Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Adderall

August 26, 2016

Noun – Fame and Famine (Stream)

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Over the past 24 hours, there have been quality streams from the likes of Real Numbers, LA Font, Wild Pink, Two Houses, Super Unison, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Dennis Callaci, Tokyo Tea Room, Balance and Composure, Raccoon Fighter, and Turnip King. On top of that, there were a string of music videos that emerged from the camps of Slow Down Molasses, Odonis Odonis, LUH, La Lenguas, Magik Magik, Yohuna, Moses Sumney, Brendan Canning, and Makeunder. Providing the day with a welcome dash of finality were full streams that were unveiled by Magic Trick, Ski Saigon, and The Hecks.

As always, all of those entries linked above are worth jumping over to and exploring with a certain level of intensity. However, they weren’t all that wound up being released Thursday. Screaming Females‘ Marissa Paternoster’s Noun project made an unexpected return with the jagged, lo-fi “Fame and Famine”. Quietly uploaded to Paternoster’s tumblr, “Fame and Famine” winds up benefiting from a pre-established tone of unpredictability.

While Paternoster may get the most recognition for Screaming Females, Noun has proven to be a project just as worthy. 2010’s Holy Hell, a consistently overlooked triumph, may even be Paternoster’s finest record to date (though the last few Screaming Females records have been hitting some exhilarating highs). Noun’s consistently allowed Paternoster a wider range of possibilities, making a new entry into the project’s discography a tantalizing prospect.

For “Fame and Famine”, Paternoster takes a direct, immediate route that fully commits to its lo-fi aesthetic and elevates itself via a comprehensive understanding of the format. There’s a surprising amount of nuance in the ambient beds that swirl beneath the insistent, repetitive main section that serves as the engine of “Fame and Famine”. Enhancing the aggressive disconnect that manifests in the narrative of “Fame and Famine” is the artwork the song’s projected over, one of Paternoster’s characteristically striking chalk-based originals.

Everything packaged together winds up being as disconcerting as it does galvanizing. There’s a nervous undercurrent of stress that imbues every second of “Fame and Famine”, lending it a feeling of completeness that can be rare in demos. It’s a fascinating glimpse towards one of today’s most fascinating, tireless artists and it’s another in a long line of formidable examples of Paternoster’s creativity and commitment. Tenacious, unnerving, and more than memorable, “Fame and Famine” is one of the best surprise standalone releases of recent memory.

Listen to “Fame and Famine” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on the project.

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October 7, 2014

Screaming Females – Wishing Well (Stream)

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Even with recent Monday’s bringing a lot of great new content into the world, today was exceptionally gigantic. Everything that appears in a hyperlink is worth clicking over to experience and choosing what to feature was insanely difficult. Enough with the exposition, though, because there’s a lot to mention- which is why each of these categories will be provided with their own paragraph (starting with this very one). In the world of full streams, NPR’s First Listen series presented Meattbodies’ self-titeld stomper, New Noise Magazine put up a full stream of Heart Attack Man’s excellent Acid Rain EP, Stereogum hosted the first stream of Greylag’s enchanting self-titled debut, and Dark Thoughts posted the blistering (and damn near perfect) ripper of an EP, Four Songs, on their own.

Over in the territory of single song streams, Radical Dads posted the remarkably compelling “Cassette Brain“, Popstrangers continued to excel with a Mack Morrison cover, post-hardcore supergroup Vanishing Life lived up to their promise (and then some) with the vicious “People Running“, The Mantles raised the anticipation for their forthcoming Memory with its jumpy title track, there was the deliriously riffed-out “Mortality Jam” that came courtesy of Hound, another extremely promising look at Night School‘s upcoming EP (following the outstanding “Birthday“), Wilful Boys’ snarling rager “Anybody There“,  the pulverizing new synth’ed out post-everything track “10,000 Summers” from the incredibly unlikely group of people that make up No Devotion, and an absolutely breathtaking song from Infinity Crush called “Heaven” that easily ranks among the most gorgeous pieces of music to be released this year (and very nearly took today’s feature spot).

Jumping to the realms of the more visually-inclined medium, things were just as tantalizing with no less than seven music videos worth watching. Greys crafted a creatively animated and hard-hitting skate-heavy clip for If Anything bruiser “Adderall“, Lushes hit a sweet spot with their repetition in “Traffic“, Obits used minimalism to a sizable effect in the low-key clip for “Machines“, newcomer Pix made a splash with a subtly haunting accompaniment for the stunning “A Way To Say Goodbye“, The Wooden Sky raised their profile with a fascinating short film to back “Saturday Night“, site favorites Radiator Hospital premiered a lovely DIY clip for “Bedtime Stories (Reprise)” over at Rookie, and Martha more than lived up to all of their praise with the unabashedly joyous video for “Present, Tense” (another entry that came dangerously close to being today’s feature).

Even with all of that formidable competition nipping at its heels, Screaming Females‘ “Wishing Well” managed to be a clear-cut standout. Boasting one of the most massive choruses the band’s ever had, some of the lightest verses they’ve ever conjured up, and an overwhelmingly sunny melody, it’s impossible to ignore. “Wishing Well”, by all accounts, is an absolute monster of a track and lays waste to the poppiest territory they’ve ever tread. Guitarist and vocalist Marissa Paternoster keeps herself in check, showing surprising restraint and a vice-like grip on total command. It’s no secret that Screaming Females are one of the best live bands currently playing shows- and it’s not even remotely surprising that “Wishing Well” has become both a fan favorite and an undeniable staple of their live set.

As Paternoster noted in the brief segment that ran with the Rolling Stone premiere of “Wishing Well”, a lot of people will likely view this as a departure for the band- despite the fact their regular dynamics are still in tact. Sure, it’s more melodic than anything they’ve done in the past but it’s also unmistakably Screaming Females, definitively proving the group’s unique identity. In terms of aggression, “Wishing Well” skews closer to Paternoster’s Noun project and acts as an exhilarating bridge between both vehicles, suspended by pure determination and innate talent. “Wishing Well” is easily one of 2014’s most thrilling songs and comes backed with what may very well be the band’s personal best- “Let Me In” (another fan favorite and live staple)- rendering this 7″ nothing short of an event.

Listen to “Wishing Well” below and make sure to pick up the 7″ it headlines directly from the band on one of their upcoming tour dates or pre-order it from iTunes.

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