time with all proceeds going towards funds to their neighbors at The Silent Barn, who are still running repairs after the venue caught fire several weeks ago. However, the presence of covers on the compilation prompted justified concerns over legal matters. Even with that being the case, The Silent Barn could still use as much help as they get, so if this is a compilation you find yourself enjoying, please consider showing your appreciation in the form of a donation to aid their recovery.

Stream DBTS: BS2 below and watch a collection of live footage from DBTS shot over the summer beneath the embed.

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October 13, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 99

Last week was another particularly strong week for live clips, with two of KEXP’s most memorable sessions of 2015 acting as bookends for this installment of the series. Since the majority of the previous posts introductions had been overflowing with content, this entry seemed like a reasonable time to allow the five featured clips to be the sole focus of the series. For roughly 100 weeks, Watch This has focused on the best live clips to emerge in a given week, so it feels appropriate that this particular volume features one of the most entertaining sets the series has run to date, a new name to the site, and a band that’s a series regular. All of it’s worthy of investment and serves as a testament of how good of a time it is for live videos. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume, relax, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Mike Krol (KEXP)

At the end of last month Mike Krol threw down one of the best sets I’ve seen all year at Baby’s All Right and brought a lot of the same manic energy to this KEXP session, which features the live renditions of more than half of his latest album. While KEXP’s camera setup required a reduction of the intensity of their lights show, the band still showed up in full costume with an excess of razor wire. Fast, dirty, chaotic, and injected with a childlike glee, this is a KEXP session that the station members will probably be talking about for a long time to come.

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2. Mothers – No Crying In Baseball (Audiotree)

Every so often, Audiotree unearths an incredibly promising emerging act that make the most out of their session time. This time around, that band’s Mothers, whose “No Crying In Baseball” is a remarkably accessible brand of post-punk that comes loaded with enough pop sensibility to have a tremendously wide-reaching appeal. While the song border the virtuosic at times, the quartet plays it with the exact right blend of commitment and detachment up until its explosive, passionate finale.

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3. Worriers (BreakThruRadio)

Imaginary Life, Worriers’ latest effort, has managed to stand out in an astonishingly overcrowded 2015. The band recently stopped by BreakThruRadio’s studios for an interview and to perform a few songs from the album, providing an effective reminder of its strength. The live sections are spirited and the interview’s illuminating, cementing this clip’s essential viewing status.

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4. Screaming Females – Triumph (Radio K)

It’s been stated before that Screaming Females have been appearing on Watch This for around as long as the series has existed. Nearly every piece of praise that can be directed towards their live performance has already been directed at their live performance but they still don’t seem content and are continuously topping themselves. Every time this band is on any kind of stage, it’s a signal to buckle up and brace for impact. Radio K invited the band in to their studios for a recent performance and the band obliged with a characteristically exceptional performance of “Triumph”.

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5. Wimps (KEXP)

Wimps have slowly been racking up interest for the past few years and that interest seems to be nearing a fever pitch. Releasing records at a startling rate tends to be an attention-getting tactic but, outside of Robert Pollard and a very small handful of others, it’s rare that kind of over-saturation has much artistic merit. Wimps belong to the small handful that are the exception to that rule. Every single one of their releases has been ridiculously enjoyable and they’ve only sharpened their craft as they’ve progressed. That maturation’s very evident in this entertaining KEXP session that already seems to be earning the band a few converts. This is the kind of party that people kick themselves for missing.

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October 13, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 98

The recent swell of outstanding live clips should be evident by now, with the overflowing packets of honorable mention selections that characterized the last two entries of this series. It’s not a trend that tapered off pushing forward, either, as the 98th installment of Watch This was a similarly contested battle. While the five clips featured below are well worth featuring, there were also deserving clips from Funeral Advantage, J Fernandez, DMA’s, Afterpartees, Gary Clark Jr., Glen Hansard, Noveller, Greg Holden, Teen Men, Watkins Family Hour, Galgo, Grave Babies, and Wire. One of the more eclectic volumes of this series, the 98th entry includes a third consecutive appearance from a site favorite and the Watch This debut for a band comprised of some artists whose work influenced more than half of the bands that get written about on this site. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume, wind down, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Cayetana – Madame B (Little Elephant)

The second Cayetana clip to be featured from their Little Elephant session finds the trio digging into “Madame B”– one of the best songs in their discography– and laying into it with an abundance of feeling. Throughout the clip, it’s easy to see each individual member get completely lost in the song at various points throughout, each seemingly succumbing to some sort of trance without ever losing any of the determination that characterizes their music.

