Heartbreaking Bravery

July 21, 2016

PWR BTTM – Projection (Stream, Live Video)

PWR BTTM III

The last few days held a whole host of incredible new songs from the likes of Turtlenecked, ScotDrakula, Animal Lover, Dolores, Rips, Dott, Sex Stains, Devon Welsh, Dogbreth, Honey Bucket, Lumer, Atticus Ross and Leopold Ross, Raccoon Fighter, Jenn Champion, Field Mouse, Luke Winslow, The Pooches, Butch Bastard, Ravenna Woods, Young Summer, Bellows, Rosemary Fairweather, Alice MK, Grey Gersten, JEFF The Brotherhood, and Royal Oakie as well as a two-song sampler of the forthcoming record from Echo Courts. While all of those songs should receive listens, it’s an old favorite finally finding release to capture this post’s featured spot.

The first time I saw PWR BTTM was at Miscreant’s Northside showcase last year and it immediately ensured the band a hefty amount of future coverage (especially in the live department). Having been impressed by their earlier material, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect that day but it was one particular song that convinced me PWR BTTM was capable of achieving greatness: “Projection”.

Over time, “Projection” solidified its spot as my favorite song in the band’s arsenal. From Benjamin Hopkins’ remarkably tasteful guitar theatrics to a startlingly intimate lyric set to Liv Bruce’s intuitive drumming to the exchanged vocal leads, the song highlights several of PWR BTTM’s strongest aspects. From that first performance over a year ago, the band’s kept it as a live staple and subsequently afforded me the opportunity to document it several times over.

Recently, PWR BTTM announced they would be partnering with the excellent Big Scary Monsters label for their European releases, beginning with an extended version of Ugly Cherries that will come equipped with “Projection” (it’ll be available as a standalone single in America). While the band offers a mischievous wink towards the song’s main influence with its title, the narrative of “Projection” takes a much more serious tone.

From its opening couplet onward, “Projection” offers a very acute look at the displacement its songwriters have been subjected to because of their identities and preferences, rendering it heartbreaking in its realism– something enhanced even more by the song’s direct approach.

With its reprise of “my skin wasn’t made for the weather”, it’d be easy for the song to tip towards defeatism and while that’s an element that never completely disappears, the music surrounding the narrative becomes a retaliatory burst of frustration that seems to energize the band; they’ve found an outlet through creating music that feels like home. In that regard, “Projection” could be viewed as somewhat celebratory, though its down-trodden narrative keeps it tethered to the earth.

In creating that dichotomy, PWR BTTM fully demonstrate their enviable gifts as songwriters who have an uncanny understanding of their identity as a band (with only one full-length under their belt, no less). “Projection” finds every element of their songwriting at a stratospheric peak, underlining the hefty emotional undercurrent that informs their work but frequently winds up getting overlooked.

It’s an extraordinary song that offers insight, frustration, joy, longing, and some of their finest composition work to date. Empathetic and earnest in its unblinking sincerity, “Projection” is the type of song that’s capable of making converts out of skeptics; a genuine work of art. Greet the song’s official arrival with the kind of understanding and care that should be granted to others throughout life, free of discriminatory practices, prejudices, and blind hatred. Grab a copy, reciprocate its warmth, and never let its message fall out of reach… then hit repeat.

Listen to “Projection” below — and watch an early live performance of the song — and keep an eye on this site for more news on any of PWR BTTM’s forthcoming releases.

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July 21, 2016

Gurr – Moby Dick (Music Video)

gurr

Miss June, The Dirty Nil, Gothic Tropic, Chris Farren, Kids of the Apocalypse, The Girdles, His Clancyness, Drugdealer, ScHoolBoy Q, Avers, Japancakes, and Young Moon all had excellent music videos emerge over the past three days. Joining their ranks was Gurr’s light, expressive clip for their latest single, “Moby Dick”.

