When last week’s chapter of releases came to a close, a handful of exceptional records found release, including the latest from site favorites Bent Denim, Town & Country. The duo’s previous release, the Diamond Jubilee EP premiered on this site last year and went a long way in establishing the project’s tonal and overall consistency. They’ve yet to make a bad record and have kept on an ascending trajectory in terms of quality (something that every band strives for but few can ever achieve).
Town & Country is a gentle creature, showing signs of curious affection and minimal affectation, the duo settling into a comfortable confidence with their identity they’ve established. Each song finds Bent Denim leaning into heartrending ambient pop numbers that have flourishes of a multitude of other genres but never seem to exist outside of they very distinct and specific niche they’ve crafted for themselves.
On the opening stretch of Town & Country, any single one of the first handful of songs could be enough to reduce a listener to tears if it hits them at the right moment. That’s the inherent power buried inside Bent Denim’s music, it’s a subtle, magnetic pull but once it finds an object to entice, the effect is overwhelming. Each of these songs is imbued with so much tenderness and empathy that it’s next to impossible not to find yourself moved at any given moment.
Creatively, the record’s as ambitious as anything in their sterling discography, finding new nuances and new heights in exploring their own experimentation. Whether it’s something as simple as dramatically boosting the keys in the mix or as complicated as slightly tweaking the vocal layers on Town & Country, the choices don’t just work but serve a unified purpose. Through impeccable production and intuitive sequencing, Town & Country stands strong as the most complete of Bent Denim’s work.
Unfailingly gorgeous, tethered with meticulous through lines (in both narration and composition) and unified by a soft, weary delivery that still retains a sense of hope, Town & Country is another in a sting of gems from Bent Denim. One of the best ambient-leaning records of 2018, this is a record worth holding onto for isolated summer nights and quiet moments of introspection. It;s an album worthy of being kept in as many collections as possible.
Listen to Town & Country below and pick it up here.
Being the first song to be featured after a long interim with sporadic updates, it might seem unwise to break form but the song’s laced with so much personal meaning that I’m breaking one of the cardinal rules of this site and switching to a first person narrative. It’s one of the only ways that I can think of to suit the song’s central premise and its near-confrontational intimacy, which was written about eloquently over at The Talkhouse by the project’s mastermind, Nandi Rose Plunkett.
Plunkett and I shared a frighteningly similar experience of our stints living in Brooklyn, managing to take the city for all its worth, simultaneously, as so many of its expats have done and will continue to do. There’s a sense that its world is a separate one, operating at a more intense velocity than the cities that swirl around its gravitational pull. It’s jarring to come into but it’s easy to accept, instinctively knowing that the best way to navigate its chaos is to completely submit yourself to its constant whims, no matter how painful or uplifting.
Coming to know the city as a home takes some time but once you do, it becomes a part of you that’s impossible to shake. It’s harshness and demand stoking various levels of anxiety and fear, while its open embrace of its residents can provide a warmth that’s worthy of moments of pining. All of this, the endless duality and dichotomies that the city births in anyone that manages to claim it as a temporary home, is painfully evident in “Back In Brooklyn”, which nearly wrecked me the first few times I was fortunate enough to watch Half Waif play it live (one of those instances is captured below).
It’s the most plaintive moment on Lavender — easily one of the best records I’ve heard this year — and it’s the most arresting. Plunkett’s narration across the record’s one of the most unsparingly honest perspectives I’ve come across in recent memory, looking at everything through the lens of someone lost in their own thoughts while the road flies by their van windoes. Sideways glances and subtle allusions are shelved in favor of an intense directness that can occasionally approach the overwhelming, it’s nakedness on full display. Longing and love are its most prominent intersections but they’re anchored by a rare understanding, which can make the material — as is the case with “Back In Brooklyn” — frighteningly real.
During its three-plus minute run time, on every pass I’ve given the song, it’s transported me back to the city, reminded me of all of the things, places, and people I loved, all of the moments with them I cherished, and all of the moments where I felt lost or afraid. It’s an immense work that’s delivered with a well-worn affection and laced with the knowledge that once you leave, its shape shifts and changes, rendering some of the things you held onto unrecognizable. Honest, unflinching, empathetic, and deeply moving, “Back In Brooklyn” isn’t just breathtaking, it’s a small miracle in a minor key.