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2. Deerhoof (MOWNO)

Deerhoof is an insane band that’s always veered away from conventionality and their live show underlines both of those defining aspects. MOWNO was on hand to film some of their performance at the Teriaki festival in Le Mans and the results are incredibly engaging. Impassioned, off-kilter, and wild-eyed, not a second of this clip is worth missing. As inventive as it is fierce, this is the perfect presentation of Deerhoof’s current era.

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3. Meat Wave – Too Much (Audiotree)

Returning once again to Meat Wave‘s Audiotree session, this particular performance finds the band reaching back to their shockingly under-discussed self-titled debut (which remains one of my favorite records of all time). Venomous, grim, and surprisingly atmospheric, it shows the band firing on all cylinders, showcasing an impressive dynamic sensibility in the process. Brooding and much darker than usual, “Too Much” is the sound of a band establishing its identity.

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4. Lady Lamb – Millions of Eyes (OnAirstreaming)

“Billions of Eyes” was one of last year’s most charming songs and marked Aly Spaltro’s arrival at large. Since the release of that song, Spaltro’s Lady Lamb project severed “The Beekeeper” from its title, released a very well-received record (After) on Mom+Pop and set about touring on the release. Here, OnAirstreaming catches Spaltro delivering a rare solo performance of the song and clearly exhibits an endearing affection between the songwriter and the work. It’s strangely uplifting and immensely enjoyable.

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5. Big Star’s Third – Blue Moon (The Current)

It’d be a maddening exercise in futility to try to cover the artists who have had their careers directly impacted by Big Star’s work. The powerpop icons have been continuously cited as an inspiration by all varieties of punk and pop bands since their emergence in the early ’70s. Everyone from The Replacements to Elliott Smith to Cheap Trick has written songs about the band or covered them directly. Members of the band recently toured with a collective of friends to perform Big Star’s seminal Third and, accordingly, provided the project with Big Star’s Third as a moniker. The Current recently hosted the project where they performed a gentle, honest version of “Blue Moon” and the end result is lovely beyond reason.

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October 13, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 97

Continuing on with this Watch This spree, we go back three weeks and dive into the most memorable live clips to appear in that given time. While there were several strong videos that came from artists like Kristen, Albert Hammond Jr., The Good Life, Low, Liza Anne, Calexico (ft. Neko Case), The Folk, On an On, Jurassic Shark, Jounce, Gardens & Villa, and Fredo Viola. Those clips’ collective strengths are indicative of the considerable worth of the featured videos of this particular series installment, which boasts an emphasis on abbreviated sets from the included artists and two arresting performances from a pair of site favorites. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Menace Beach (3voor12)

Ratworld was one of 2015’s earliest highlights and Menace Beach have wasted no time in following it up with the outstanding Super Transporterreum EP. 3voor12 recently captured the band delivering a fiery set in the Netherlands, conjuring up all kinds of winsome noise. An endearing interview and a trio of invigorating performances are contained in this surprisingly explosive clip.

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2. Meat Wave – Erased (Audiotree)

Another Watch This, another clip from Meat Wave‘s Audiotree session. This time around, the trio sinks their teeth into the ferocious– almost feral– “Erased“. Chaotic, wild-eyed, and terrifyingly precise, “Erased” sees Meat Wave continuing to excel with blistering force in the live department. Jagged, vicious, and unapologetic in its searing intensity, it more than earns its place among this week’s featured videos.

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3. Peter Wolf Crier (The Current)

For whatever reason, Peter Wolf Crier have always been a band that’s quietly excelled, accumulating a devoted fan base through an unusual consistency. While they still haven’t racked up stratospheric numbers, they’v never released anything less than stellar. The Current recently brought them in for a two song session and the band responded in kind, gifting the studio one of their stronger sessions in recent memory.

4. Kurt Vile (WFUV)

Is anyone out there making music that sounds more effortlessly breezy than Kurt Vile? At this point, it’s sincerely doubtful. Vile’s attained a sort of easygoing, freewheeling charm that infuses his current work so naturally that it’s nearly impossible to find a line separating himself from his art. That dynamic’s retained in full and deeply embedded into this three-song performance hosted by WFUV. It’s a perfect soundtrack for an early fall day.

