Heartbreaking Bravery

Editor’s Note: There’s been a month-long gap in coverage, thanks to near-incessant travel and other extenuating circumstances. The following run of posts that contain this note will be posts that should have appeared sometime within the past several weeks. Use these posts as an opportunity to catch up to the present release cycle or to simply discover some new music. Either way, enjoy.

One of the most arresting listening experiences I had in 2015 came when Casket Girls released the chill-inducing “Deep Time” and ushered in a bold new era for the band in the process. “Tears of a Clown”, the band’s latest single, proves that “Deep Time” was no fluke; the new single is one of the best tracks the band’s ever released. They’ve found life in embracing a wooziness that informs their hazy, punk-influenced dream-pop in unexpectedly powerful ways.

There are more than a few intangible elements that the band’s managed to harness in their time together and they’ve perfected sharpening those elements into something as extraordinary as it is singular. By injecting their music with an intimidating spikiness via noise, feedback, and untethered aggression, Casket Girls have created their own niche pocket.

“Tears of A Clown” feels even more aggressive than “Deep Time” while still conjuring up something that straddles the divide between tranquil and punishing. Exploring that middle ground is where Casket Girls have found a way to play to their strengths, piling on a formidable amount of hooks in the process (the pull of the “makin’ money, makin’ money” vocal hook here is as unavoidable as it is inescapable). If nothing else, “Tears of a Clown” shows that Casket Girls are rapidly approaching a realm where they can do no wrong; this is about as sublime as it gets.

Stream “Tears of A Clown” below and pre-order The Night Machines here.