Listen to “Back In Brooklyn” (and watch a recent live performance of the song) below and pre-order Lavender from CASCINE here.
The last three weeks of March brought a lot of excellent tracks into the world but the 10 below managed to separate themselves as genuine standouts. A trio of acts that appeared in the last “Best Of” featured segment strike again while the rest of the acts here are either old favorites or making first-time appearances. From scintillating noise-punk to gentle washes of ambient folk, there’s a lot here to explore. Find a new favorite song below.
1. Spring Onion – I Did My Taxes For Free Online
Sometimes all an artist needs is one song to snag an audience and that may very well be the case with Spring Onion’s “I Did My Taxes For Free Online”, which boasts some of the hallmarks that have made acts like Told Slant, Radiator Hospital, and LVL UP so beloved. Immensely relatable, beautifully constructed, and coming from an unsparing, honest place, “I Did My Taxes For Free Online” is a strong early testament to an emergent talent worth remembering.
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2-3. illuminati hotties – Paying Off The Happiness + Cuff
illuminati hotties are building up an insane amount of momentum on their way to the release of their debut album, Kiss Yr Frenemies. The band’s already been featured in the monthly best-of columns once this year and they’re doubling up here with the 1-2 combo of the irresistible hooks of “Paying Off The Happiness” and the introspective reckoning of “Cuff”. Both songs continue to demonstrate the band’s strengths and, taken with “(You’re Better) Than Ever” suggests they might not have any weaknesses.
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4. bed. – Replay
A characteristically melancholic piece of muted, driving basement pop, bed.‘s “Replay” is imbued with the kind of considered energy that’s gained the band a small but fiercely loyal following. Measured and slightly unpredictable, “Replay” toys with extremes its narrative and its composition, allowing the two to play off each other to great effect. It’s a standout piece in what’s already a stellar discography and suggests the band’s peak is either arriving or already here. No complaints either way.
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5. Maria Kelly – Small Talk
“Small Talk”, the latest from Maria Kelly is a masterclass in creating gentle tension and magnetic atmosphere. Smart production, tender composition, and an effectively wistful delivery combine into something intangible, creating something that pulls and mesmerizes in equal measure. It’s a gorgeous piece of ambient folk, weaving a spell that all but submerges the listener into a separate, empathetic world.
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6. Closet Goth – Touch Myself
Easily the fiercest song in this 10 track list, Closet Goth’s “Touch Myself” makes no bones about being aggressive, exploding out of the gate and building speed as it goes, not content unless everything in its path is completely demolished. References to Silver Jews are nearly buried in the noise-centric production, intentionally drowning out — and simultaneously enhancing — some intense caterwauling. Vicious, ragged, and uncompromising, “Touch Myself” leaves wreckage in its wake as it winds to a fun, unexpected close.
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7. Fenne Lily – Car Park
The second artist on this list to make a consecutive appearance in the monthly “best of” columns, Fenne Lily‘s “Car Park” is another strong example of the breadth of the songwriter’s scope. In slowing down the tempo and widening the lens, Fenne Lily taps into something that skews closer to world-building than atmosphere construction. It’s a beautiful piece of modern Americana that seems to indicate Lily’s bag of tricks might be more expansive than most know.
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8. Annabel Allum – Rascal
“Rascal”, the latest track from Annabel Allum is a perfect example of how a minimal setup can lead to enormous moments. Borrowing cues from slacker punk, folk, Americana, post-rock, and ambient, Annabel Allum wind up with an enticing piece of genre-bending excellence. Impassioned performances at every slot and a meticulously constructed arrangement congeal into one of the more breathtaking moments of 2018’s first quarter.
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9. Say Sue Me – After Falling Asleep
The third and final artist to appear in consecutive monthly Best Of’s Say Sue Me follow their initial outing with yet another strong track from their excellent forthcoming Where We Were Together. “After Falling Asleep”, the band’s newest offering, opens with an almost intensely quiet moment before blooming into a seductive burst of indie pop. Soft edges and a wide-eyed approach has been a pattern that’s served Say Sue Me well in the past and it continues to do so on the lovely “After Falling Asleep”, one of their most irresistible tracks to date.
