Jeff Meff has always been an enigmatic songwriter. Hell, that’s a fact that was evidenced by his constantly-changing moniker. Bad History Month, Sad History Month, Fat History Month, it never mattered, the results were always the same; distinctly original and absurdly rewarding. A perennial staple of both the bedroom-pop and basement punk scene in Boston, Merr’s built his reputation on slightly left-of-center songs that all seem to come spilling out to provide some sort of blanket for his astounding lyricism. Of course, true to those styles, none of it gets played up in the slightest; it’s all given equal footing and is intertwined enough to be relatively inseparable. It’s difficult to isolate just one element of the songwriting on display here, the first glimpse at his upcoming split with Dust From 1,000 Years, especially. The song’s entitled “Staring At My Hands” and the split itself is called Famous Cigarettes and will be released via Exploding in Sound. “Staring At My Hands” is about as bare and naturalistic as Merr gets and it’s a jarring change of pace from last year’s manic (and extraordinary) Bad History Month(which was released under the moniker Fat History Month). If Famous Cigarettes lives up to what’s suggested by “Staring At My Hands” andwinds up being as thrilling a listen as Bad History Month was, then Merr will have decisively positioned himself as one of the best songwriters currently making music. It’s time to start paying attention.
Listen to “Staring At My Hands” below and make sure to check out his project’s already extensive discography by exploring either of the hyperlinks up above.
The more that’s revealed about Fucked Up’s Glass Boys, the more interesting itgets. From the sunnier disposition to the fact the deluxe version will come packaged with a second LP that features the drums in half-time, it seems all but destined to wind up a thrilling, enigmatic anomaly in the band’s impressive catalog. “Sun Glass”, in both song and video (the second to be released in advance of the album), continue to support this theory by featuring a band mostly known for their anxiety sounding relatively unburdened and, more than that, having fun. It’s a drastic change of pace that suits them surprisingly well; the big questions get scaled back to make way for some small self-examination and guess what? As fucked up as some things can get, overall everything’s pretty alright. Appropriately, the video’s as sun-splashed as possible, with all involved parties looking like they’ve just gone through a small hell and come out completely rejuvenated; able to appreciate the small joys of life more readily instead of taking them for granted.
Watch the improbably feel-good video for “Sun Glass” below and let it be a necessary reminder to stop and feel the sun every once in a while.
Following a feature from The Washington Post, the fast-ascending Priests have dropped another track from their upcoming Don Giovanni debut, Bodies and Control and Money and Power. This follows the incendiary “Right Wing” and is just as off-the-rails as its predecessor. Sharp and serrated, it’s a thrillingly jagged manifest of frustration. In other words, it’s vintage Priests. Catchy beyond reason, the refrain “you put your fingers in other people’s mouths all day” teems with as much condescension as it does ambiguous sensuality. It’s a little abrasive, a little disconcerting, a little uncomfortable, and completely thrilling. Priests have always sounded best when they sounded like they’re diving towards a collision instead of away from it and “Doctor” may be the purest distillation of that to date. At this point, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Bodies and Control and Money and Power is going to be getting a lot of year-end press. Only two songs in and it’s already hard to argue against that. Get on board or get out of the way, this is happening.
Listen to “Doctor” below and hum it during virtually every future check-up.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: The images in the gallery are currently overlaying themselves. A fix is currently being worked on. Until then, the pictures can be viewed in static form over at flickr and the kaleidoscopic overlaps will remain in the gallery below.]
There are certain towns in Wisconsin that exist slightly off the beaten Madison-Milwaukee path but retain a sense of industry, rather than the sprawling scenery the state’s often noted for. Wausau is one of those towns. Farther North than most major show destinations, it’s managed to carve out its own little niche in terms of tour stops based on the strength of the venues. One of the city’s most noted non-house venues is the Polack Inn, a bar perfectly suited for DIY level acts.
Last Wednesday it was used to its fullest capabilities hosting We the Heathens and Midnight Reruns. The former acted as local support and played a lengthy well-received set which offered up an inviting blend of traditional Gaelic, folk-punk, and 90’s pop-punk. Each member of the Wausau power trio proved to have very capable control over their respective instruments (guitar, mandolin, and violin) and their audience. A late start saw much of the crowd dispersing after their set- which they’ll likely be kicking themselves for after learning what they missed out on.
Midnight Reruns, now comfortably positioned as one of Wisconin’s best acts (both in studio and live), played a typically incendiary set that featured no less than five new songs. It’s worth pointing out that after the last Midnight Reruns show in Stevens Point, a person close to the band noted that their new songs were “redefining the parameters of rock n’ roll”. That sentiment proved to be more true than expected, as the new songs ably merged distinguishing characteristics from the last handful of decades. A few of the structures were borderline progressive but overall, they gave off of a vibe more vintage 70’s (while remaining impossibly modern) than the 90’s powerpop that seemingly every review wastes no time administering. It’ll be interesting to see how the new material is met once it’s officially released, to say the least.
