Bridge 9 | Heartbreaking Bravery

July 29, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 33

Today’s marathon of Watch This continues with the 33rd installment of the series, a unique spread that features full performances, solo acoustic takes outdoors, and one last video from NXNE. There’ll be several more of these features to run after this one’s posted so please forgive what will mostly likely be atypically brief introductions. There’s a lot of ground to cover and even more material to get to. So, for now, lean back, enjoy the ride, and Watch This.

1. Army Girls – Quarantine State (Chart Attack)

Army Girls’ appearance at Sonic Boom during NXNE was a very welcome surprise and, paired with Courtney Barnett, wound up being one of the best (and most under-attended) 1-2 punches of the festival. Chart Attack, who hosted the showcase, were also on hand to film the band run through an excellent new song called “Quarantine State”.

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2. Laura Stevenson – Journey to the Center of the Earth (Don Giovanni)

There are very few things more arresting than a great solo performance, which just happens to be one of Laura Stevenson’s specialties. Here, the mastermind behind Wheel (one of last year’s finest releases) is captured with unfaltering honesty by her label, Don Giovanni. It’s a quiet, mesmerizing performance by the side of the road- and it feels perfect.

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3. Listener – There Are Wrecking Balls Inside Us (Audiotree)

“There Are Wrecking Balls Inside Us” proved to be a fascinating anomaly that shed light on a gray area; this is a video that recently resurfaced on a channel that promoted it as a new release, despite dating back to mid-2012. This caused some debate over whether or not it’d warrant inclusion but the performance itself spoke too strongly. Listener’s always been an engaging, unique presence and this is one of the most fully-realized examples of their intriguing eccentricity and immediately arresting manic delivery and, ultimately, it proved impossible to ignore.

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4. Lemuria – Oahu, Hawaii (TCGS)

Lemuria’s “Oahu, Hawaii” was given an entrancing and serene music video earlier this year that paid testament to The Distance Is So Big‘s longevity. That record’s lost very little of its staying power and their performances, as proven by this example from The Chris Gethard Show, continue to impress. Don’t miss them whenever they come around.

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5. White Lung (unARTigNYC)

At this point, White Lung have more than proven themselves to be a serious force in music. There have been very few records that felt as impassioned, or as necessary, as their rightfully-acclaimed Deep Fantasy. Fortunately, unARTigNYC was on hand to film the band’s set to celebrate the release of that record at Brooklyn’s famed St. Vitus, where the band delivered one hell of a performance that does more than a little justice to what’s easily one of this year’s strongest records. It won’t be long before this band’s even more widely recognized as an impressively intimidating powerhouse.

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June 15, 2014

Lemuria – Brilliant Dancer (Music Video)

Lemuria’s Brilliant Dancer was featured way back when as one of 25 Best Demo’s, EP’s, 7″ Singles, and Compilations of 2013. Now, the song that the 7″ took its name from has a delightfully engaging, low-budget video to accompany it. Directed by Phillip Freedenberg, the clip combines DIY-friendly art, no-frills special effects, basic visual tricks, and some lovingly shot live footage into something strange and memorable. “Brilliant Dancer” is an overwhelmingly simplistic clip that comes laced with the effect of an old home video, triggering a strange nostalgia that gives it a surprising amount of emotional impact. By the time the collage-heavy presentation wraps itself up, the video winds up approaching becoming both a distinctively unique entry and a timeless piece of multimedia. All in all, it’s one of the better surprises of the past few months.

Watch “Brilliant Dancer” below and make a music video this month.
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January 29, 2014

Lemuria – Oahu, Hawaii (Music Video)

Lemuria’s The Distance is so Big was one of 2013’s more intriguing records, playing up some of Lemuria’s more unique strengths. Those strengths, and that record’s playful curiosity, are amplified considerably by the music video the band just unveiled for the shape-shifting “Oahu, Hawaii”. In a small miracle of animation from Okay Video, the “Oahu, Hawaii” video centers around an ambiguous central figure’s canoe journey through different settings. Every time there’s a new passage that presents itself musically, a new one opens up visually as well. From wide-open skies to a jungle canvas to a flooded lobby, the video conjures up a palpable sense of mystery, exploration, and longing.

There are beautiful little touches throughout “Oahu, Hawaii” that most often appear in the form of surrealist imagery the central character encounters in the various environments that are passed through on this journey. When the song reaches its conclusion and the passage comes to an end, it leaves us with one of the more stunning music video images in recent memory; as night falls a starry sky seamlessly intersects with the clear water to the point where the two merge into something that approaches being downright spiritual. There’s a surprising ending of sorts but to discuss it here would only take away from its impact.

Watch the video for “Oahu, Hawaii” below and order The Distance is so Big from Bridge 9.