Don Giovanni Records | Heartbreaking Bravery

July 29, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 35

Today’s Watch This posting spree is far from over. Months worth of neglect need to- and will- be made up for. Luckily, this has been made relatively easy thanks to a goldmine of live videos that surfaced over the festival-induced hiatus. In this 35th installment, there are full sets, standout performances, and an even spread among the outlets featuring them. Once again, this will be left at that because the 36th and 37th installments, respectively, are just around the corner, waiting to be posted. It might run the risk of over-saturation but great music is great music and great performances always deserve to be recognized. So lean back, turn up the volume, and Watch This.

1. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires (KEXP)

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires have built themselves one hell of a reputation and they’ve mostly got their shit-kicking live shows to thank for that. Playing a Southern-fried variation of the rock n’ soul genre, the band injects their sets with as much frantic energy as they can muster, sweating through their clothes and leaving everything on the floor. Impossibly, they pour that amount of dedication into this in-studio KEXP performance without a large audience to feed off of, solidifying their spot in this series.

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2. Field Mouse (BreakThruRadioTV)

Serious Business continues to be featured in Watch This thanks to their dedication to actively pursue exactly the type of band this site was built to celebrate. Additionally, their audio/visual presentation is among the best out there while the irreverent interviews offer some insight to the bands that they choose to feature. Their recent Field Mouse session encapsulates all of it, thanks in no small part to Field Mouse’s on-point performance of their excellent featured shoegaze-leaning post-punk song: “A Place You Return To When You Dream”.

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3. Nothing (unARTigNYC)

Nothing’s Guilty of Everything was one of 2014’s more formidable-sounding records, dark and dense in exactly the right way. Live, the band takes those two qualities to new extremes, as proven by this excellent full set from the band’s recent performance at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Turn up the volume then hold on to something- and hold onto it tightly. This is massive.

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4. Modern Hut – Moving On (TCGS)

Don Giovanni Records have built their success around making the right decisions- and their dedication to Modern Hut was one of them. Here, the band delivers a typically strong, wistful performance of “Moving On” during their recent appearance on the show of comedian Chris Gethard (also signed to Don Giovanni). It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it’s more than a little worth watching.

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5. Young Man – Fate (Audiotree)

Colin Caulfield’s project Young Man released a criminally under-appreciated record in 2012 called Vol. 1 and the recent Audiotree videos that surfaced of a session to support that record only reaffirm that fact. It was one of the better pop records of the decade, heavily nuanced and delicately ornate, while being somewhat unassuming. Here, Caulfield & co. breeze through that record’s first single “Fate” with an easy confidence- finally giving people another chance to recognize a great record.

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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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May 19, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 27

It may have taken a bit of doing but, as of this posting, Watch This will officially be back on its regular schedule. To celebrate this, the 27th installment of the series played strictly by the rules- and somehow wound up being one of the strongest offerings of Watch This to date. All of these songs were live sessions that were posted online in the past seven days and virtually of them contain songs or artists that have previously earned feature articles on this site in the past. In short, there are plenty of familiar faces to be found in this 27th installment and a few of the year’s best records are well represented. Really, now that all the work’s been done and all the exposition’s out of the way, all that’s left to do is sit back, turn the volume up, and Watch This.

1. Ovlov – The Great Crocodile (Little Elephant)

What can be said? This Little Elephant session is just a gift that keeps on giving. It’s the third to earn a spot in Watch This and arguably the finest of those three. The song’s introduction is nearly two full minutes of surging basement punk that verges on post-hardcore territory. Everything after is just as exhilarating as what’s preceded it. All in all, it ends up being another incredible sampling from one of the most exciting young bands out there. Another thing worth noting: the bassist’s sick LVL UP sweatshirt (if that’s not a great representation of what this site’s all about, nothing is).

