Austin | Heartbreaking Bravery

March 23, 2016

Inside Voices – Nomad: Begin (Song Premiere)

Every so often a band I had no prior knowledge of will show up in my inbox and gift me a song that swiftly knocks me backwards. A few weeks ago, Inside Voices became one of those rare bands. After making the move from Austin, TX to Brooklyn, NY, the band’s been gearing up for the release of their tremendous The Cold Equations EP, a record I’ll most certainly be circling back to at various points in the future.

Since Inside Voices are still a little-known name, they needed a hook to reel in an audience and The Cold Equations‘ opener, “Nomad: Begin”, is about as sharp as they come. Owing a debt to the magisterial sprawl of Cymbals Eat Guitars, “Nomad: Begin” finds a way to assert its own authority and make a startling impression. As the song slowly unfurls, it manages the delicate act of transforming from a gentle caress into an all-consuming roar.

It’s a staggering display of power and — just as importantly — nuance. As the rest of The Cold Equations will eventually attest, Inside Voices understand how to maximize impact via dynamic shifts, something easily evidenced in “Nomad: Begin”. That attention to atmospheric detail nearly distracts from legitimately compelling narratives, which often world-build as effectively as they present the kind of acutely-realized stories that often go untold.

Everything packaged together sees the band reaching a point of near sublimity on their first real trip to the plate. Not only does everything instantaneously connect, it gets sent hurtling outward with a demented vengeance. “Nomad: Begin” would register as an impressive feat for any band, let alone one that’s just starting to make their way out into the world. It’s the kind of song that reinvigorates my interest in both music and writing and it’s the kind of song you owe it to yourself to hear.

Listen to “Nomad: Begin” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on both Inside Voices and The Cold Equations EP.

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February 22, 2016

2015: A Year’s Worth of Memories (David Glickman)

glickman
Photograph by Tom Pavlich

Over the past few years, David Glickman’s been one of the writers whose career I’ve greatly enjoyed watching become gradually more impressive. From running his own small blog to joining the staff of The Daily Texan to earning bylines for places like MRR, Impose, and Pitchfork, it’s been heartening to see people recognize his talent and grant him the opportunities he deserves. An incredibly supportive voice in the DIY punk community and a versatile writer, it’s a privilege to once again be featuring one of his pieces in A Year’s Worth of Memories. Here, he takes a look back at being moved by a headlining performance from Deafheaven. Read it below and remember that effort can yield staggering rewards.

When you decided to make music the defining quality of your life, it can be hard to pull out a singular moment as the one that defined a year. They stack and build on each other, coalescing into something larger.

Do I talk about getting to see Kraftwerk put on a two and half hour 3-D spectacle that ranks as one of the best I’ve ever seen? About dancing front row at the PC Music showcase during SXSW with my friends Adam and Sasha, battling heat and exhaustion for five hours? Flying to New York City on a whim and getting to Perfect Pussy play for the first time in a year and half, getting to re-experience the euphoria their performances incur? Or something like letting six Swedish strangers stay in your tiny, one bedroom apartment for four days, discovering just how wonderful they are, and getting to seem them blow everyone away each time they performed?

But I think the moment that hovers in my brain was finally getting to see Deafheaven perform.

Technically I had gotten to seem them already, but a 3:30pm festival slot in nothing compared to seeming them play in the middle of the night, for as long as they like. It was a free event, guaranteeing a big crowd at the Mohawk that November night. The moment they began the crowd charged forward to the stage. They didn’t operate like a regular mosh pit; everyone smashing against each other to try to grasp onto singer George Clarke in some capacity. They were drawn to him like he was a metal Morrissey, twirling and twisting between his screams about losing his connection to life.

It was one of the most painful concert experiences of my life. The band played on and on, through all of New Bermuda, while legs were trampled and people leapt off stage over and over again into a crowd that was never paying attention at the right time. I recall falling, and ten over people falling down with me, we were all so close together. Yet at the same time it was an amazing show. The band sounded amazing; hearing the solos from “Brought to the Water” and “Gifts For the Earth” made something inside you swell. Clarke as frontman, as a performer, was memorizing; strutting and dancing and never stopping, knowing exactly how to bring the crowd to him and when exactly to pull back.

As the set proceeded he reached out to the crowd more and more, and I got closer to the stage.