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10. Bent Denim – Chasing Catherine
Last year, this site had the privilege of premiering Diamond Jubilee, an extraordinary EP from site favorites Bent Denim. Now, the act’s returned with “Chasing Catherine”, another show-stopping bit of softly hued ambient pop that more than justifies its place in their increasingly impressive discography. Bent Denim can conjure up a very specific type of mood better than just about any of their contemporaries and it shows in “Chasing Catherine”, a short slow-burner that immediately invokes the feeling of a calm summer night and keeps that fire flickering until its hushed, tender close.
Very few music videos that have appeared as features on this site have resonated like Bent Denim’s “Good Night’s Sleep“, which remains a deeply affecting viewing experience. That song was a very strong highlight of Romances You, a record great enough to leave those of us that heard it eagerly awaiting a follow-up. Today, the band delivers on the promise of that record in kind by way of their new EP, Diamond Jubilee.
A name taken from a roadside casino the band spotted during a detour they took while traveling to attempt to sneak into Fort Maccomb (best known for its appearance at the end of True Detective’s first season), Diamond Jubilee ignores easy flash in favor of something far more substantial. As early premieres from Stereogum and GoldFlakePaint seemed to indicate, Diamond Jubilee continues the band’s penchant for rich narratives and melancholic atmospherics.
Both “All My Friends Are Dead” and “Miss You, Kid” were both fairly well-covered at the time of their release and it’s easy to see why. Each of the EP’s opening two tracks conjures up something warm and familiar, carrying a tinge of wistful nostalgia while both emphasizing and accentuating a much deeper emotional pull. Lo-fi elements converge with much bigger ideas and coast along a middle ground that brings out the best of each side. Tender melodies wash over the listener and then disappear into the sand, leaving a faint imprint that carries the promise of a welcome return.
As strong as both “All My Friends Are Dead” and “Miss You, Kid” are, the back stretch of Diamond Jubilee is what transforms the EP into one of the year’s best. From the opening piano figure of “False Leads to Dead Ends” to the gentle cadence of “Daisy” to the title track’s hazy epilogue, Bent Denim continues the most sublime stretch of their catalog to date. Those final three songs lead into each other seamlessly, strengthening the transcendental effect Bent Denim’s capable of producing when they’re at their best and, make no mistake, Diamond Jubilee is the most remarkable work of their career.
Heartrending and heartbreaking in equal measure, Diamond Jubilee finds Bent Denim hitting their stride. In collaborating with Young & Sick‘s Nick van Hofwegen, who contributes backing vocals across the record, the band also opens up their sound ever so slightly, taking it to breathtaking heights. Largely a sobering meditation on everything from conflicting ideologies to facing down mortality, Diamond Jubilee winds up being inexplicably moving. Unassuming and unforgettable, Diamond Jubilee is an EP worth holding onto long after its final notes ring out.
Listen to Diamond Jubilee below and keep an eye out for its official release tomorrow.
A mid-tempo number that gains impact as it goes, “Locked Out” is a restrained work from a band that’s frequently their best when they’re at their most frantic. Instead of going to that well, they find a whole new depth of impact by relying on brute strength. Conjuring up a formidable amount of power with both the song’s composition and the self-aware narrative, “Locked Out” finds Daddy Issues hitting the exact right notes. Putting “Locked Out” over the top is the adventurous solo section, which proves the band’s willing to take the type of risks that could transform them into a much more recognized name. If Daddy Issues continue to make these types of decisions, it’ll be hard to argue against them being a legitimately great band.
Listen to “Locked Out” below and pre-order Deep Dream from Infinity Cat here.
Less than a week remains in 2017’s first quarter and the year’s already earned solid representation thanks to a slew of incredible releases. Below this paragraph are links to approximately 500 of the finest songs that the January-to-March period had to offer. A few of which are from widely renowned artists but the vast majority are from the artists who deserve more recognition than they receive.
Now, it’s practically impossible to imagine any one individual is going to sit down and listen to every single one of the songs here but that’s not exactly the purpose of these lists. This, as was the case with the others, is a capsule of a time period that offered up art that was (mostly) lost to the shuffle. It’s a representative account of what was happening behind-the-scenes while this site was in its extended hiatus.