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2. Angel Olsen – High & Wild (Jagjaguwar)

There haven’t been very many artists who have earned as many Watch This inclusions as Angel Olsen. This is no accident; her last record, Burn Your Fire for No Witness, is a gorgeous work of art. As a performer, she radiates a quiet intensity that’s both transfixing and strangely devastating. “High & Wild” lives up to the precedent she’s set and, as such, was an easy selection for this installment. Burn Your Fire for No Witness has more than proven its staying power and Olsen’s capitalizing on that success by virtue of her live prowess. No complaints.

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3. Yellow Ostrich – Shades (KEXP)

Yellow Ostrich scored a major coup with the acquisition of drummer Michael Tapper, who joined up shortly after leaving We Are Scientists. As a member of We Are Scientists, he was instrumental to their early success (With Love and Squalor is a vastly underrated 2000’s masterpiece) and now one of the driving forces behind Yellow Ostrich. “Shades” is one of the finest songs the band’s ever recorded and their performance of it for KEXP is a committed take. It’s borderline unclassifiable and it’s definitely worth paying attention to.

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4. Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me (Radio K)

First thought: “Is that a Smooth Brain shirt?!” Second thought: “Oh, yeah, Cleveland.” Third thought? “Good lord, this band slays live.” All that said, Here and Nowhere Else is an easy 2014 highlight and is fully expected to appear in the year-end conversations. It’s the second straight effort from the band that’s earned that distinction after being released in the first half of the year. As immense as their studio output has been, as this adeptly shows, they might be even better live.

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5. Screaming Females – It All Means Nothing (Audiotree)

As promised earlier today, here’s the second Screaming Females video to be featured from the band’s recent stop at Audiotree. Now touring behind their excellent Steve Albini-produced live album, Live at the Hideout, they’re proving time and time again the recordings that made the cut for that record weren’t a fluke. Truly one of the best live acts currently touring, “It All Means Nothing” has been a consistent set highlight and ranks among the best moments in the band’s entire discography. They don’t hold back anything here and the result is another monster of a performance that’s worth several subsequent watches. Make sure to bookmark this one.

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May 19, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 26

Well, it’s been a while but by the end of today Watch This will be back on track. This is, once again, thanks in no small part to an abundance of great material to have come out over the past week or so. With the influx of material being so strong, this will be the first of two Watch This posts to go live today. Both sections are going to be filled with bands that have never been featured and old favorites. In this installment, the newcomers get featured a little more heavily but there’s still enough room for a genre mainstay or two. All of it’s worth investing some time and, really, the best course of action? Lean into it- and Watch This.

1. Picastro – Mountain Relief (BreakThruRadio)

Kicking off the series this time around is Liz Hysen’s long-running Toronto-based project, Picastro. BreakThruRadio invited her in to film a performance and Hysen delivers an absolutely haunting rendition of “Mountain Relief”. There’s a short interview that follows the performance but the real takeaway from this is just how arresting “Mountain Relief” is. It’s on Picastro’s most recent record, You, which is more than worth anyone’s time.

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2. Constant Lovers – 14 Missed Calls (KEXP)

It’s been a while since there’s been a KEXP session quite as lively as the insane one Constant Lovers just turned in. Among their set’s most intense moments was this fiery as hell take on “14 Missed Calls”. All intense guitar jabs and one of the fiercest vocal takes imaginable, “14 Missed Calls” proved to be one of the best parts of the last week in music. It’s a must-watch.

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3. Menace Beach – Fortune Teller (3VOOR12)

One of the more intriguing acts of the last few years, Menace Beach have yet to release a record. This hasn’t stopped them from earning praise and coverage in a variety of major taste-making publications. The Leeds-based group has one hell of a pedigree between their two main members and rotating cast; nearly everyone involved has achieved some level of notoriety with at least one other project. From this video alone, it’s abundantly clear that this band knows what they’re doing.

