Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: 12XU Records

OBN III’s – Let The Music (Stream)

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No matter how many times 2015 seems like it’s going to inevitably taper off in terms of outstanding new material, it confronts and defies that notion with an almost extravagant flair. The start of this week’s proved to be no different, making room for strong new full-length efforts from Blank Realm, Widowspeak, August West, Woolen Men, and Findlay Brown. So Young, Dave Monks, Gardens & Villa, Pookie & the Poodlez, Air Waves, and Sharkmuffin injected life into the music video format while a variety of acts unveiled powerful new songs, including Clearance, Frankie Broyles, Slight, Zulus, Wavves, The Garden, Christian Scott (ft. Elena Pinderhughes), and Siouxsie Sioux returned after an eight year absence alongside composer Brian Reitzell with a Bond-ian torch song for the jaw-dropping series finale of Hannibal, one of the most artistically inclined shows to ever air on television.

While it was tempting to throw caution to the wind and completely subvert this site’s established pattern to analyze (and wax ecstatic about) Hannibal and its legacy, the focus of today’s post instead falls to the fiery re-emergence of a band that’s earned praise on this site before: OBN III’s. Embracing a very evident Thin Lizzy influence this time around, full stop, they’ve delivered a rough-hewn reminder of their considerable power. Easily one of the band’s most accessible songs to date, “Let The Music” is seemingly a meta showcase that underlines the band’s own songwriting approach. Even this coy, though, the band finds a moment of deeply impassioned confrontation in the repeated line of “What about my voice?” At first, it’s a question in earnest, and then it’s a surprised echo before it finally becomes a rhetorical rallying cry before it gives way to a guitar breakdown that leads into a searing solo.

Everything packaged together comes off as a unique showcase for a band that’s already earned a devoted following thanks to some relentless touring and an incredible discography. All of the band’s best qualities are in place and the band’s zeroed in on those attributes, maximizing them to startling effect. Grimy, honest, tongue-in-cheek, and unabashedly rock n’ roll, “Let The Music” is the latest in a string of loud victories for OBN III’s and bodes extremely well for the band’s forthcoming full-length, Worth A Lot of Money. A small handful of fairly astonishing tracks from the album have been revealed and with the release date now just a few weeks away, September 14’s going to be a date to remember.

Listen to “Let The Music” below and pre-order Worth A Lot of Money from 12XU ahead of its September 14 release date here.

The Gotobeds – Wasted On Youth (Music Video)

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There were a small handful of great music videos to be released in the past few days. These videos covered a very wide spectrum, from Frankie Cosmos’ Justin Bieber-centric “Art School” clip to Hamilton Leithauser’s gorgeous “5 AM”, all awash in soft saturation and noir-ish cinematography. Buzzcocks’ “It’s Not You” made a strong case for the band’s ongoing relevancy and undeniable importance, Sharon Van Etten proved her music videos can be just as quietly arresting as her music with the Carla Juri-starring, Sean Durkin-directed “Your Love Is Killing Me“, and Grouper’s “Made of Air” achieved the unenviable task of living up to Grouper’s inherently cinematic nature by combining sped-up edits and superimposed images of nature to create a feeling of total unease.

It’d be a waste, of course, not to mention the DIY clip for The Gotobeds’ “Wasted On Youth”. The Gotobeds’ brilliantly titled Poor People Are Revolting may very well wind up being one of the year’s most overlooked records and warrants much more attention than it’s been getting (even with the NPR First Listen distinction). Poor People Are Revolting is a collection of bruising, visceral post-punk that refuses to pull punches. “Wasted On Youth” takes a similarly unapologetic approach in both premise and execution; it’s mostly just the band mock-running and allowing themselves to goof off for a few minutes in front of a green screen. No more, no less- and it winds up being an immensely entertaining 87 seconds. All in all, it’s yet another testament to a commendable DIY ethos and an important reminder that it’s alright to loosen up every once in a while.

Watch “Wasted On Youth” below and order Poor People Are Revolting from 12XU here.