The band began playing “Sunbather” during their encore, and I remember hitting this point of exhaustion. I gave up, and decided to let the mass of people around me just take me. I fell backwards, yet didn’t fall due to some bodies behind me. Clarke is hanging over the crowd screaming his vocals, and the adoring masses are trying to reach for him, everyone canceling out each other’s attempts. And so as I have stood there with bent knees trying not fall, I look directly up I see Clarke’s face surrounded by black, directly above me, just singing with more passion than I ever thought possible from one person. Few concert experiences will ever be able to live up to that moment.

The funny thing is I got to hang out with the band after the show, practically by accident, at goth club across the street. And they were some of the kindest, warmest people I have met. I went from seeing them perform one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen, to chatting with some goofballs about metal and dancing to Cocteau Twins songs. I got to hang out with some more wonderful people. And that might have been the best part of the evening.

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2015 was a strange year, as every year has been for me since I turned 12. I began to edge out of school and closer into the murky void that is one’s early twenties. I took on new friends, new stresses, new jobs. I began writing about music on a semi-professional level, which is still something I can’t believe has happened (to Liz Pelly and Sam Lefebvre, I am forever indebted to you for letting some wide eyed kid write about some music that he liked). More than anything, I can actually look at 2015 as a year I grew, in whatever small capacity. It’s surreal and slightly scary, and I don’t know how to process it, but I’ll take it nonetheless.

-David Glickman

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April 12, 2015

Watch This: 2015, Vol. 1

Familiar faces. Single Songs. Full sets. New bands. It’s been 15 weeks since the last Watch This ran on this site and that’s far, far too long. To help get things up to date, the next three days will see a trilogy of video mixtapes containing 25 of the best live clips to surface from 2015 so far. Next week, the installment will resume its normally paced functions- but for now, clear out some time and get lost in the exciting performances compiled in the embed below. Lean back, turn the volume up, breathe deep, and Watch This.

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1. Waxahatchee – Under A Rock (Pitchfork)
2. Tenement – Dreaming Out Loud (Don Giovanni Records)
3. Crying – Sick (BreakThruRadio)
4. Beach Slang (NPR)
5. Speedy Ortiz – The Graduates (Pitchfork)
6. Francisco the Man – In the Corners (Audiotree)
7. Single Mothers – Overdose (Radio K)
8. Sleater-Kinney – Modern Girl (Sound Opinions)
9. Nude Beach + Jody Stephens – My Life Is Right (Don Giovanni Records)
10. Mutts – Five of a Kind (Audiotree)
11. Sun Club – Beauty Meat (Audiotree)
12. Crow Bait – Separate Stations (Don Giovanni Records)
13. Courtney Barnett – An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York (Pitchfork)
14. Matthew E. White – Rock & Roll Is Cold (The Current)
15. Makthaverskan – Witness (Pitchfork)
16. Chief Scout – Rollercoaster (Audiotree)
17. Mal Blum – San Cristóbal (Don Giovanni Records)
18. DYGL – Let’s Get Into Your Car (Out of Town Films)
19. American Aquarium – Losing Side of Twenty Five (Jam in the Van)
20. Charles Bradley – The World (Is Going Up In Flames) (Coachella)
21. Sue the Night – The Whale (3FM)
22. Kevin Devine – Bubblegum (Little Elephant)
23. Ride – Vapour Trail (Coachella)
24. The Dodos (KEXP)
25. Cloakroom – Lossed Over + Moon Funeral (Little Elephant)

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May 14, 2014

5 to See at NXNE 2014: Vol. 3

With the 20th anniversary of NXNE set to take place in a month (the music leg runs from the 18th to the 22nd, though there are film, comedy, and interactive legs before that), it’s time to kick the pre-fest coverage into high gear. After all, there’s a lot to cover considering how extensively packed this year’s lineup is. While Heartbreaking Bravery does its best to place an emphasis on the bands currently engrossed in the DIY circuit, it’s good to remember that most major acts started on the same foot. Which is why in this volume of the 5 to See series, both emerging and established artists will be covered. It’d be downright cruel not to shine a spotlight on someone as artistically creative as, say, St. Vincent. With all of that out of the way (and kept in mind), here are five acts absolutely worth catching next month in Toronto.