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4. Black Lips – Smiling (KEXP)

There are some things that just don’t change- one of them is that Black Lips are a great live band. No matter how much the band varies their sound or how strong whatever record their touring behind is, their live shows consistently bring an incredible amount of energy to the table. While not all of that translates over to a taped session (a literal impossibility considering there’s no crowd interaction), it’s still fun enough to earn a spot here.

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5. Screaming Females – Baby Jesus (Audiotree)

As is the case with Black Lips, Screaming Females have one of the best live sets in the game. Having torched the basement circuit with a vengeance, the New Brunswick act has seemingly set their sights on world domination. Pity anyone that gets in their way. This will be the first of two videos from their Audiotree session to be featured today because there’s no way they don’t both deserve to be featured. This is a masterclass.

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May 13, 2014

Priests – Doctor (Stream)

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.

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May 13, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 25

As promised, here’s the second part of today’s Watch This double-headed. It’s decidedly more minimal than the last installment in terms of performance content (two of the videos featured here are solo performances) but the featured videos are just as impressive. Ranging from yet another video from Chart Attack’s coverage of the Sonic Boom Records jaw-dropping lineup for Record Store Day 2014 to another Exploding in Sound BreakThruRadio takeover feature, it’s one of the broader installments this series has ever offered up. It’s a great way to showcase some of the best bands from the DIY circuit and all of it’s just begging to be viewed. So, stay reclined, erase the last semblances of that hangover, and make sure to Watch This.

1. Laura Stevenson – The Hole (Radio K)

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes Laura Stevenson so magnetic- it could just be raw talent but it seems to go beyond even that to something more transcendental. The singer/songwriter found a home on New Jersey’s Don Giovanni, a label full of some of the fiercest basement punk bands currently going, while leaning closer to folk than anything else. Impossibly, it managed to be a fit that felt more naturalistic than not and their collaborations have resulted in a handful of incredible releases (the most recent of which, Wheel, was an easy 2013 highlight). Here, she sits down for a stunning rendition of “The Hole”. It’s a mesmerizing performance from a singular talent that’s worth bootlegging for inclusions on a million different homemade mixtapes.

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2. Luke Lalonde – Needle (Chart Attack)

This is the third performance from Toronto’s Sonic Boom Records to be featured over the past two installments of this series. It’s also, arguably, the most arresting. Born Ruffians have always been one of the more intriguing powerpop acts making music and to hear them stripped down to their barest form is surprisingly rewarding. Great songwriting’s always worth listening to.

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3. Mutual Benefit – Golden Wake (Allston Pudding)

Love’s Crushing Diamond was a record that almost felt sacred while it wove itself in and out of dreamlike states. It was one of 2013’s most riveting listens, constantly coming off like the most reassuring hug. It was impossibly fierce in its gentleness, delicately assembled and expertly executed, it established Jordan Lee as an undeniable talent and ensured that just about everyone who should be paying attention to his project was doing just that. Allston Pudding was on hand to capture this video from Mutual Benfit’s first-ever sold out show and the results are entrancing.

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4. Krill (BreakThruRadioTV)

There’s just something about Exploding in Sound’s roster that makes throwing caution to the wind feel appropriate. This is the second video to earn a Watch This feature from the label’s BreakThruRadio takeover. Like Kal Marks before them, Krill took this spot by force through a series of incredible featured performances. Serious Business being Serious Business, there are also a few revealing interview moments intercut with a few separate performance clips. It’s all great fun and worth paying attention to. Oh, and Krill, Krill, Krill Forever.

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5. Radioactivity – Locked in My Head (Razorcake)

It’s been months since a video from Razorcake earned itself a spot in this series, which is a shame because of all the places that regularly wind up in one of these five slots, they’re likely the one that matches the DIY ethos this place celebrates most closely. That reasoning paired with a performance from Radioactivity was more than enough to land this a spot on the list. This is what this place is all about. Watch This and then go spin Radioactivity for the 800th time. It’s impossible to resist.