Most importantly, it’s a way to recognize and honor the artists responsible for crafting pieces that both deserved and earned praise, even if it’s in a relatively minor form. This will likely be one of the longest lists of links to ever run on this site and it’s likely best to just click around until something strikes a chord. So, bookmark this page, dive in, and explore what the world’s produced over this first quarter and keep an eye on this site for a few short “best of” posts before Heartbreaking Bravery resumes its regular daily coverage. Enjoy.
Before diving into the particulars of the forthcoming lists, it’s worth addressing the distinction made in the headline. Each of the categories that received a list in 2015 (music videos, songs, EP’s, albums, odds and ends) will be expanded upon in this post. However, there are still two forthcoming film lists but each of those will include the honorable mentions along with the featured rankings. An obscene amount of great material came out over the 12 months that comprised the past year so any attempts to cover everything would be futile. If anyone’s exhausted the below lists, a more comprehensive version can be found by exploring the following tags: stream, full stream, EP stream, and music video. Explore some of the top tier picks that didn’t make it onto the year-end lists via the tags below.
Before we begin on this list, it’s worth noting- once again- that this publication isn’t one that’s overly concerned with the artists that already have received major levels of exposure (it’s also worth noting that “best” is a formality and a pale reflection of lists born out of subjectivity that are constructed around a fairly rigid set of rules). That said, I’d be remiss to not mention that what I personally believe to be the three most important clips of the year (Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright“, Vince Staples’ “Señorita“, and Run the Jewels’ “Close Your Eyes (and Count to Fuck)“) all used multifaceted black-and-white presentation to haunting, startlingly effective- and extremely pointed- levels. While those acts may have had access to expanded resources, the artists that made this list were able to find ways to flourish on technical and artistic levels. These clips are only scratching the surface of an extraordinary year for music videos but still managed to find ways to stand out from the crowd.
15. Fraser A. Gorman – Shiny Gun
Was there any narrative-driven clip as lighthearted as Fraser A. Gorman‘s “Shiny Gun” in 2015 (or 2014 for that matter)? Operating with a freewheeling sense of camaraderie and a genuine sense of fun, it’s a nearly iconic clip for an artist that deserves to be recognized on his own merits rather than just as an associate of label boss Courtney Barnett (who has a delightful cameo in the video). From the dryly comic premise to the impromptu guitar solo session that acts as its resolution, “Shiny Gun” is pure entertainment.
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14. S – Remember Love
Last year, S appeared on this list for the heartbreaking “Losers” clip, which was teeming with genuine emotion and presented in bare-bones, DIY fashion. “Remember Love” sees S continuing to succeed on both of those accounts in instantly memorable ways. Ostensibly a parable about the metaphorical ghosts and skeletons that accompany the dissolution of relationships, “Remember Love” pulls off providing them with a physical form. By all accounts, the provided costume should feel too on-the-nose yet the video somehow finds a way to humanize its characterization to a point where the clip’s climax- and surprisingly profound final moment- feels genuinely devastating.
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13. Diet Cig – Scene Sick
Over Easy, Diet Cig‘s immediately likable debut EP, established the duo as a fount of brash youthfulness and sheer joy, even in songs that dealt with some weightier issues. Even in a strong year for the band that saw the release of a few more clips and a tremendous 7″, nothing captured their aesthetic more than their video for “Scene Sick”. A simplistic concept maximized to an absurd level of success, it finds guitarist/vocalist Alex Luciano gleefully dancing next to a stone-faced Noah Bowman (the band’s drummer) before a brief rest that sees them both exploding into a frenzy of completely carefree moves over the most apt of refrains. No stakes are ever present and the duo dive into their roles with ecstatic abandon.
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12. Dilly Dally – Desire
In December, no band was mentioned more times on this site than Dilly Dally, whose Sore has been in near-constant rotation here since its release. While the clips for “The Touch” and (especially) “Purple Rage” made strong impressions, it was “Desire” that managed to cut deepest. A visual realization of the record’s most central themes, “Desire” also managed to capture the band’s defining dichotomy: exploring the inherent beauty of what’s generally perceived as ugliness. The willingness to explore what makes us human so boldly resonated loudly when it was confined to the record but seeing a depiction of our mundane flaws married to a celebration of our sensuality and sense of wonder turned “Desire” into a staggering experience.