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5. Torres – The Harshest Light (3voor12)

Candlelit rooms are perfect backdrops for quieter music and generally tend to heighten their intimacy. Torres, a name that may have been featured throughout this year on this series more than any other, operates almost exclusively in an incredibly intimate mode. Even knowing all of that, it’s hard not to be knocked breathless by this clip, 3voor12’s second of the week, which features a solo acoustic performance that’s intercut with footage of a nameless man navigating a graveyard, rendering it one of the year’s most surprisingly powerful live clips.

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October 13, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 96

It’s been quite some time since Watch This made an appearance due to a variety of extenuating circumstances. However, the series was still going through upkeep in its absence. This will be the first of four posts that collects and features the best live performance captures in that same amount of time, each in a chronological order. Going back four weeks, there were intriguing clips from Bear’s Den, Juan Wauters, Redthread, The Good Life (x2), Bertrand Belin, Laura Marling, Telekinesis, Beirut, Julia Holter, FIDLAR, Ride, and Donovan Wolfington. It was a suitably strong crop of clips but the five to earn featured spots here earner their respective positions for a reason. So, as always, lean in, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Cayetana – Serious Things Are Stupid (Little Elephant)

Cayetana have made a few appearances on this series before but their performance of “Serious Things Are Stupid” for Little Elephant is their best clip to date. The camerawork here’s intentionally loose and matches the band’s aesthetic in a thoughtful way while the performance is committed, tight-knit, and delivered with verve. It’s a short blast that winds up being remarkably effective.

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2. PWR BTTM (BreakThruRadio)

Anyone that’s clicked on this site anytime since summer rolled around has likely seen a mountain of praise directed towards PWR BTTM, who remain one of the most entertaining live bands on the circuit. With that being the case, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise anytime they make a Watch This appearance. Here, they deliver some typically fierce performances and provide their host with a transformative experience.

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3. Meat Wave – Cosmic Zoo (Audiotree)

There have been more than a few posts on this site discussing Meat Wave‘s fundamental importance to this site’s development and the trio keeps delivering at an exceptional level. 2015’s outstanding Delusion Moon has helped the band gain significant momentum and they’re capitalizing on that momentum at every conceivable level. Audiotree recently hosted the band for a session and they led their set off with the surging “Cosmic Zoo“, delivering the song with a bracing immediacy.

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4. Madalean Gauze – Accumulations of Life (WXPN)

This performance of “Accumulations of Life” was my introduction to the spiky guitar pop of Madalean Gauze, a band that comes across as immediately relatable and extremely well-versed. As a first piece, it’s a near-perfect blend of practiced and promising, solidifying theirs as a name to watch straight out of the gate. Vibrant and alive, “Accumulations of Life” is an incredibly enjoyable look at an intriguing emerging act.

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5. Glen Hansard – McCormack’s Wall (ANTI-)

Occasionally a clip surfaces and immediately registers as transcendental. I can vividly remembering having that thought upon first watches of a very small selection of the 500+ performances that have been featured on this series- yet, “McCormack’s Wall” manages to stand out even among those few. Deeply cinematic, characteristically heartfelt, thematically rich, tenderly shot, crisply edited, and beautifully presented, “McCormack’s Wall” occasionally comes across as a tone poem. Easily one of the most gorgeous clips to ever run in this series, “McCormack’s Wall” is a pinnacle of what can be achieved with the format. Share this one with family.

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October 11, 2015

Nicole Dollanganger – Natural Born Losers (Album Review, Stream)

“I shot an angel with my father’s rifle. I should have set it free but I let it bleed.” Those lines open Nicole Dollanganger’s Natural Born Losers, the young songwriter’s fifth full-length (but first for Eerie, an artists’ co-op that was co-founded by Grimes specifically so this record could reach a wider audience), which is comprised of nothing but 2015’s most haunting pop songs. What follows is an examination of life’s darker corners, usually cast in the guise of gripping magic realism and supplemented with consistently breathtaking guitar work. Feedback ripples through these songs like blood, providing some lightly menacing color to their ghostly pallor.

