Deux Trois | Heartbreaking Bravery

June 17, 2018

June’s First Half: Honorable Mentions (Songs, Music Videos, Full Streams)

The first half of June carried plenty of surprises. This month has been, notably, dominated by major hip-hop artists and included the release of several major records that have the capacity to hijack year-end lists. Those releases have never been the focal point of this site and this won’t be the post where that changes. Every item on this list, as always, deserves more attention than it’ll receive. Following this list, there will be a few other key releases that get highlighted but these songs, clips, and records deserve all the support they can get, including the below listings and anyone willing to click their links. Enjoy.

SONGS:

Rob Dickson, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Dead Sullivan, Henrik Appel, Cuesta Loeb, Protomartyr, Amos and Spencer, Fleabite, Thin Lips, Dumb, The Molochs, Spencer Radcliffe, Kevin Krauter, Bleeth, Everything By Electricity, Scattered Clouds, Susie Scurry, MOURN, The Rareflowers, Clean Spill, Guts Club, Darren Jessee, Orions Belte, Late Bloomer, Laurel Halo, The Ophelias, Freedom Baby, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Alexander BIggs, Manatree, Runtom Knuten, Manchester Orchestra, Sun June, Angelo De Augustine, Ancestors, ShitKid, Icecapades, Deafheaven, Baby Blue, Frida, Cigarettes After Sex, R+R=NOW, Van Common, Hana Vu, The Dirty Nil, Stalagmites, Wild Nothing, Birdtalker, Jon Spencer, Two Meters, Claw Marks, El Ten Eleven, Birds In Row, Color Tongue, serpentwithfeet, Estrons, Echo Courts, Lazyeyes, Death Grips, Mom Jeans, Gold Star, and a massive offering from Ben Seretan (which accompanies a behemoth multimedia art project that’s worth tracking).

MUSIC VIDEOS:

Clearance, Strange Relations, Death Bells, LIFE, oso oso, The Essex Green, White Woods, Devon Welsh, NEEDS, Thirsty Curses, lemin., Spiritualized, Cold Fronts, Empath, Dirty Projectors, Anna Calvi, VedeTT, The Beths, Cornelia Murr, King Princess, The Fur Coats, Stringer, The Due Diligence, NOTHING, Howard, White Denim, Animal House, and Sad Baxter.

FULL STREAMS:

Miranda Winters, Petal, Spiritual Cramp, Deux Trois, Dark Thoughts, Dos Santos, Some Gorgeous Accident, Johnny Conqueroo, Tancred, Blushh, Juliana Daugherty, Giant Peach, Hala, Anthony Green, Two Meters, Cold Meat, June Gloom/Rock Solid, CASCINE and Stadiums & Shrines’ Dreams compilation, Palberta, Bloody Knives, Will Henriksen, Surf Dads, God Bless Relative, GRLWood, and Ana Egge.

May 24, 2018

Mitski – Geyser (Music Video)

Last Monday saw a handful of great releases find their way into the world, including songs by Lost Boy ?, Lucero (x2), Uniform & The Body, The Golden Dregs, Sharkswimmer, music videos from Deux Trois, Deal Casino, Caroline Rose, Teenage Wedding, and full streams courtesy of Daniel Tanghal, Remember Sports, and Wax Idols. While all of those releases were worthy of multiple glances and listens, the day belonged to Mitski, who made a galvanizing return with “Geyser”.

Directed with restraint and bravado by Zia Anger, “Geyser” finds Mitski’s streak of brilliance continuing in both the music world and the music video format. Comprised of nothing but Mitski — who gives a more sublime performance in the clip’s central role than any artist’s delivered in a music video all year — mouthing the words to “Geyser” while ostensibly going through a personal reckoning on a desolate beach, the clip expertly pulls the viewers attention into the action.

It’s an emotional experience of an almost visceral nature, occasionally veering on the voyeuristic, but the clip contains enough artistic flourishes to become visually arresting. There are hints to Mitski’s history, both through heritage and to the art the songwriter’s already committed to record, scattered through “Geysers” that makes it a clever career summation ahead of an extremely promising next chapter. Gentle, evocative, mesmerizing, “Geyser” offers an artistic explosion worth celebrating.

Watch “Geyser” below and pre-order Be The Cowboy from Secretly Canadian here.

April 13, 2018

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Talking Straight (Stream)

The past few days have brought a handful of great tracks into the world from acts like Momma, CHASTITY, Dama Scout, Lawn, High Sunn, Marmalakes, Hiding Behind Sound, Little Junior, Jesse Jo Stark, John Craigie, Many Rooms, The Saxophones, Jenny Hval, Feverbones, Secret Mountain, Deux Trois, Life in the Vacuum, and Patches Paradise. However, today’s focus is going to shift back to a song that was initially released as a music video but is available for standalone streaming now: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever‘s “Talking Straight”.

If the band’s name — popularly abbreviated to both RBCF and Rolling Blackouts C.F. — looks familiar, it’s because they’ve landed on this site a handful of times in the past. Curiously, despite having existed for over 5 years, the band’s never put out a proper full-length. While they can claim a handful of outstanding EP’s and standalone tracks to their name, the proper album has eluded them in the past. It’s allowed them a storied history and an abundance of time to develop ideas should that day ever arrive.

Fortunately, it seems as if that time’s paid off, if the two singles to tease their forthcoming full-length Hope Downs are any indication. The most recent single, “Talking Straight” comes off as particularly promising, standing as both a career high mark for the band and a track that’s destined to wind up on hundreds upon hundreds of mixes made for long drives. It’s a driving, folk-inflected piece of punk-tinged Americana but it’s delivered with more of a sneer than the band’s revealed in a while.

A talk-sing vocal delivery suits the verses as well and makes the chorus feel significantly more explosive in contrast. “Talking Straight” also navigates its momentum incredibly well, providing the proceedings with gripping dynamics that keep the listener invested. While the song approaches four minutes in total, the breezy, toe-tapping nature of the track makes that run time feel nearly halved. It’s another extraordinary outing for a band that’s consistently great and goes quite a ways in positioning Hope Downs as one of the year’s potential must-hear releases. Don’t miss out on the ride.

Listen to “Talking Straight” below and pre-order Hope Downs from Sub Pop here.