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11. Eskimeaux – Broken Necks
Eskimeaux‘s O.K. was a watershed moment for Gabrielle Smith’s project, striking a perfect balance between somber reflection and a prevailing sense of closeted optimism. “Broken Necks” focuses most heavily on the optimistic side of that equation, bringing the song’s more twee elements to vibrant life as Smith and a cohort of friends walk and/or dance their way through a host of familiar locations scattered around New York. Smith turns in a charismatic central performance, flashing impressive depth as the video progresses through a variety of distinctive modes (deadpan, ethereal, meditative, etc.). Visually, it’s mesmerizing and finds ways to incorporate a few quick tricks into something that winds up feeling like one of Eskimeaux’s most defining moments.
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10. Denai Moore – Blame
Every so often, a music video comes along that boasts enough firepower in its technical elements to prove unforgettable. In Denai Moore‘s clip for “Blame“, everything is firing on all cylinders. From Moore’s turn as a detached passenger to an inspired performance from an antagonized outsider to the gorgeous icy landscape and breathtaking cinematography, it’s a surprisingly moving piece of work. Tapping into a noir-ish narrative that focuses heavily on loss, unfettered emotion, and our capacity for empathy, it’s a striking vision. From its layered worldview to the video’s elevation of the song that acts as its driving force, “Blame” is an uncontested triumph.
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9. Alex G – Brite Boy
Another clip that focuses heavily on loss, Alex G‘s “Brite Boy“, found a way to excel in its attention to implicit detail. Using only black outlines on a white background, “Brite Boy” infuses its classic-leaning animation with a palpable sense of longing. As its two protagonists adventure their way through bouts of surrealism and moments of clarity, a divide begins to emerge and deepen in heartbreaking fashion. It’s an emotionally crippling tour de force cut from a fairly unique cloth that’s already starting to feel more than a little timeless.
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8. Bandit – The Drive Home
Easily one of the most stunning turn-in’s from a cinematographer working in this format in 2015, Bandit‘s “The Drive Home” benefits from the evocative framing that heightens the song’s cinematic inclinations considerably. Easily Of Life‘s most blinding highlight, the Derek Scearce-helmed clip elevates the emotional heft of “The Drive Home” via cold color palettes and sweeping, majestic presentation. Open roads, snow-capped mountains, and jaw-dropping visuals combine and culminate in a memorable final moment that completely removes the clip’s lone human element, ultimately revealing itself as an ego-less appreciation of our surroundings. It’s a powerful decision that cements the status of “The Drive Home” as one of the finest music videos of 2015.
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7. PUP – Dark Days
In 2013, PUP‘s vicious- and viciously entertaining- clip for “Reservoir” earned a spot at the top of the music videos list I co-authored for PopMatters for that year. In 2014, the band followed suit with their unforgettable origin story video for “Guilt Trip“. Both were directed by the creative team of Chandler Levack and Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux, who once again crack this year’s list with the animated clip for “Dark Days“, extending a remarkable run of success with aplomb. Here, the gears are switched from relative bleakness and shocking moments of violence to a modest animated presentation of the decidedly unglamorous lives of touring musicians in a mid-level band. A sense of realism informs close to every step of “Dark Days”, from its unfettered highs to its most crushing lows. By providing what also effectively functions as a distillation of the band’s manic energy, Levack and Schaulin-Rioux have crafted yet another gem.
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6. Courtney Barnett – Kim’s Caravan
One of 2015’s more unexpected commentaries came via Courtney Barnett‘s commendably bleak clip for “Kim’s Caravan“, which honed in on Australia’s most ravaged landscapes while simultaneously providing an unflinchingly intimate portrait of the inhabitants of those areas. Not too far removed from the works of John Hillcoat, “Kim’s Caravan” finds strength in its most somber tones. As the clip progresses, a foreboding sense of doom gets amplified to successively higher levels before culminating in some of the most startling and unforgettable shots of any music video to have been released in the past five years. As shattered glass rains down upon Barnett’s body and a trailer gets abandoned as it burns, the disappointment and anger fueling the clip crystallize. As Barnett walks offscreen in its final moments, it comes across as an impassioned plea and provides a fitting end piece to one of the more effective message videos in recent memory.
