The last post to run on this site made note of yet another hiatus that Heartbreaking Bravery’s been forced to endure for nearly three weeks. Shifting focus from streams to music videos, this list compiles a host of outstanding music videos to emerge in the regular coverage interim. Bookmark the page and go exploring, everything here’s worth revisiting or finding for the first time.
A project comprised of The Marked Men/Radioactivity‘s Jeff Burke and Blotto/Suspicious Beasts‘ Yusuke Okada, Lost Balloons excels in acoustic-driven basement pop, retaining all of the urgency, bite, and melodic sensibilities of the duo’s earlier projects and shaping into something less overtly aggressive. “Numb” is a perfect example of this formula, its energy seeping through the softer trappings and proving to be as infectious as anything in either songwriter’s discography. Hook after hook proves to be sharp and as soon as its over, there’s already an immediate instinct to go back to the beginning. Trust that instinct, hit repeat, and let the cycle wear itself out years down the line.
Listen to “Numb” below and pre-order Hey Summerhere.
Just a short while ago, a handful of pieces ran on Heartbreaking Bravery recapping some of the year’s finest first quarter releases. In the time it took to assemble those lists, a fresh slate of songs, music videos, records, and live videos emerged. Tonight’s posts will be dedicated to highlighting the most noteworthy releases of that selection. Starting off with the individual songs category, which was characteristically rich in terms of output over the course of the past two weeks. To that end, here are some of the finest titles to have surfaced in that time. Click around, there’s a little something for everyone. Enjoy.
A little over a week remains in 2017’s first quarter so it felt appropriate — especially considering the recent hiatus — to reflect on some of the best material to have been released over the course of these past three months. What started yesterday with the list of notable full streams will bleed into the following days. Today’s post shifts the focus to some of the most memorable music videos to have surfaced since the start of the year. All of the below videos piqued attention for one reason or the other, either on the film or music side, and deserve as many views as they can possibly receive. So dive in, click around, and explore. Good things await.
As explained in the last post, it’s been fairly difficult to get posts up over the past few months, so a bit of catching up is in order. A lot of outstanding music videos have been released in that time, so we’ll be focusing on some of the very finest in the featured slots and granting the others some of the recognition they deserve in the lists that run at the bottom of these posts. Alex G‘s “Brite Boy” finds itself in the featured spot here- and with good reason.
So often, artists go for the most direct, immediate, accessible route and find reasonable levels of success. The artists that opt to eschew that approach in favor of more understated work have a much steeper battle to fight. Alex G has always been one of the artists that belongs to that latter camp and that aspect of the artist’s aesthetic is brought to the forefront in the animated clip for “Brite Boy”. A continuously-evolving collage of surrealist cartoon imagery (while still making room for two concrete characters wrapped up in a tragic narrative), the Elliot Bech-directed clip enhances both the song’s sense of subdued melancholy and its damaged sense of hope, rendering it an inexplicably moving experience. A palpable sense of loss dominates the latter half of “Brite Boy” and, by the time the clip draws to a close, manages to cut astonishingly deep.
Watch “Brite Boy” below, pick up a copy of Beach Musichere, and explore a list of some of the best music videos of the past few months underneath the embed.
Over the course of the past few weeks, the influx of outstanding live videos has been staggering. Last week the series was put on a brief hold due to other personal obligations but even then, there was the threat of multiple installments for that particular Sunday. Amassing those with the live clips that followed in the subsequent week brings us to this point: there’s simply too much great material to feature to justify relegating anything exceeding the limit of five to the introductory paragraph(s). With this being the case, there will be seven- yes, seven- installments of Watch This to go live throughout the day (and possibly night).
To that end, this very introduction will be running prior to volumes 74-80 to reduce the levels of overall exposition to provide an emphasis on the material at hand. Site favorites Girlpool and Waxahatchee were seemingly everywhere this week, securing multiple entries throughout this run while Faits Divers spread-out documentation of a set from Ought (another site favorite) managed to do the same. As always, each video featured is an exemplary showcase for both artist and host, covering a wide range of sounds and styles. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume to your preferred settings, sit up straight, lean in (or back), and Watch This.
1. Chastity Belt – Dull (WFUV)
Time To Go Home was one of the unexpected highlights of this year’s first half, securing Chastity Belt a level of recognition they’ve been deserving for some time. Here, the band turns in a blissfully casual of “Dull”, providing a showcase for their dynamic range. WFUV’s black backdrop provides a fitting background to Chastity Belt’s hazy basement pop and elevates the clip into surprisingly immersive levels.