The premise for “Moby Dick” is exceedingly simple but ties into the band’s identity extraordinarily well. Both band members mime the words to the song while dancing around in alternating one-shots, everything taking place in front of a faded turquoise backdrop. Neither member’s able to suppress a genuine smile as the Andrea Weiczorek-directed clip progresses, giving the whole affair a contagious, carefree joy. It’s a light clip but it’s perfectly executed and was clearly born out of love, a dynamic that’s become increasingly rare for the format.

While it may feel a little familiar it’s also a breath of fresh air, something to combat the overly serious nature of the types of narratives that have been dominating all corners of the media in recent times. That’s an important status to occupy and Gurr deliver on that level tremendously and heighten the anticipation for their upcoming record, In My Head, in the process. Consider it a small victory for everyone.

Watch “Moby Dick” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on the band’s forthcoming record(s).

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July 21, 2016

Stove – Graduate and Congratulate (Music Video)

STOVE

Over the first half of this week, some outstanding full streams were unveiled by Toby Coke, Unity, JANK, Good Throb, The Wilful Boys, and The I.l.y’s. While those six titles should be granted quite a bit of attention, this post’s featured spot falls out of that category entirely. Instead, the focus will jump to a personality-driven music video from site favorite Stove.

Any new material from the band that was responsible for this site’s pick for 2015’s song of the year will always be treated as welcome news. While the band’s on tour, that material will be available on a tape that they’ll have at their shows (which will be the only place they’re available). Fortunately for everyone who can’t make it out, they’re also offering up a music video for one of the tracks from that tape, “Graduate and Congratulate”.

The clip itself is about as bare-bones as it gets; a one-shot of Stove’s guitarist/vocalist Steve Hartlett navigating his way in and out of a house, taking a moment outside for a very quick beard trim and head shave session. Mouthing the words to the song, smoking a cigarette, and taking everything in stride, Hartlett exhibits the kind of hazy calm that fuels “Graduate and Congratulate”. It’s a simple clip but it’s deeply effective and a potent reminder of the band’s considerable control over all aspects of their craft. Dive in, give it a look/listen, and never stop making art.

Watch “Graduate and Congratulate” below and grab a copy of the Is A Toad In the Rain tape by checking out the band’s current tour.

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July 18, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 133

Now that Watch This is back to its regular Sunday scheduling, the concentrated efforts of the week can feel even more staggering. By confining outstanding clips featuring Big Thief, Kevin Morby, Winter, Nothing, Noxious Neighbors, Oscar, Tiny Fireflies, Suss Cunts, Fear of Men, Bad Bad Meow, Tancrède, Megafauna, Victoria+Jean, Tacocat, Holy Fuck, Michael Kiwanuka, Fruit Bats, My Bubba, Italian Boyfriend, Chris Farren, and The Districts to a single seven-day span, the volume of material that gets covered starts to feel a little more concrete (and remains fairly intimidating). All of the acts to earn a featured spot in this 133rd installment of the Watch This series have been praised on this site before. Here, they reaffirm those early nods of approval with excessively strong works that deserve praise. So, as always, sit back, block out any distractions, adjust the settings, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Audacity (3voor12)

After “Not Like You” saw Audacity rejoin the featured music videos fold, they confidently re-emerge in the Watch This series as well. The band’s always excelled in the live setting so the wildly entertaining nature of this session for 3voor12 shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. It’s continuing to be a pleasure to watch their live chops grow sharper with age and this is no exception.

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2. Palehound (NPR)

Palehound‘s grown incrementally more impressive each time I’ve caught their live show and this beautifully shot NPR session from last year’s CMJ is a reminder of their potency in that department. Driven by the astonishing talent of Ellen Kempner and elevated by incredibly tight rhythm section work, the band’s attained a confident ease that suits both their music and their performances to perfection.

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3. Margaret Glaspy – You & I (Conan)

One of the artists who’s been experiencing a very deserved breakouts this year has been Margaret Glaspy, whose Emotions and Math has proven to be one of 2016’s most nuanced and self-assured solo releases. Glaspy pulls inspiration from a wide-reaching variety of genres and continuously finds a way to make them coalesce into songs that frequently wind up being greater than the sum of their parts. Here, Glaspy tears through the best of those tracks, “You & I”, for one of the best performances to have graced Conan’s stage this year.