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March 30, 2014

First Quarter Finish (Mixtape)

Well, Heartbreaking Bravery’s another 50 posts in, which means that it’s time for another mixtape- and the timing couldn’t be any better. As April springs forth, a new quarter begins and leaves the first part of the year behind, opening it up for examination. First Quarter Finish is a testament to the the startling strength of 2014’s first three months and is largely composed of music that’s been featured on this site. Perfect Pussy‘s “Driver” kicks things off in a typically frenzied fashion, reflecting the purpose of this collection as acutely as possible. Make no mistake, this is a batch of songs that traffic in very high intensity even in their quietest moments.

From tour-only tapes to standout cuts off early Album of the Year contenders like Burn Your Fire for No Witness, Here and Nowhere Else, and Rooms of the House to eerily hypnotic moments, deranged apathetic insanity, and a very long list of promising glimpses at upcoming records, it’s truly been a hell of a start and deserves celebration. Listen to the sounds of that celebration below (if the player is not appearing onscreen, it can also be accessed here).

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TRACKLIST

1. Perfect Pussy – Driver
2. La Sera – Losing to the Dark
3. Cheap Girls – Knock Me Down
4. Archie Powell & the Exports – Everything’s Fucked
5. Crow Bait – 83
6. Big Air – Cemetery With A View
7. PAWS – Tongues
8. Brain F≠ – Sicks
9. Antarctigo Vespucci – I’m Giving Up On U2
10. Playlounge – Waves and Waves and Waves
11. Vertical Scratchers – Memory Shards
12. Angel Olsen – Forgiven/Forgotten
13. Silence Dogood – Chairman of the Bored
14. Priests – Right Wing
15. Green Dreams – Eye Contact
16. Fucked Up – Paper the House
17. Creepoid – Baptism
18. La Dispute – Woman (in Mirror)
19. Sleep Party People – In Another World
20. Odonis Odonis – Order in the Court
21. PILE – Special Snowflakes
22. Young Widows – King Sol
23. Protomartyr – Scum, Rise!
24. Technicolor Teeth – Tomb
25. Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me

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March 27, 2014

Priests – Right Wing (Stream)

Unless Tenement officially confirms a 2014 release date, the Don Giovanni LP to get most excited about definitely goes to another Heartbreaking Bravery favorite: Priests. Bodies and Control and Money and Power (due out June 3rd) will be the band’s first release for the label and they’ve already released the first taste by way of “Right Wing”. Anyone familiar with the band shouldn’t be surprised by that title, as they’re one of the more fiercely political bands on their respective circuit right now. A lot of those politics are fairly apparent in vocalist Katie Alice Greer’s commendable work as The Media‘s interviews contributor. Another thing that won’t come as a surprise to those lucky enough to already be on board with the band: “Right Wing” is an aggressive piece of post-punk minimalism.

What does come of a bit as a surprise is how clean “Right Wing” sounds. Previously, the band’s penchant for the most blown-out lo-fi recording was one of their calling cards, so to make the jump to something as immaculately produced as “Right Wing” without losing any of their reckless abandon is a considerable feat. Make no mistake, this is still very much a Priests song- it feels as dangerous and barely-stable as anything the quartet’s committed to tape, carving out the same exhilarating territory despite existing in a completely different sonic realm (not too unlike Tweens’ Frenchkiss debut). A completely fuzzed out bass helps retain some of the band’s lo-fi aesthetic and the clean guitars go to work on cutting everything apart, drums urging them both forward as Greer acts as the vessel to provide the maelstrom with some sense of direction, even when completely consumed by it. It’s thrilling, vital, and maybe even necessary. Here’s hoping the band winds up with the attention they deserve.