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2. Girlpool – Chinatown (Wichita)
Closing out Wichita’s lovely outdoor trilogy of Girlpool clips is this gorgeous take of Before The World Was Big highlight “Chinatown”. As always, Cleo Tucker and Harmony Lebel-Tividad seem inhumanly connected, playing off each other with an almost telepathic familiarity and ease. Everything comes off as complementary, from the dueling melodies to the timbre of the duo’s vocals. The whole thing exudes a nearly impossible sense of lightness that’s always factored into Girlpool’s music, rendering this a surprisingly revitalizing watch.
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3. Waxahatchee – Blue (Pt. II) (Wichita)
Continuing on with Wichita’s gorgeous presentation of the Crutchfield twins performance under Katie’s Waxahatchee guise at St. Pancras Church, this clip features an aching performance of “Blue (Pt. II)”- another highlight from Ivy Tripp. Nothing more than harmonized vocals and an electric guitar guide the performance, the audience hushed throughout. The soft tones and dim lighting provide a perfect visual accompaniment, allowing the clip to become as mesmerizing as the song at its center.
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4. Ought – The Weather Song (Faits Divers)
Closing out Ought’s run, courtesy of Faits Divers, is yet another inspired performance of one of More Than Any Other Day‘s several highlights; “The Weather Song”. As always, the band’s animated throughout and delivers a crisp performance that fully demonstrates the band’s enormous live appeal. It seems like every time the band launches into a song, they transform into an unstoppable whirlwind of pure energetic force. Unable to stay still and brimming with manic passion, it makes for compelling viewing and- more importantly- powerful performances.
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5. Torres – A Proper Polish Welcome (WFUV)
One of the most delicate songs to emerge out of 2015 is Torres’ jaw-dropping “A Proper Polish Welcome”, a piece of serene beauty characterized by a sense of yearning. It’s Sprinter‘s most breathtaking moment and, in a live setting, it’s powerful enough to freeze blood. WFUV turned their cameras on Mackenzie Scott and co. as they conjured up the slow-burning showstopper, capturing something approaching the levels of transcendence in the process.
Over the course of the past few weeks, the influx of outstanding live videos has been staggering. Last week the series was put on a brief hold due to other personal obligations but even then, there was the threat of multiple installments for that particular Sunday. Amassing those with the live clips that followed in the subsequent week brings us to this point: there’s simply too much great material to feature to justify relegating anything exceeding the limit of five to the introductory paragraph(s). With this being the case, there will be seven- yes, seven- installments of Watch This to go live throughout the day (and possibly night).
To that end, this very introduction will be running prior to volumes 74-80 to reduce the levels of overall exposition to provide an emphasis on the material at hand. Site favorites Girlpool and Waxahatchee were seemingly everywhere this week, securing multiple entries throughout this run while Faits Divers spread-out documentation of a set from Ought (another site favorite) managed to do the same. As always, each video featured is an exemplary showcase for both artist and host, covering a wide range of sounds and styles. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume to your preferred settings, sit up straight, lean in (or back), and Watch This.
1. Ought – Gemini (Faits Diver)
Continuing on with Faits Diver’s recent documentation of Ought, this clip finds the band confined to a warehouse space delivering another energized and insistent performance of “Gemini”. Restless and unrelenting, it finds Ought in top form, uninhibited by anything other than their own outsize charisma. It’s electrifying.
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2. Chastity Belt – Time To Go Home (WFUV)
Chastity Belt hit their current career peak with their revitalizing Time To Go Home which boasted one of the band’s best moments throughout an already-impressive discography in the title song. WFUV recently hosted the band for a session and allowed them to cut loose on a few songs, “Time To Go Home” included. Tempo shifts, a distinctly 90’s influence, and a lingering sense of unease ensure that this clip transforms into something surprisingly hard to shake.
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3. Waxahatchee – Blue (Wichita)
As outstanding as Katie Crutchfield’s project can be when it blooms into the full band setting, it’s just as effective- and occasionally even more effective- when it strips itself back to a rawer intimacy. Wichita recently gifted the world a session with just Crutchfield and her twin sister Allison (who she’d played with in both P.S. Eliot and Bad Banana), delivering a few of the songs from Ivy Tripp in a quiet setting (in this case, a shattering take on “Blue”) – and the results are magnetic.
