Heartbreaking Bravery

@heartbreaking_bravery | heartbreakingbraveryllc@gmail.com | @hbreakbravery

Tag: 2016

May 13, 2016

Faye – Ancient Bones (Stream)

faye

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of 2016’s most intriguing emerging acts made their mark with the memorable post-punk cut “Chow Chow“. That band, of course, was Faye, who have once again surfaced to offer up the haunting, meditative “Ancient Bones”. This time around, the band switches their focus from immediacy and directness to a more slow-burning, dynamic approach that pays dividends in unexpected ways. “Ancient Bones” is among the most gripping songs of the year’s post-punk output but it never sacrifices the amount of heart that propelled “Chow Chow” into a feature spot only a month ago.

The decision to embrace restraint and let the song slowly unfurl winds up benefiting the band’s intelligent melodic sensibilities while displaying an air of maturity that suggests they’re far more than a carefree party band. “Ancient Bones” also turns darkly introspective in its chorus, focusing in on a fractured relationship with a laser-like intensity that brings up the possibility the band may eventually be responsible for some of the strongest lyrical narratives of DIY punk’s slew of noteworthy emergent acts.

It’s a deeply promising song that demonstrates a tremendous amount of potential, that the trio’s capitalized on as much of it as they have already is nothing short of astounding and “Ancient Bones” serves as remarkably compelling proof.

Listen to “Ancient Bones” below and pre-order Faye here.

2 Comments
May 12, 2016

Mutual Benefit – Lost Dreamers (Music Video)

mutual benefit

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Back when Mutual Benefit experienced a breakthrough with the excellent Love’s Crushing Diamond, the project secured the attention of a lot of new listeners and I counted myself among that crowd. As much as I liked those songs on initial listen, they’ve grown on me exponentially over time. It wasn’t until “Not For Nothing” that a Mutual Benefit song knocked me flat (and was very nearly named this site’s Best Song of 2015).

“Not For Nothing” set an extremely high bar for the rest of Mutual Benefit’s upcoming Skip A Sinking Stone, as did its accompanying video. Thankfully, the arrival of “Lost Dreamers” quelled any doubts over whether or not Jordan Lee’s project was capable of living up to the task of matching the masterpiece that was “Not For Nothing”. A great song from the outset, “Lost Dreamers” took on even more poignancy when paired with the Ethan Samuel Young-directed music video. Separation, again, seems to be the defining crux of the song, only this time around that separation is more worldly than physically intimate.

All throughout “Lost Dreamers” there’s an acceptance of the world’s majestic sweep, that’s emphasized by erasing the human torso, allowing the viewer to get a more sprawling sense of the surroundings on display throughout the clip while simultaneously de-emphasizing our place as humans in that world. There’s a statement to be found about nature and industry but that large-scale issue is given minimum impact while the video chooses to present a more acute commentary on human perspective.

Suitably, gorgeous landscape shots comprise the bulk of “Lost Dreamers” visualization while flashes of everyday city life are integrated into the scenery in thought-provoking ways. With the palette almost exclusively leaning towards brights and tans, “Lost Dreamers” eventually registers as more of a celebration of humanity than a condemnation (while still showing a keen awareness of humanity’s potential to be irrevocably damaging).

Eventually, the formula’s switched and instead of erasing the torso, it’s the heads and hands of the people in the clip that have evaporated, subtly illustrating — once again — the importance of human perspective. By switching the focus to physicality, the clip touches on our relative meaninglessness in a way that encourages us to make the most out of what we’re given. In the end, “Lost Dreamers” stands as a moving, subversive reminder of why our own humanity matters while making a case for greater awareness. It’s a sublime piece of art that doesn’t deserve to be forgotten anytime soon.

Watch “Lost Dreamers” below and pre-order Skip A Sinking Stone here.

1 Comment
May 12, 2016

WRAY – Pined (Music Video)

wray

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of the most unbearably tense music videos of 2016 came by way of WRAY‘s Dillon Hayes-directed clip for the outstanding “Pined”. Expertly lensed by Hayden Mason, “Pined” plays almost exclusively to the anxious paranoia that serves as the song’s driving function. Painstakingly choreographed, “Pined” is so meticulously composed that at more than one point it becomes a genuinely unnerving experience.