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4. Pleistocene – Jack-O

For quite some time now, Pleistocene have been favorites of this site. While the band’s currently readying new material, they recently found time to dive into a recent favorite. In this clip, a pared-down version of the band performs a gorgeous, lilting version of “Jack-O”, a highlight from their split with Howlo. Perched on the branch of a tree and cloaked by its leaves with only an omnichord at their disposal, the duo gets swept up in harmonizing and visibly lose themselves in the music they’re creating. It’s a beautiful clip that serves as an able demonstration of the quiet power great art can carry.

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5. Tacocat (PressureDrop.tv)

For the third consecutive Watch This in a row, PressureDrop.tv land an exhilarating entry that finds a way to enhance the common grounds between the featured band and the filmmaking. It’s startlingly effective on the visual front and enhances the frequently propulsive performances at its core. In this instance, Tacocat runs wild on a set that looks like an abandoned shed that was converted into a practice space. The setting mirrors the band’s own fun-loving sensibilities and the band seems to be energized by the space, turning in the kind of confident performance that makes it seem like they feel completely at home.

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July 18, 2016

don’t – forget it (EP Review)

dont

July’s continued to bring out quality full streams in full force and the last few days of this week were no exception, bringing about worthy titles from Pre Nup, Yeesh, and The Saxophones as well as a Disposable America mixtape that’s directing all of the proceeds it earns towards the Pulse Tragedy Community Fund. As always, all of those titles should be more fully explored than time here allows and stand as highly recommended listens. Joining them in that regard is this post’s intended feature, the outstanding debut release from don’t, the cheekily-titled forget it.

Both the pop-punk and bedroom pop genres have been at their absolute best when they’ve proven to be subversive, opting out of merely imitating their expected beats. forget it succeeds in bridging the two genres by virtue of that type of subversion and becomes an unlikely standout in the process. In four short tracks, don’t offer up a variety of familiar points and then sets about demolishing their construction.

Whether it’s the synth that erupts at the chorus of “ambiguous” that transports the song into unexpected territory after a standard pop-punk build or the intense, sharp left forget it takes for its closing ballad, “your head”, that unexpectedly turns over the vocal lead and dramatically altars the momentum of the EP before exploding into a sort of euphoria, the band refuses to cater to an easy or predictable route.

Throughout it all, forget it remains deeply compelling not only by the virtue of its choices but in large part to the purity of the music it offers. Nearly every track’s narrative is populated and defined by some type of longing and elevated by its instrumental explorations. There’s not a moment on forget it that feels anything less than overwhelmingly honest and it draws a considerable amount of power from its sincerity.

In approximately 11 minutes, don’t go from being an unknown entity to one of 2016’s most exciting — and most promising — new acts. Don’t be surprised to see a quick succession of converts fiercely latching onto the band following this release or to hear their name come up in conversation a lot more readily. With a start this promising, it’s very easy to have a tremendous amount of hope for the future of music. Before that point hits, we should just be grateful to have been gifted such an incredible soundtrack for the ride.

Listen to forget it below and pick it up here.

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July 18, 2016

Audacity – Not Like You (Music Video)

In the closing moments of the week, there were great new music videos to emerge from the camps of Erin Tobey, Big Eyes, Death Grips, Sewage Farm, And The Kids, and The Holy Circle. As good as those all were — and they were quite good — they simply couldn’t match the allure of personal history attached to this post’s featured clip. The very first Heartbreaking Bravery post centered on an Audacity music video. Now, more than 900 posts and nearly three years later, the band’s offered up another strong clip for a Hyper Vessels highlight.

In the time that this site’s been running, I’ve been afforded several unique opportunities. One of those was working doors for one of Brooklyn’s finest venues, Baby’s All Right, which is the setting for Audacity’s latest clip, “Not Like You”, giving the whole affair an oddly meaningful bent. Baby’s iconic backdrop always lent the venue a uniquely cinematic appeal that often seemed to energize the acts on stage and this Brendan McKnight-directed clip utilizes that trait to its advantage.