1. Spoon

What to Know: There are few bands out there who have managed to define their identity the way Spoon has. As influential as they’ve become, it’s still difficult to find good bands that sound even remotely like them. It’s not something that should come as too much of a surprise, though, it was a fairly singular style to begin with. If anything, structurally, the band leans closer to classic jazz than anything in the modern canon. All nerve, razor-sharp precision, and erratic blasts, they’ve earned their level of celebrity. They’re worth celebrating for being one of the bands that went against the grain and won. Boasting a remarkably consistent discography (they’ve yet to make anything that comes even close to approaching blandness) and an impressive live show, this is an act that’ll be tough to afford to miss.

What to Watch:

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2. Mutual Benefit

What to Know: Jordan Lee’s outfit has now earned itself places on two Watch This installments (Vol. 19 and Vol. 25), earned itself well-deserved raves with last year’s gorgeous Love’s Crushing Diamond, and become an unlikely success story that it’s easy to feel good about. Expect this to be one of the most well-attended (and most haunting) sets of NXNE. One look at the video below should be enough to sell just about anyone.

What to Watch:

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3. Spiritualized

What to Know: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is a tranquil masterpiece. Seeing any one of those songs played live may be just the come-down that’s needed after a day of running between one venue and the other, trying to frantically catch every band possible. It’ll likely be another instance of a set that feels removed from the chaos that surrounds it- and that’s always worth something. For a transcendental quietude, look no further.

What to Watch:

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4. Eagulls

What to Know: Eagulls’ self-titled effort from earlier this year has proven to be one of the better records of recent memory and their were countless reports of their live show from SXSW that fell way closer to completely enamored than not. A band that’s very much on the up, their set will undoubtedly draw a pretty strong (and frenzied) crowd. They’ll be a must-stop destination for people looking to get their adrenaline pumping to avoid the risk of exhaustion. It’s hard to imagine that people are sleeping on this.

What to Watch:

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5. St. Vincent

What to Know: For once, the collective music industry’s crush on an artist seems completely justified. Annie Clark’s project grows defiantly weirder as it progresses, running the danger of maxing out the art-pop genre and perfecting it once and for all.St. Vincent is currently 2014’s most acclaimed major release and she’s accentuating more weirdness than ever post-David Byrne collaboration. Anyone who champions the filthiest and most disgusting guitar tones and manages to throw as much sludge as possible at what would otherwise be conventionally beautiful pop songs is more than worth anyone’s time. Her set will be a can’t-miss appointment.

What to Watch:

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March 28, 2014

Ernest Undead (Short Film)

“Trolls! Trolls! Save the kids! Trolls!” are the lines of dialogue that open Rick Whitehead’s Ernest Undead, as an MPAA-style design advises viewers this feature will be rated R for “pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality” over pitch black rather than blue, green, or red. As opening sequences for musically-indebted short films go, that’s an extremely promising start. Follow that with a quiet shot of a graveyard that recalls both the cinematography of Roger Deakins and classic horror films, then people are going to be paying attention. When all of that winds up being a prologue to a visceral main plot that unfolds over Creepoid’s “Gout”, from their extraordinary self-titled LP, there’s no way it won’t get coverage on this site.

Having such a well-informed and artfully executed introduction opens up a world of potential directions but the route Whitehead chooses to go is both genuinely unexpected and ridiculously enjoyable. It’s not too far after a brief flashback look at the titular character that the plot of Ernest Undead reveals itself: a quiet unassuming suburb (shot and presented in an enticingly muted autumnal palette) is thrown into fear as an increasing number of children are kidnapped… by trolls. Yes, trolls. A little further down the line and a gang of “young Creepoids” (an utterly inspired concept brought to its fullest realization) have collected and fully intend on retaliating after turning down various temptations- the stranger in a van with candy bit is used to great comedic effect- at the hands of the trolls. They take matters into their own hands for a while before enlisting the help of an old friend. How they get to that point is best left unspoiled here- just know that it’s incredible.

While the story unfolds and the plot’s pushed into the exhilarating realms of surprisingly grounded absurdist black comedy, Creepoid’s “Gout” provides a considerable amount of atmosphere that helps elevate Ernest Undead to thrilling and unexpected heights. It’s gorgeously lensed throughout, an absolute joy to watch, and is a definitive declaration of Whitehead’s talent. Between the arthouse triumph of Are You Okay and the madcap glee of the low-budget suspense/horror-aping Ernest Undead, the bar has officially been set for 2014’s musically-driven short films- hopefully the rest of the field rises to the challenge. Watch Ernest Undead below and stick around for the absolutely insane stinger at the end. Buy Creepoid here. Say no to trolls. Enjoy.