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4. Girlpool – Cherry Picking (Wichita)
Another Wichita session worth looking into that pares back an artist’s sound (though this time the change is significantly more slight) finds site favorites Girlpool playing acoustic guitars in open air. As always, the vocal interplay between the duo helps ground the song at hand- “Cherry Picking” this time around- and their uncanny sense of melodic sensibility elevates a modest performance to something indefinable. Eyes closed in a blissful determination, Cleo Tucker and Harmony Lebel-Tividad deliver another deft knockout.
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5. Christopher Paul Stelling – Dear Best (ANTI-)
There are few joys that can compare to finding an outsider artist that delivers nothing but grace notes. Christopher Paul Stelling fits that bell and in this clip, courtesy of ANTI- Records, his performance skills prove to be transportive. Stelling’s a calm master of a haunted subset of rustic folk, wielding both his guitar and voice with a nuanced skill that will continue to serve Stelling well as his star inevitably rises. While he may be operating in a niche field, Stelling’s talent is boundless and here, he’s found himself in the dead center of one of 2015’s most unexpectedly stunning live clips.
Well, here we are, 500 posts down the line from the Audacity music video feature post that kicked everything off. A lot of things have happened in the course of this site’s existence and its changed my life for the better, introducing me to wonderful people behind bands I genuinely love. Watch This has ran for more than 70 installments, thousands of records and songs have been mentioned (and thousands of photos have been taken), and the site even hosted a showcase in the middle of nowhere. Writers, musicians, directors, artists, publicists, and label executives who help make or promote incredible art all came together and contributed an incredible collection of pieces at the end of last year to celebrate some important things that happened in their life. Somehow, over the course of the preceding 499 posts, people began expressing care for what essentially remains a place for me to share the art I love and give it a sharper focus. Included in that spectrum are the following 25 music videos. None of them have appeared on the site before and all of them have only recently surfaced (please skip over the Inheaven clip if you’re seizure-prone, which is a type of video I do my best to avoid posting here but was so fascinated by that one I thought it warranted a rare exception). From bleary-eyed foxes to murderous teens to gorgeous animation to slasher film homages to stunning cinematography (that Bandit clip is particularly breathtaking), there’s a lot of ground to cover in this list- and, as always, an abundance of art to appreciate.
In keeping with tradition, this being a post that falls on an increment of 100, underneath the tracklist below the embed, there will be hyperlinks to the preceding 100 posts for anyone who’d like to revisit past articles (and as a helpful archival tool). Click play on the embed, peruse articles past, and, most importantly, enjoy. Thanks to everyone who’s helped keep this site alive; your encouragement’s more appreciated than you know.
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1. Courtney Barnett – Dead Fox 2. Mikal Cronin – Turn Around 3. Bully – I Remember 4. Downtown Boys – Wave of History 5. Chastity Belt – Joke 6. PINS – Young Girls 7. Surfer Blood – I Can’t Explain 8. Inheaven – Regeneration (Alternate Version) 9. Nic Hessler – I Feel Again 10. Hop Along – Powerful Man 11. Hurry – Oozing Positivity 12. Kopecky – Quarterback 13. Michael Rault – Too Bad So Sad 14. Landshapes – Ader 15. Arborist – Twisted Arrow 16. Soley – Halloween 17. Brian Lopez – Modern Man 18. Tiny Fingers – The Fall 19. Empty Heads – Deceiver 20. Speedy Ortiz – Raising the Skate 21. Los Angeles Police Department – Insecurity 22. Giant Sand – Transponder 23. The Underground Railroad to Candyland – Yer Not The Only One 24. Winter – Crazy 25. Bandit – The Drive Home
After almost four full months, regular Watch This coverage is ready to resume. Once again, every Sunday, there will be an examination of five of the preceding week’s strongest live video clips. The live video’s a historically under-appreciated form of multimedia but one of the most difficult to master. Fortunately, this week had no shortage of strong examples, making it difficult to narrow it down to just five selections. While Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires’ lovingly tender Warren Zevon cover and Chastity Belt’s KEXP session aren’t featured in the ensuing collection, they’re both deserving of multiple watches. Joining those two videos in that distinction are the five clips listed below, which cover a very broad genre spectrum. All of them are worthy of praise. So, as always, sit down, lean back, forget about your troubles, and Watch This.
1. Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part Of Me (Coachella)
Here and Nowhere Else still sounds as vital and as necessary as it did since it was released. “I’m Not Part Of Me”, the album’s closing track (and one of our best songs of 2014), still packs an enormous punch and that’s an aspect of the song that only gets enhanced in the live setting. Dylan Baldi remains a fascinating songwriter (and underrated composer) and Jayson Gercyz still seems nearly inhuman behind the kit, making this Coachella performance a must-watch.