Even with an excess of starkness and grotesque violence, there’s a certain elegance in the songs’ delicate filters. Dollangangers airy vocals at times verge on otherworldly, suffusing an overwhelming sense of doom with a near-paradoxical lightness. Hope is fleeting in Natural Born Losers but Dollanganger’s ability to understand and present the beauty in that bleakness renders it a vital, possibly even essential, record. Only two songs in and stories about how her room’s divided by chalk dolls on one side and guns on the other become just a touch more illuminating and meaningful.

There’s a war that’s constantly being waged in Natural Born Killers and the stakes are never relegated to the background. As the album glides forward, the Molotov cocktail of violence and (deceptive) innocence becomes increasingly bracing, allowing the record’s atmospherics to emerge as a complementary focal point. As swans necks break, cops are baited into violence for the purpose of sexual pleasure, executioners are meticulously observed, Satan gets tempted, and mouths are filled with fresh reptilian blood, Dollanganger hovers over her narratives, exerting terrifying control and indulging a shadowy sensibility that’s, disconcertingly, presented as something approaching hedonism.

All throughout Natural Born Losers, the tempo’s downplayed to a near-whisper, allowing for a strange maximization of both Dollanganger’s dynamics and aesthetics. In the record’s chill-inducing lead-off singles, “Angels of Porn (II)” and “You’re So Cool”, this approach is emphasized to achieve a heightened dramatic effect. In the former, the song builds its way into a wall of sound, driven by snaky guitar lines and a committed vocal performance that contains the verse Natural Born Losers hinges on: “I’d give my body to Satan if I could only keep my soul, but I can’t seem to find the split between them anymore.” The latter elevates the record’s considerable level of tension and cloaks itself in ambiguity and pulls at the threads of what’s good, what’s evil, and what’s preferable without ever offering a clear reconciliation.

It’s that song, “You’re So Good”, that unifies and clearly lays out the major thematic elements of Natural Born Losers while also acting as a strong finale. For a record that’s so committed to its cinematic tendencies, it also makes sense that it might follow the rule of bookending (a technique that, traditionally, is supposed to show how much in a given story has evolved based on the first and final frames). Following that law, Dollanganger brings Natural Born Losers to a conclusion that serves as its most haunting moment: “I see the future and there’s no death. ‘Cause, you and I, we’re angels.”

It’s in that moment where it’s difficult to find any words and best to simply resign to a stunned silence before taking a deep breath, collect a modicum of composure, and hit repeat.

Listen to Natural Born Losers below and order it here.

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October 10, 2015

Laura Stevenson – Claustrophobe (Stream)

More than four dozen items into today’s review of the past week of music and there’s still more than a dozen things left to cover. That’s absurd. It’s also indicative of just how consistent 2015’s been in terms of great new releases. Whether it was a pair of music videos from Pity Sex and Will Butler or what essentially amount to attention-snagging previews from Heavy Looks and Chris Sutter‘s intriguing solo venture Genie’s Organ Recordings. There were also outstanding new songs from Woozy, Three Man Cannon, Holy Oysters, Haybaby, Broadcaster, British Sea Power, Palmas, and Polyon, as well as a deeply compelling full-length from Brooks Strause. In addition to that wealth of memorable material, there was a breathtaking new song from site favorite Laura Stevenson.

Coming off of a career high– 2013’s Wheel, a wonderful record that keeps improving with age– Stevenson had the unenviable task of following up an unlikely genre classic. As each new song from the songwriter’s forthcoming Cocksure trickles out, the more it seems like the record may surpass its predecessor. “Claustrophobe”, the latest single to be unveiled from the record, makes an immediate impact with its stargazing guitar line and insistent piano-plinking. Unfurling with grace and determination, “Claustrophobe” plays to Stevenson’s most anthemic sensibilities, with its monster chorus doing quite a bit of its own heavy lifting.

Propulsive, dynamic, and bittersweet, “Claustrophobe” is the latest extension of a continuously improving winning streak from one of this generation’s more under-appreciated songwriters. If the rest of Cocksure lives up to its previews, Stevenson’s name may be appearing in a lot of desirable places. For now, the best course of action’s to simply enjoy the music and the building anticipation for the October 30 release date. Just hit repeat until that day arrives.

Listen to “Claustrophobe” below and pre-order Cocksure from Don Giovanni here.

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