A loose narrative thread begins to emerge more than full minute into the clip that may or may not  involve the occult but definitely involves an eerie woodland ceremony. At some point a series of shots involving a statue, tree branches, and a reflective body of water are interwoven to amplify the unsettling nature of “Pined” to an even greater magnitude. In the video’s closing moments, all three members of WRAY surround a cassette recorder that plays back field recordings before the POV switches to a skybound view of the trees, allowing some sunlight in, releasing the viewer from the relentless fear that imbued the rest of the clip (while letting it linger via the unanswered questions).

“Pined” is one of the more masterful videos, at least as far as classic filmmaking craft is concerned, to be released in recent memory. It’s difficult to parse, impossible to shake, and easy to admire. Tense and unforgiving, it’s a miniature masterpiece that succeeds in securing interest as it piles on a formidable amount of intrigue. As much of a short film as a music video, it’s the kind of clip you’ll want to show to your friends just so you can spend the next few days dissecting all of its potential meaning (and spend a few more hours getting lost to its spell).

Watch “Pined” below and order Hypatia from Communicating Vessels here.

2 Comments
May 12, 2016

Patsy’s Rats – Rock N’ Roll Friend (Music Video)

patsy's rats

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Every once in a very rare while, a great song gets a great hangout clip that world-builds so effectively it’s easy to want to dive right into whatever’s being depicted onscreen and just get completely immersed in the experience. The clip for Patsy’s Rats standout single “Rock N’ Roll Friend” is that rare video. Kicking things off with a wink is the shot of someone in an Oldsmobile turning up the radio as the song swells up in the background.

What follows is a whole array of quintessentially Californian imagery: open roads, old muscle cars, skateboarding, and a quality selection of open fields. The band mimes their way through the song, throws guitars to each other, lights one on fire, and very clearly just enjoy each other’s company. It’s a video that lives in a very pure moment and it serves as the perfect antidote to the increasingly grim videos that have been populating the format’s landscape in recent times. Give it a watch (or five) and then call up some friends, take a trip, or just spend some time outside… and then do the whole thing all over again.

Watch “Rock N’ Roll Friend” below and pick up a copy of Patsy’s Rats here.

1 Comment
May 12, 2016

EERA – Drive With Fear (Music Video)

EERA

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Back when this site ran the Best Songs of the First Quarter list, one of the more singular songs it contained was EERA‘s tremendous “Drive With Fear”, a hazy song that proved to be instantaneously gripping. Now, the song’s received a Katia Granfield-directed video, comprised almost entirely of grainy footage that manages to come across as, disconcertingly, connected and irreparably divorced.

There’s not a solid narrative function to be found in “Drive With Fear”, with Granfield instead adopting an approach more similar to what Shane Carruth managed with Upstream Color: a video designed to play directly to emotional response rather than painting a by-the-numbers plot. What’s surprising is how well Granfield succeeds on that count, “Drive With Fear” is an unsettling watch simply because of how easily it manages to evoke a variety of deep-seated feelings, playing to the songs strengths all the while.

Both a clip worth studying and worth experiencing, “Drive With Fear” winds up being difficult to shake by almost any measure. Strangely, the cognitive dissonance it creates winds up being more inviting than off-putting and, unsurprisingly, investment’s rewarded tenfold. In the end, “Drive With Fear” should be celebrated for its brave refusal to play into something easy; we need challenging art now more than ever and, by that count, this is a perfect introductory piece.

Watch “Drive With Fear” below and pick up a copy of the self-titled EP here.

1 Comment
May 12, 2016

Deerhoof – Plastic Thrills (Stream)

deerhoof

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Few bands have held the capacity to surprise as readily or as consistently as Deerhoof, who have elevated themselves into legendary status by that very virtue. The band has a tendency to be abrasive and difficult to parse, which makes “Plastic Thrills” all the more surprising. A very immediate blend of proto-punk, basement pop, and sloppy garage rock, it essentially scans as the band riding a very unexpected — and completely exhilarating — sugar high.