Hear the catchy, infectious “Right Wing” below and make sure to give Popstrangers’ first taste of their upcoming album Fortuna (due out May 27th via Carpark Records), “Country Kills“, a listen as well- it was nearly the focus of this piece but Priests haven’t been covered as extensively here. Their was also no way in hell “Right Wing” wasn’t going to get a write-up, one listen and the understanding of that should be immediate. Listen to one, listen to the other, it doesn’t matter- but really, listening to both is the best-case scenario and the one that should definitely be chosen. Make the right choice. Enjoy.

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February 27, 2014

Screaming Females – Lights Out (Live) (Stream)

Screaming Females are gearing up for the release of Live at the Hideout, the Steve Albini-produced document of their recent two-night stand in Chicago. In the press release for Live at the Hideout, there’s a mention of an incident that occurred sometime before the Chicago show, where there band’s vehicle spun out of control on the freeway and they were hit by an oncoming semi whose driver they had locked eyes with before impact. While the story does tie in to Live at the Hideout‘s renewed sense of purpose and freedom, what the release doesn’t mention is that the incident happened before their Milwaukee show (which also explains why that set was particularly lively).

Everything that the Milwaukee show was praised for seems to have tied over to Live at the Hideout and with Albini at the soundboard, there’s no possible way this will be a misfire. Don Giovanni’s offered a first glimpse at Live at the Hideout with “Lights Out” and it’s predictably brilliant; the band sounds as tight as possible, Paternoster shreds fearlessly, and Albini applies the trademark metallic sheen that helped make Ugly one of the band’s best efforts. If nothing else, the song’s worth listening to for the crowd’s elation- a reminder of just how far this band’s come over the past few years. For a few years, they were one of the most tenacious acts playing the basement circuit and now they’ve earned a kind of fervent dedication that’s only granted to legends. What makes this all the much sweeter is that they accomplished this without changing and by continuing on the path they set for themselves in the early stages of their career. That kind of dedication is a rarity and that brand of integrity deserves to be celebrated. Right now, there’s no better way to celebrate than to just listen to “Lights Out” below and eagerly await the final product.

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February 13, 2014

Carsick Cars – Wild Grass (Stream)

After two days enduring a seeming avalanche of new content from nearly every corner of music, Thursday has gradually tapered off of that relentless pace. Still, there were rippers from Thee Oh Sees, Tweens, Palehounds, Broken Gold, and Donovan Wolfington (especially Donovan Wolfington). There was also a new video from post-hardcore titans La Dispute (the band responsible for “King Park“, one of the most stunning pieces of songwriting in the past few years) and a beautiful, humorous, genre-encapsulating medley video from Don Giovanni’s Shellshag. At the end of the day, though, the song that stood out strongest was “Wild Grass” from Chinese trio Carsick Cars’ upcoming 3.

Carsick Cars may not be a huge name stateside but the band’s reputation in their homeland is certainly well-established and somewhere over the past nine years they managed to catch the ears of Sonic Youth (and subsequently play shows with them before their split). While Sonic Youth is, sadly, no more (at least for now), it’s easy to see their influence on Carsick Cars. If someone claimed that Steve Shelley was the person behind the kit on “Wild Grass”, there’d be no reason not to believe them. Their clean guitar tones are reminiscent of Moore and Ronaldo’s in the band’s latter-era run (Rather Ripped, in particular) and their pop sensibilities are similar. In fact, while “Wild Grass” does come off as an extraordinary Rather Ripped outtake (albeit one that’s sung in Chinese), where the bands do differ is in how far they take that pop sensibility. Carsick Cars are a few notches less noise-prone than their predecessors but they compensate for it with an emphasis on melody. That effortless powerpop melodicism is what makes “Wild Grass” really stand out and bodes well for the rest of 3.

While “Wild Grass” is certainly promising, it’s always been impossible to pin Carsick Cars down from record to record. They’ll likely have a few surprises in store for 3, which will be released later this month. If the past is any indication, those surprises will be worth the wait. Hear “Wild Grass” below and hope that the rest of 3 winds up being as good or better.

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