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5. Girl Band – Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?
Did any other band find a foothold in definitive visual representation as Girl Band in the past 12 months? It’s doubtful. One of the more difficult decisions going into this list’s ultimate ranking was whether to include “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?” or “Paul”, as each operated on a singular playing field that’s paid massive dividends for the band. Ultimately, the former was selected for being both the introduction to the band’s distinctive approach and the meticulous, surgeon-like precision required for it to work. Playing like one of David Lynch’s wet nightmares, “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage” focuses on the removal of a corpse’s internal organs before taking a sudden left turn into one of the more nightmarish dance parties imaginable, shattering an enormous amount of tension and providing the rest of us with a glimpse of the arsenal of deranged imagery Girl Band had in store for their breakout year.
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4. Hammock – In the Middle of this Nowhere + My Mind Was A Fog… My Heart Became A Bomb
While it’s likely this pairing functions more as a short film than a music video, it succeeds on its own merits to a strong enough degree that the cumulative result felt like an appropriate candidate for this list. Astounding on a technical level, both “My Mind Was A Fog… My Heart Became A Bomb” and “In the Middle of this Nowhere” also succeed in eliciting an emotional response from their high-concept proceedings. Centering on a narrative where a virus has all but wiped out the world’s population, a survivor returns to his now-desolate home that he’d built with his family to try and rebuild his life by any means necessary. Another intimate portrayal of a character whose fate is all but doomed, the setting of these clips allow them to grasp at weightier themes than usual, where things like abandonment are amplified considerably by the circumstance. As the protagonist’s resolve rapidly deteriorates with each subsequent attempt at rekindling his past, Hammock‘s lilting ambient score propels each of the clips towards being modern classics.
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3. Bent Denim – Good Night’s Sleep
It’s difficult to think of a clip that commanded more force with its synergy than Bent Denim‘s aching “Good Night’s Sleep“. A pained examination of the psyche after the loss of a child, its a wrenching, empathetic character study that captures the feeling of being directionless to heartrending effect. In presenting the narrative through the lens of home movies, it imbues the narrative with a discomforting notion that it’s a tragedy that many of us will have to face and find a way to reconcile. The video’s soft tones enhance the intuitively maternal characterization of the clip’s lone performer and adds untold depths of heartbreak to the shot that lingers on a sign that simply says “Momma tried”. Whether “Good Night’s Sleep” deals with death, miscarriage, custody, or abortion is up to the perception of the viewer but any way it’s spun, the video retains its gut-wrenching emotional impact and its level of care for its protagonist. It’s an astonishingly moving portrait rendered with the care it deserves and it’s also one of the finest DIY efforts of this decade.
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2. Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle
An extraordinary amount of work and hyper-meticulous planning has to go into pulling off a successful tracking shot, which is why a few of the finest examples (Children of Men, Hard Boiled, The Shining, etc.) are considered some of the most iconic moments in cinema. In 2015, there were three of these that genuinely stood out: the entirety of the German heist thriller Victoria, the electric second boxing match in Creed, and Sabyn Mayfield’s clip for the extraordinary title track from Julien Baker‘s masterwork Sprained Ankle. It’s a record that’s predominant theme is our mortality, a fact laid bare by the opening lines of “Sprained Ankle”, and Baker conveys the weight of that obsession flawlessly throughout the course of the video. Appearing onscreen as a battered athlete surrounded by a decrepit gymnasium, the imagery drives home the somewhat tragic fact that everything is constantly aging from the moment it’s born into this world. Eventually, the camera pushes past Baker to explore the tattered walls and fading ceiling insulation before circling back to the ground and providing one last look at a now-abandoned gym, haunted by what’s no longer present.