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March 23, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 18

Well, it’s finally happened. Watch This, after a few rough weeks of illnesses and technical difficulties, is back in its regularly-scheduled-programming mode and the offerings on display for the 18th installment all feel like vintage Watch This material. Yes, a lot of it ties back to SXSW but it’s going to be impossible to escape that for a while- consider it an opportunity for reflection for those lucky enough to go, and a peek inside for those who were pining to go. Now all that’s left to do is sit back, set aside the March Madness bracket for, and Watch This.

1. Cosmonauts – What Me Worry (Sailor Jerry)

Sailor Jerry continues to impress this week with a great presentation of Burger favorites Cosmonauts at SXSW. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this won’t be the last week a clip from SXSW 2014 gets posted, it’s also difficult to imagine this is the last appearance for a Sailor Jerry video as well. Cosmonauts, for their part, deliver a surprisingly absorbing performance of “What Me Worry”, a catalog highlight.

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2. Nothing – Downward Years to Come (Live at Saint Vitus)

Speaking of things that are likely to continue making an appearance: yet another video from Saint Vitus/unARTigNYC. This time around, Nothing are the center of attention and give “Downward Years to Come” their all. Nothing were another band that reportedly had a very memorable SXSW run, generating a lot of conversation (particularly after what was said to be an incredibly fierce set on a pedestrian bridge) and making converts of seemingly anyone who crossed their path. After watching this video, it’s not difficult to imagine how that happened.

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3. Nü Sensae – Eat Your Mind (Far From Home)

Nü Sensae seem like a band on a mission in the gorgeous video from the Far From Home series, sinking their teeth into “Eat Your Mind” for all of its worth. It’s an opportunity to showcase a great new(ish) band, one of their best songs, and a great new(er) video series; it’s everything Watch This is about. Watch it below and then maybe go take a shower- there’s enough dirt in the bass tone alone to make some kind of cleansing process a necessity.

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4. Perfect Pussy (NPR)

What? There was a high-quality professionally-shot-and-edited video of a Perfect Pussy set and it more than earned its spot on this list. It’s difficult to envision this lovefest between that band and this space ending anytime soon. For now, just reap the rewards that it offers up- like this video. Watch it. Watch it again. And then go listen to Say Yes to Love for the 50th time. It’ll be worth it. Promise. Watch it here.

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5. LVL UP – *_* (Live at Seaside Lounge)

Despite having already been featured on this site (and listed in the 25 Best list for 2013), it’s worth stressing that this is a band to know. “*_*” barely eclipses a minute but it’s one of the greatest a-little-more-than-a-minute’s anyone could ever hope for. Watch it and then go buy some ice cream (and also some of their laudable merchandise).

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March 12, 2014

Molybden – Woman Who Left Behind (7″ Review)

Molybden - "Woman Who Left Behind" 7"
There are very few new releases that have existed decidedly outside of the punk spectrum to catch this site’s attention. Molybden’s Woman Who Left Behind found itself squarely in that category when it first came in as a submission. Molybden is the solo project of Tess Seip, an artist who was raised in Marfa, TX. Normally geographic identifiers that small don’t warrant a mention and should be held to the barest of minimums in reviews. So why mention it now? Marfa, TX was the small town where both No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood were filmed. Anyone familiar with those two films will likely attest to both having stunning visuals and desolate landscapes. That desolation both informs and permeates though all four songs on Woman Who Left Behind.

Rarely more than an instrument and Seipp’s voice, Woman Who Left Behind is a release full of sparing and haunting folk songs. Seipp’s natural ability to command with a minimal palette is evidenced immediately with the title track that leads off the collection. Her voice is masterfully controlled, arresting and enticing all at once. There are shades of Cat Power, Feist, and Joanna Newsom inflected throughout Woman Who Left Behind. Using multi-track vocals and just a touch of reverb, Seipp’s slightly left-of-center lyrics gain an emphasized introspective context. When everything finally trails off in “Bloodshed”, the most haunting track of the four, and the acoustic is swapped out for a piano, the four songs feel like a surprisingly complete collection. All told, Woman Who Left Behind is one of the more singular collections to be released so far this year and should help Seipp continue her steady ascension. Hear it below and order the physical copy from Berniece Rode Records via Molybden’s bandcamp.

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