After a blitz through all that material (which made time to include several songs from their self-titled debut, which should be considered a state classic, and “Too Tall” from their Central Time EP), they packed up. Or, rather, they began to pack up until a friend of the band requested one last song: “Basement Guy”. No one could blame her for the request; any time there’s the potential for that song to be heard, that opportunity’s worth seizing. Her request was graciously obliged (under the warm, well-intentioned reasoning of “Guys, it’s Claire [requesting the song], come on.”) and the performance that followed can be seen below. It’s the first video to be put up under the now-officially-rebranded Heartbreaking Bravery video section and it’s impossible to imagine anything being better for a first entry.
Scan through the photographs and watch the video (select 1080p for best quality) below.
One of the first few pieces this place conjured up was a glowing review for PUP, which had only been released in Canada at the time of posting. As the US release date for the record approached, more people started taking notice of the band. Rave reviews for the live show spilled in from the various corners of the wider-reaching music community and anticipation for the record shot up in accordance. Now, PUP is a great record, which has been covered but the music video the band crafted for “Reservoir” was in a different stratosphere of greatness. That music video was one of the best of the past several years so when the band announced a follow-up effort, this time for “Lionheart”, the expectations were off the charts. Fortunately, for everyone, the band delivered.
The premise of “Lionheart” is incredibly basic but it manages to exist in a similar realm to its predecessor thanks to the flawless execution. Once again, the band has tapped into the DIY ethos, only this time they’ve moved it from the stage to the afterparty. It’s a single shot emphasizing the action that takes place in the kind of basement most punks would be proud to call home. From taping bottles of some unidentifiable liquid to whoever’s crashing on the couch right through to the guy eating pizza in a Green Bay Packers beanie, this is the kind of scene that should be familiar to anyone who’s showed up early or stayed late at any house show. All of the details feel lived-in and authentic giving the whole thing a loose classic vibe. All of this, of course, is propelled by the actual song itself which elevates it into something resembling nostalgia. Simply put: it’s another great video from a band that’s worth knowing about. Honesty and humility are difficult things to play up in the format but the band pulls it off with ease, keeping their track record just about perfect.
Watch “Lionheart” below and then live it this summer. Support local music. Support great music. Play this video.
In one of the more recent pieces to run on here, I bid adieu to a camera that’s served me well over the years. There were vague allusions to various sets that I’ve been lucky enough to catch with that camera scattered throughout the piece- and while this may be dangerously close to tipping into the self-serving spectrum I do my best to avoid on here (and the fact that the audio quality is far from the best), it only seemed appropriate to showcase a few of the more memorable captures over the years. To that end, this installment of Watch This will likely wind up as the one the more unique entries in the series. One last look at the past before pushing towards what’s ahead.
It’s never to fulfill a sense of pride, it’s never for bragging rights, it’s always, in each and every instance, to support an artist that I love or that deserves as much support as they can possibly get. Established or not, this is my way of giving thanks and hopefully extending their music out to other places that may never have heard them otherwise. This holds true for my writing on Heartbreaking Bravery as well. One of the most important things anyone can do is support the art they believe in and this place will always live by that law. So, watch this or don’t, but it’ll always be here as both a reminder of some very personal memories and a showcase for some bands who deserved more attention than they ever received. Sit back, support local music, support local music, support local music, support local music (SERIOUSLY, SUPPORT LOCAL MUSIC), and Watch This.
1. Tenement – Morning Mouth (Live at the Afterdark)
This video will be the only one that actually predates the Canon PowerShot I’d been using to shoot these videos over the past several years (this set was shot on a low-end handheld Sony camcorder), it’s included because it serves as a beginning for a myriad of things: my introduction to Tenement (who would subsequently open up an entire world of music to me through their kindness), the beginnings of when I became serious about film, and the start of when I became serious about booking shows. Their five-song set, to a crowd of people they invited up onto a small stage to make them feel more at home, blew my mind and has stuck with me for approximately six years now. My opinion on this band hasn’t changed as I’ve filmed set after set after set, year in and year out- they’re one of the best, if not the absolute best, band currently going. I’ll forever be grateful to them for a number of reasons and delivering this set will always be one of them.