Now, this is still  recognizably Deerhoof and there are very different sections that comprise “Plastic Thrills” but somehow the band manages to bludgeon them into something that’s not only coherent but something that sustains and builds the song’s excess energy. It’s a very sharp left turn from a band that’s perfected the move. “Plastic Thrills” is the kind of song that a lot of people won’t want to end, which injects its incredibly abrupt finish with a dash of tongue-in-cheek humor that ensures a reasonable amount of people will consider this a left-field classic.

Listen to “Plastic Thrills” below and pre-order The Magic from Polyvinyl here.

1 Comment
May 12, 2016

Lady Bones – Ice Cream (Stream)

Lady Bones II

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Lady Bones have had a fascinating trajectory. Following through a sensible progression that saw them drawing closer to a sound that their Boston-area contemporaries have all but defined, they’ve managed to carve out their own niche imprint on the varying hallmarks that make up that branch of sludge/grunge-leaning post-punk. “Ice Cream” (and all of Terse, really) is exhilarating proof.

In its opening seconds, “Ice Cream” seems like it could bloom into a sunny powerpop  number and there is a strong pop bent to the ensuing proceedings but they’re all mired in the kind of relentless darkness that encourages far more bruising sensibilities. Before long, the trio’s conjuring up an awe-inspiring storm of noises that keep “Ice Cream” hurtling toward its finale. Wisely, the band opts out of a wildly climactic moment and allows the song to vanish into its own smoke, creating an air of intrigue that effectively teases the record that houses “Ice Cream”.

Those final seconds, despite their quiet nature, speak volumes of how much Lady Bones has grown as a band. Never before have they sounded as in control or as confident as they do on “Ice Cream”, which easily registers as one of the finest songs of an impressive discography. It’s a powerful number and it goes a long way in demonstrating Lady Bones’ future is one that never ceases to look increasingly promising.

Listen to “Ice Cream” below and pre-order Terse here.

2 Comments
May 12, 2016

Alexis Taylor – I’m Ready (Stream)

AlexisTaylor

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

Hot Chip‘s excellent The Warning can rightfully be regarded as a classic record of a certain age and, at some point, it may even be viewed as definitive. A large part of its success can be directly attributed to principal songwriter Alexis Taylor, who maintained a strong grasp on a project that’s ideas frequently came across as boundless. The warmth that Hot Chip exuded was often slightly undercut by his penchant for the bittersweet but that still doesn’t make the reveal of  the devastating “I’m Ready” any less jarring.

Taylor’s newest project, and the first under his own name, is a solo piano venture that trims out any excess in favor of an intimacy that’s startlingly direct. Taylor opens the track with a wistful line that registers as more of a question than a statement, wavering in a relative uncertainty: “Don’t you know I’m ready?” As the song progresses, Taylor builds up a heartbreaking case for self-worth as an air of ambiguity increasingly deflates any projected confidence.

No track in 2016 has stopped me cold and stolen my breath faster than “I’m Ready”, which somehow manages to incorporate silence as an effective instrument (even when it draws to an unceremonious close, the noises of everyday life seem like an integral part of Taylor’s statement). There’s beauty to be found in all of the cracks and bruises that life administers in varying portions and “I’m Ready” combines them all into something heartrending and poignant. Simply put, “I’m Ready” is unforgettable.

Listen to “I’m Ready” below and pre-order Piano here.

1 Comment
April 13, 2016

Hudson Bell – Box of Bones (Music Video)

hudson bell

Over the past two days, there haven’t been an overwhelming amount of interesting music videos. The ones that have made an impression, though, made that impression count. Whether it was Car Seat Headrest‘s wry lyric clip for “Fill in the Blank” (a song that features a tremendous outro sequence that allows the song to slowly disintegrate), DTCV‘s Steven Soderbergh(!)-directed, commentary heavy clip for “Histoire seule“, Audacity‘s delightfully scrappy “Dirty Boy“, The Julie Ruin’s Katie Crutchfield-featuring “I Decide“, and Acapulco Lips’ amusingly Gothic “Awkward Waltz“, there were treasures to be found.