Audacity are a band that’s thrived on conjuring up excessive amounts of energy since their earliest releases and have honed that particular skill set into something resembling concentrated weaponry. “Not Like You” is a surging track and the editing for its accompanying visual treatment matches that velocity to perfection, creating a high-impact punch that leaves an intentional mark.

Simple, effective, and embracing an honest sense of genuine fun (something that’s been noticeably absent from the majority of recent releases), “Not Like You” distills the band into what may prove to be a definitive piece. Manic, sharp, and surprisingly forceful, “Not Like You” is practically a victory lap for a band that’s been creating the type of art this site quite literally used as a foundation. Taking all of that into account, it’s nearly impossible to not revel in the sheer amount of joy on display.

Watch “Not Like You” below and pick up Hyper Vessels here.

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July 18, 2016

Yankee Bluff – I (EP Review)

Dogs On Acid II

To close out last week, a variety of great songs got released from the likes of Jeff Rosenstock, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Channels, YJY, Morgan Delt, Color Tongue, Pill, Multicult, Alphabetic, dreambeaches, and DYAN. While all of those tracks were certainly worthy of a great deal of attention, this featured spot goes to the surprise debut from Yankee Bluff, a band that was born out of the ashes of site favorites Dogs On Acid (pictured above), who announced both this new project and their end in a recent Facebook post.

While losing Dogs On Acid is tough to swallow, the sudden appearance of Yankee Bluff helps smooth out the transition. Helping matters even further is the fact that their debut EP, I, easily ranks as one of the format’s finest entries of the year. Beginning with “Agessi”, I demonstrates the songwriters’ increasing knack for nuanced basement pop and distances them even further from their emo roots.

Anchored by a compellingly battered production aesthetic, everything in I comes across as surprisingly grounded without sacrificing some towering pop-leaning hooks. As the EP progresses, a folk undercurrent slowly emerges, recalling some of Tenement‘s more Americana-informed works. By the time I hits its halfway point, Yankee Bluff have fully announced themselves as a democratic collective, allowing each member’s respective voice the opportunity to become distinctive, bringing their contemporaries in LVL UP to mind.

There aren’t any weak patches throughout the EP, with each song demonstrating a new angle that Yankee Bluff manages to successfully explore, a trait that will undoubtedly work to their advantage down the line. Whether they’re latched onto the near-anthems that Dogs On Acid cranked out a startling rate or the slow-burning acoustic act that defines the EP’s penultimate track, they also manage to cultivate a singular identity and establish themselves as a very serious force.

Ultimately, I stands as an unlikely — and unexpected — triumph. In the wake of losing one of the best bands of the past few years, we’ve been gifted a band that’s very capable of taking up the mantle. I is as good of a debut as anyone’s likely to hear this year and opens up the doors for even more impressive material in the coming years.

As Dogs On Acid recedes into the distance, it’ll be incredibly reassuring to have the privilege of watching their spiritual successor keep their flame alive and burning while forging an entirely new path. Even at the start of the party, there’s already an abundance of riches. Pick them up and hold them close, value them with the respect they deserve, and don’t make the mistake of letting them disappear without acknowledgement. After all, nothing lasts forever.

Listen to I below and pick it up here.

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July 13, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 132

The Multiple Cat, Fleurie, Wallgrin, Laura Stevenson, Acid Dad, Jessie Winslow, Jeff Rosenstock, Teleman, Secret Space, Sam Cohen, Evening Bell, Joey Cape, Eagulls, Andrew Bird, and Hounds of the Wild Hunt constituted the second half of the honorable mentions list to have accumulated over the past two full weeks, which this installment of Watch This is designed at capturing. After the preceding post got the proceedings underway, this 132nd volume of the series officially brings the coverage up to this present week (which is not accounted for in either of these recap posts). Below are several of the finest full sessions to have appeared in the series this year from a variety of site favorites. So, as always, sit up, crank the volume, adjust the brightness, and Watch This.

1. Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires (KEXP)

There are few stories as inspiring in the world of entertainment as the story of Charles Bradley, a man who refused to let his dreams and die and was rewarded for his relentless commitment, persistence, and faith. One of the most respected and beloved soul singers on the planet, his success as an artist has been legitimately heartwarming. In the moment, memories of that story well aside, there are few performers who manage to be as effortlessly captivating, a trait that’s lovingly captured here by KEXP.

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2. Courtney Barnett (3voor12)

At this point in the series’ run, it’s safe to say that no one has made more appearances than Courtney Barnett, who was regularly finding featured spots even in the earliest weeks of implementation. Barnett’s reputation has grown significantly over the course of that time and the songwriter’s honed an arsenal of winsome talents into near-perfection. Its a development that’s immediately evidenced in this session’s opening number, “Depreston“, and the mesmerizing guitar runs that Barnett strings together during the song’s breaks. Infusing the vocals with a more recognizably emotional flourish to round things out, it’s unlikely that Barnett’s reign over this series will end anytime soon.

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3. Wimps (PressureDrop.tv)

Wimps have made a few appearances both on this site and in this series thanks to both their manic garage pop and carefree-but-hyper sensibilities. They’re an act that seems determined to keep attempting to best their previous outings. It’s a trait that makes them eminently likable and informs their performances in the most positive ways, which is illustrated more fully by this PressureDrop.tv session, which stands with Summer Cannibals’ recently-featured session as one of the series’ most bracing highlights.

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4. Big Thief (KINK)

Few records to have emerged over the course of this year have landed an emotional punch as forcibly as Big Thief‘s aptly-titled Masterpiece. Here, guitarist/vocalist and principal songwriter Adrianne Lenker strips these songs down to their barest form: acoustic guitar and vocals. It’s a testament to their inherent power that they remain as riveting in this context as they do in the more sprawling presentations of the record. It’s a beautiful session that easily ranks as one of the finest Skype’s 101.9 KINK subdivision has produced to date.

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5. Savages (NPR)

No station has proven to be more adept, inventive, or artful at capturing full concerts as NPR, whose meticulous dedication to preserving their featured artists remains a source of inspiration. Here, the station provides Savages with the kind of lurid editing and foreboding photography direction that matches the band’s aesthetic to perfection. For nearly 90 minutes, the presentation’s never anything less than absolutely stunning. As the light comes cascading down and flickers off into the ether for the final time at the end of the clip, Savages exit confidently and can now rest easy knowing that they’ve just been given the definitive document of this era of their career.

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July 13, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 131

Over the course of the past two full weeks, there has been a brief reprieve from the Watch This series, which normally runs in weekly installments. Part of the reasoning behind its recent absence has been explained in previous posts (it was mostly a matter of scheduling) but returns now in a two-part installment to cover those complete weeks. The week that’s currently in session will be accounted for on Sunday and unaffected by these installments. Laura Stevenson, NUEX, Tango Alpha Tango and the Malady of Sevendials, The Dirty Nil, Charles Bradley, Bruiser Queen, Spooky Ghosts, The Goon Sax, Weakened Friends, Bombay, Money, Beach Slang, Adia Victoria, Protomartyr, and Maritime were the featured artists that comprised roughly half of the honorable mentions in the covered time frame, fully illustrating the strength of the featured cuts. So, as always, sit up, adjust the settings, focus, and Watch This.

1. Summer Cannibals (PressureDrop.tv)

PressureDrop.tv has been responsible for a lot of the more memorable full sessions of recent memory but the series recently topped themselves with this no-holds-barred session from site favorites Summer Cannibals. None of the other performers on the series’ enviable roster of guests have matched the sheer velocity of Summer Cannibals’ energy here and the visuals match that propulsion. Nearly every second of the performance feels perfectly complementary and suggests that PressureDrop.tv just might be realizing their full potential.

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2. free cake for every creature – All You Gotta Be When You’re 23 Is Yourself (BreakThruRadio)

free cake for every creature have appeared on this site numerous times but with each successive link, they’ve bettered themselves and hit yet another apex with this BreakThruRadio performance of “All You Gotta Be When You’re 23 Is Yourself”, a standout from their most recent release. Conjuring up a spell of subdued magic, the band effortlessly breezes through the track and closes it out with a soft smile.