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2. Natalie Prass – Why Don’t You Believe In Me (Bruxelles Ma Belle)
Natalie Prass’ self-titled record was one of the first major surprises of 2015 and, accordingly, was met with universal acclaim. Here, Prass strips the fleshed-out arrangements of the record back to a bare-bones dual guitar setup. Softly lensed and starkly intimate, Bruxelles Ma Belle captures what may be one of Prass’ most captivating performances yet. R&B-inflected folk cascades across a deserted dining hall and fills every inch of the unlikely venue with feeling, rendering this clip unmissable.
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3. Public Service Broadcasting – Go! (WNYC)
Occasionally a band will appear off to the edges on my radar and I’ll forget to check them out before a reminder surfaces in plain view. Public Service Broadcasting were one of those acts and this performance of “Go!” was one hell of a reminder. Starting off as a keys-and-sample led ambient piece before erupting into a monstrous, inventive, forward-thinking beast of a genre-defying song, “Go!” encapsulates close to everything an act primed for a breakout should have. Impassioned, deeply-felt, smartly crafted, and musically boundless, “Go!” provides a feeling of genuine exhilaration. Taking cues from decades’ worth of musical trends, deviations, and subversions, “Go!” quickly becomes unforgettable.
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4. Happyness (KEXP)
Weird Little Birthday was a strange release that never seemed to garner the levels of attention it deserved. Whether this was due to the spaced-out release schedule, the rollout campaign, or just issues with timing is anyone’s best guess but those that were fortunate enough to hear it all seemed to be fully on board (it very nearly cracked this site’s best albums of 2014 list). The band recently stopped by KEXP’s offices to deliver a deeply intriguing set that doubled as a demonstration of the band’s seemingly limitless potential. Running the gamut from spaced-out ambient territory to 90’s-leaning slacker pop, it’s the type of performance strong enough to create converts and reinforce the convictions of the already faithful.
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5. John Davey – Burning and Bright (GemsOnVHS)
When Heartbreaking Bravery was built part of its structure was a keen focus on immensely promising artists who had yet to receive a higher level of recognition. John Davey fits squarely into this category and, as such, has already received coverage on the site. Here, GemsOnVHS turns their cameras on Davey as he makes his way through the gripping “Burning and Bright”, intercutting sweetly homespun footage of the various stages of a shared meal with the performance to create their best video since the stunning Molly Parden turn-in. Imbued with a familial sense that’s emphasized by the song, it’s a genuinely gorgeous final product that also, incidentally, brings this 69th installment of Watch This to a warm, fitting close.
Now that the site’s all caught up on songs, it only seemed natural to overhaul the music videos as well. Here, the formatting will be slightly different than it has in the past for this format, with 35 excellent clips being linked beneath the main feature, Meat Wave’s slasher-indebted short that accompanies the bruising “Sham King” off their tremendous EP from this year, Brother. Before going any further, it’s worth noting that Meat Wave is one of the few bands that will always have a special place carved out in reference to this site, having played the first-ever Heartbreaking Bravery Presentsto help this place celebrate its first anniversary (several months after they were featured as part of the site’s On the Up series). Their self-titled record is still one of the best things to have come out of this decade, so any time the band does anything of note, it’s probably a safe bet it’ll secure a feature spot here. Which leads us back to the focus of this piece: “Sham King”.
In the Andrew Robert Morrison-directed clip for “Sham King”, a lot of things are at stake. Most notably, the bands lives. A grim reaper figure, complete with a scythe atop a bicycle, mercilessly stalks the power trio through dead, snow-capped streets. During the opening chase, Morrison (who also edited the video) injects the clip with a serious sense of dissonance with furiously paced loop-back smash cuts, lending the affair an added sense of disquiet. Before long, death zeroes in on guitarist/vocalist Chris Sutter, who leads the masked figure on a chase through an abandoned warehouse. Vantage points switch and become a narrative function as the viewer’s occasionally allowed to take on the first-person viewpoint from behind the killer’s mask, effectively rocketing up the video’s sense of tension. When one side emerges victorious, a solo is mimed in front of a towering wall of various amps before giving way to the video’s final shot- which ranks among one of my favorite images from the year.
Watch the madness of “Sham King” unfold below and pick up the Brother EP here. Beneath the clip, watch 35 other great videos from the past few weeks. Expect regular coverage to resume throughout this new week and going into the future.
Heartbreaking Bravery 