The focus, once more, falls to a modest music video from another extremely strong (and, thus far, woefully overlooked) cut from this site’s 50 Best Songs of 2016‘s First Quarter list: Hudson Bell‘s invigoration “Box of Bones”. The Chris Cranford-directed clip for the song is as immediate and direct as the track itself, avoiding getting hung up on unnecessary flourishes and keeping its more absurd elements completely grounded. Compelling, surprisingly nuanced, and artfully crafted, “Box of Bones” manages to lace its accessibility with some powerful imagery while retaining just enough weirdness to keep it from being too easily digestible (or disposable). All told, it’s a thrilling look at Hudson Bell’s current state of mind and a very tantalizing teaser for the act’s forthcoming record, Yerba Buena, which may finally net the project the attention and acclaim it truly deserves.

Listen to “Box of Bones” below and pre-orded Yerba Buena ahead of its release here.

2 Comments
April 10, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 120

After several recaps, best-of features, and weeks of waiting, Watch This returns to its standard weekly installments. A large handful of memorable videos have managed to accrue during the course of the past week. Kississippi, The Cave Singers, The Belvederes, Lomelda, The Districts, Foxing, Cherry, The Zolas (x2), Choir Vandals, Fraternal Twin, Bayonne, Sun Club (x2), Jitters, 4th Curtis, Tomber Lever, Otis the Destroyer, Sounds Del Mar, Holy Wave, Shearwater, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Audacity, and The Greeting Committee all had individual efforts that merited multiple looks. Ultimately, this week belonged to the quieter sessions but still found a way to produce one of the most memorably raucous turn-ins of 2016 (so far, at least). There’s a lot to appreciate in the five videos below so, as always, straighten up, lean in, crank the volume, focus, and Watch This.

1. Mothers (NPR)

Last year, Mothers had me on the  verge of tears with the unveiling of the devastatingly gorgeous “Too Small For Eyes“. I’d seen them a  few months prior to that release but the restrictions CMJ presents essentially ensured that I wouldn’t be adequately prepared for the band’s astounding debut full-length, When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired. NPR recently hosted the band for an exquisite Tiny Desk session that does an intensely moving record justice.

–

2. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said (World Cafe)

One of the more intriguing bands to watch develop and fine-tune over the past few years has been Sunflower Bean, whose insane work ethic has begun to translate to widespread success (and no shortage of burgeoning acclaim). While it may be easy to become fixated on the band’s backstory, in the face of their music — a lovely blend of powerpop and psych-pop — it simply doesn’t matter. The band’s recent World Cafe session sees them on steady, assured footing, ready to meet whatever may come their way.

–

3. Kal Marks – Mankind (Allston Pudding)

Kal Marks is a name that’s appeared on this site multiple times over and the band keeps providing reasons to keep that name in heavy rotation on these pages. Case in point: an intense, scorched-earth single song performance for Allston Pudding. The band holds absolutely nothing back in this run through “Mankind”, which finds the trio elevating their no-holds-barred take on a blend of vicious basement grunge and snarling post-punk. It’s a thing to behold.

–

4. Long Beard –  Moths (VHS Sessions)

VHS Sessions has been crafting excellent live performance videos throughout 2016 but their current crown jewel came in the form of this humble run through “Moths” from Long Beard, who continue to set an exceedingly high bar for themselves and their peers. The trio constantly tap into an ineffable magic that renders songs that sound simple on paper transcendent in practice. This performance may very well be the most definitive example of their most intangible — and compelling — aspect.

–

5. Daughter (KEXP)

One of the most unexpected shows I managed to luck my way into last year was Daughter‘s secret set at Baby’s All Right. I’d admired the band previously but was completely enraptured with their live set, even to a point where I was incapacitated by severe chills during a breathtaking run through “Doing The Right Thing”. While it’s impossible for what the band achieves onstage to translate to a filmed studio session, this KEXP run is as close as anyone’s likely to get for the foreseeable future.

1 Comment