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3. Clearance – You’ve Been Pre-Approved (Constellation Chicago)

One of last year’s more overlooked releases came in the form of Clearance‘s excellent Rapid Rewards [full disclosure: my photography is used for the back art] and the record’s allure has actually grown since its release. A large part of that is thanks to Mike Bellis’ knowledgeable songwriting, which is front and center in this recent solo take of one of that record’s many highlights, “You’ve Been Pre-Approved”.

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4. Tancred (Little Elephant)

Something is happening in these Tancred videos for Little Elephant that both suggests they’re unfinished and creates a curious pull that’s not entirely dissimilar from quicksand. The performance from the band, as ever, is sharp as hell but the audio sounds canned, as if only an overhead mic was picking the band up. That effect winds up working in tandem with the band’s influences astonishingly well, creating a damaged VHS sound quality that transforms this session into a surprisingly gratifying Easter egg.

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5. Julien Baker (Exclaim!)

If a pro-shot Julien Baker session emerges over the course of any given week, it’s probably safe to assume that it’ll find representation in this series. Baker’s an innately talented performer and a mesmerizing lyricist that’s already managed to carve out a space next to Elliott Smith as one of the most effective and intimate narrators of tragedy that the music world’s had in quite some time. All of those qualities infuse this recent two-song performance for Exclaim! with a hypnotic sadness that manages to be both reassuring and heartrending all at once.

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July 13, 2016

LVL UP – Pain (Stream, Live Video)

Over the course of the day, a whole host of great material has found its way out into the greater world. Included in this wealth of worthy new releases included streams from Steve Adamyk Band, Slow Down Molasses, Happy Diving, Buildings, Beach Slang, PJ Harvey, Flock of Dimes, Itsaca, The Holy Circle, Bodies Be Rivers, The Moles, and a Littler cover of a Muffs classic with all of the proceeds of the cover going to Campaign Zero. Additionally, there were exceptional full streams from the following: Gay Sin, Heliotropes, Blue Smiley, and Pure Disgust. Finally, the music video format saw excellent new entries from the likes of Sneeze, Honeyblood, Sleeping Beauties, and Hinds.

Really, though, ever since Sub Pop’s announcement of their newest acquisition, this day has all but belonged to LVL UP. The band’s been working on their full-length follow-up to Hoodwink’d — this site’s pick for 2014’s Album of the Year — steadily for well over a year. Today, they unveiled the first track to be heard from that record, which will be titled Return to Love, with the perpetually shifting “Pain”.

Easily one of the finest songs Mike Caridi has contributed to the band to date (which is no mean feat), “Pain” is simultaneously one of the band’s most ambitious and arresting songs, demonstrating the breadth of their expanded scope in one fell swoop. Opening with a melancholic ambient swirl, “Pain” quickly ups the tempo and quickly begins presenting scathing, intimate questions like “where is the one who loved you, unconditionally?” and never lets down the intensity for a moment.

Ultimately, the song settles into the self-defeating mantra of “Never Find Love” before a volcanic eruption of feedback, distortion, and noise subsumes the song and quickly transforms it into a seething maelstrom of formidable power, reaching a level of darkness of which their most recent release — the excellent Three Songs EP — hinted towards. The quartet really lays into that final section during their sets (“Pain” has been a live staple for some time) and tap into some intangible quality that seems to elevate them as a unit, locking into some sort of terrifying trance and playing off of each other with startling precision.

“Pain”, likely more than most of their recent songs, pays homage to the band’s past while remaining determined to look towards the future. In striking that balance, LVL UP has managed to produce a song that does more than justify their Sub Pop signing, set up Return to Love‘s release, and remind people of why they came to be such a force. It becomes a transportive experience that nears moments of transcendence. Should the rest of Return to Love live up to the standard set by its first single, the band may find themselves following up a miniature masterpiece (Hoodwink’d) with the real thing.

Listen to “Pain” below (and watch a slightly blown-out video of the band running through an earlier version of the song last year at Palisades below the embed) and pre-order Return to Love from Sub Pop here.

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