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2. Good Grief – Holy Smokes! (Live in Stevens Point, WI) There isn’t always a lot of options for live music in the middle of nowhere but at the height of Good Grief’s run, there were a few spells where there seemed to be an incredible show happening every other week. I attended every single one I possibly could, not just because of an undying love for live music and the DIY community but because Good Grief had tapped into something genuinely special during their time as a band. It was evidenced by the mass basement singalongs, by Mutts coming all the way from Chicago to play an unforgettable cover of a song from their final record, by the people who had little to no connection with the band who showed up at nearly every show- right up through their final marathon set at K Bueno (this is a band that will likely always have the distinction of being the only one I ever see tearing things up inside of a Shopko that was giving away free hot dogs, chips, and soda)- with a smile on their face and a beer in their hands, and by the fact that more times than not, the first time I would hear a song played for the first time, I would get chills (“Lab Rats” is still one of the most incredible pieces of music I’ve ever heard and a lock as an entry for my 50 Favorite Songs of All Time list). “Holy Smokes!” was never officially recorded, as far as I know this is the only known recording of it, which is why it takes this spot on the list- a look at some incredible music, and some incredible musicians, that too much of the world missed out on.
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3. Midnight Reruns – Too Tall (Live at Frank’s Power Plant)
Like Tenement before them, this was the first time I saw Midnight Reruns (coincidentally, if anyone asks me who I think the best bands in the state are, those are usually the first two names out of my mouth) and even just a few minutes into the first song, it was apparent it’d be far from the last. They tore that place to shreds and threw out a fiery Wreckless Eric cover in the middle of an all-out blitz of a set that showcased Graham Hunt’s beyond-his-years songwriting ability and the band’s undeniable musicianship. They’ve (somehow) only steadily improved since then and have built an impressive expanding fanbase including members of The Replacements, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ThirdCoastDigest, BrooklynVegan, and Milwaukee Record, who just ranked their debut s/t (still less than half a year old) as the 16th best record to come out of Milwaukee since 2010. Word on the street is the material they’re currently working on blows even that out of the water. Keep both eyes out and both ears open for this one.
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4. Sleeping in the Aviary – So Lonely (Live in Stevens Point, WI) Apart from Good Grief, Used Kids, The Goodnight Loving, and Hot New Mexicans (especially The Goodnight Loving and Hot New Mexicans), there are few bands that can come even remotely close to Sleeping in the Aviary as far as the “bands I wish would reunite” conversation goes. The only places I ever saw Sleeping in the Aviary play, curiously enough considering their level of name recognition, were basements (with one surprisinglytouchingexception being the vinyl LP release party for Expensive Vomit In A Cheap Hotel at the High Noon Saloon, thrown five years after the records initial release) . In one way or another, I was a part of each and every one of those shows and they wound up being a few of the most memorable nights of my life thanks to both the people around me and Sleeping in the Aviary themselves. Ever the manic pranksters, they would usually come armed with cardboard cutouts, bubble machines, various props, or adult-themed piñatas. They’d also always play with a reckless abandon and unparalleled fierceness while still clinging onto a carefree nature and clearly having the time of their lives doing it. Kyle Sobczak was a late addition to the group but provided them with a few of their most memorable songs in their final stretch. “So Lonely” is one of them- and, as mentioned before, being in the middle of nowhere means that when a basement show happens with a band of Sleeping in the Aviary’s caliber comes to play, things tend to go off the rails pretty quickly. No one has seen the regular lead personality, Elliott Kozel, since he disappeared into that crowd… (entirely untrue as clearly evidenced in the video- but still, a great myth to try to start).
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5. Charley & the Cynics – St. Christopher (Live at the Crunchy Frog)
Writing an In Memoriam piece for Charlotte was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. I debated whether or not to include this as the fifth slot or keep it stored away due to its extremely personal nature but I realized that the few videos I did manage to capture of Charley & the Cynics during her time here had a profound effect on why I kept filming and knew it had to occupy this spot. After her untimely passing it was next to impossible to bring myself to watch the videos of her that I’d previously put up out of both respect and unfailing admiration. It’s not like I knew Charlotte all that well; I won’t pretend I did and I won’t glamorize her or try to turn her into some flawless saintly figure. I did know her well enough, though- well enough to consider her a friend and well enough to know that she was a generally positive person who always seemed to treat others with both care and affection, which is something I try to extend to everyone that gets coverage on this site. After enough time had passed, I could watch these videos without needing to spend a night drinking afterwards and I realized that they’re the crux of why I film to begin with: to celebrate the people and music I love while they’re around. Ever since the full extent of that realization hit me, these videos of Charlotte have factored into every time I’ve plugged in a camera charger, every time I’ve replaced an SD card, every time I’ve spent hours making sure an upload doesn’t crash, every time I’ve pointed a lens at a stage, she has been there as a reminder to capture the things that are important while you still can. That lesson is something I’ve carried with me every day and something that’s been a part of the majority of my decisions within music journalism. For that and for all the times I’ve been reminded of that, I’m thankful- and I keep filming.
Heartbreaking Bravery 