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1. The Fjords – All In
2015 was a deplorable year in terms of senselessly violent acts that were carried out on scales both grand and miniature. From school shootings to accidental bombings, there was barely a reprieve from the damage. It seems fitting, then, that the clip at the very top of this list would offer some sort of commentary on today’s excessive levels of heinously shocking violence. Here, though, the clip in question gains intrigue because of how balanced it manages to be in that commentary, touching on both the displacement that can drive those actions and the childlike mindset that goes into their execution. Nostalgia also plays a factor in “All In“, which is a monumental first effort at a narrative-driven music video for The Fjords (“Almost Real” was granted a compelling lyric video), connecting the thread of media influence to its sudden, unexpected bloodshed. Heightening the disconcerting events that inform “All In”, is the fact that the protagonist is a young child, whose played with a steely commitment that’s nearly as jarring as the clip’s climactic confrontation in front of a hot dog stand. All at once, “All In” manages to succeed as a pointed commentary, a revenge fantasy, and one of the most startling pieces of magic realism in recent memory. Timely and timeless, it’s a towering achievement by any measure and its message lingers long after its first shot rings out.
Leaper, a late 2015 highlight saw Beliefs continuing to impress and they’ve taken that even further with this Alex Earl Grey-directed clip for the record’s title track. Ostensibly a subtle commentary on the the societal expectations that accompany a woman’s appearance, it’s a striking piece of minimalism that resonates because of its inherent truths. As that commentary plays out, “Colour Of Your Name” also touches on the process of transformation and hints at a secure sense of agency. Stripped down to its barest essentials, “Colour Of Your Name” becomes a startling piece of work that plays directly into the zeitgeist and, in the process, has a more than decent shot of securing a position as a timeless work.
Watch “Colour Of Your Name” below and pick up a copy of Leaperfrom site favorites Hand Drawn Dracula here.
Over the course of the past 100 posts, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time living in Brooklyn and rejoining some of my oldest friends (and family) in central Wisconsin while working on various records and tours. A lot more time than usual has elapsed since the last 100 post update and this one for a variety of reasons and yielded an even more substantial amount of material than usual, including a wealth of CMJ coverage. Now in it’s second year, there’s still new developments being made for the site as everything else continues to evolve naturally. At the last 50-post interval, I ran a mixtape for fall. Now, I’ll be turning my attention to the winter as we stare into its cold, unforgiving face. Just as fall has aspects that can be characterized through music (autumnal tones, the confrontation of mortality, bruised romanticism, etc), winter has its own set of unique traits.
While it’s true there’s an inherent sadness that’s attached to winter (suicide projections skyrocket, SAD takes full effect, and illness percentages elevate considerably), there’s also an inherent warmth. Blizzards hit and the strongest defense becomes warm drinks, companionship, and additional heat- all of which carry a connotation that directly connects with the various trials the season presents. Even the most grizzled cynic can find some comfort in the comforting embrace of an additional blanket. As the scene outside falls victim to uncompromising temperatures, violent winds, and patches of black ice, the transformation can become oddly compelling when paired with the right music. Below’s mix includes 25 songs that elevate the startlingly vivid nature of even the bleakest winter landscapes, complementing their strange, surprisingly emotional dichotomies. Whether you’re curled up under a blanket watching the snow fall, layered up and exploring the outdoors, or simply trying to make sense of the sudden change, this is your soundtrack.
Listen to Wrap Up Warm via the embed below and find its tracklist underneath the player. Beneath the tracklist, explore hyperlinks to the site’s past 100 posts. Enjoy.
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SIDE A
1. Torres – A Proper Polish Welcome 2. The Antlers – Kettering 3. Nicole Dollanganger – A Marvelous Persona 4. Wolfs – Leading Me Back To You 5. Bent Denim – Good Night’s Sleep 6. Julien Baker – Sprained Ankle 7. Dilly Dally – Burned by the Cold 8. Okkervil River – A Glow 9. Angel Olsen – White Fire 10. Sleeping in the Aviary – You’re A Party 11. Young Jesus – Milo 12. Eskimeaux – That’s OK 13. Elliott Smith – I Didn’t Understand
SIDE B
14. Why? – Eskimo Snow 15. Girlpool – Dear Nora 16. Infinity Crush – Heaven 17. Hop Along – Happy To See Me 18. Waxahatchee – Noccalula 19. Jason Isbell – Elephant 20. Eluvium – An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death 21. Johanna Warren – We Fell 22. S – Remember Love 23. DeYarmond Edison – Silent Signs 24. Joanna Newsom – Does Not Suffice 25. Yowler – The Offer
As always, hyperlinks to the site’s last 100 posts are included below.
Heartbreaking Bravery 