Heartbreaking Bravery

stevenmps2@gmail.com | @steven_mps | @hbreakbravery

Tag: Empty Heads

June 20, 2017

Three Weeks Down: A Handful of Full Streams

The previous two posts have fixated on some of the great material from streams and music videos. All that’s left to cover is the full streams of EPs, splits, comps, and full-length efforts that have emerged in the three weeks or so that Heartbreaking Bravery has been on hiatus. Bookmark this page, rifle through the titles on display, and walk away with a handful of outstanding new music. Enjoy.

Jason Loewenstein, Wishing Rock, Psychic Judge, Guggi Data, Agent blå, Milk, Palm, Gland, Dion Lunadon, Konrad, Popular Adults, trü, Vs., Dead Heavens, Gringo, Bad Channels, Poppy, Ackroyd, Early Riser, Boogarins, Steady Sun, Superchunk, Ulrika Spacek, Ethan Daniel Davidson, PANXKING, Mare Island, Molly Nilsson, Terror Watts, Tough Age, CHIMNEY, Empty Heads, Hulaboy and Safe Distance, Marias, Leather Girls, CreaturoS, Swoon Lake, Rachel Baiman, and ROYA as well as the excellent Athens Vs. Trump compilation.

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May 16, 2017

Empty Heads – Meat Mouth (Song Premiere)

The worlds of DIY punk, shoegaze, and bands reveling in lo-fi aesthetics have overlapped for years but the definitive examples of that intersection have, historically, been woefully under-covered. Empty Heads are looking to change that with their upcoming Normality EP, which boasts a collection of songs as fierce, ragged, and determined as “Meat Mouth”, which is premiering below.

Encapsulating a host of influences, from the obvious shoegaze forebears to psych-inflected basement punk contemporaries, “Meat Mouth” is a towering work. Managing to come across as both earnest and reserved simultaneously, “Meat Mouth” exists as something of a paradox, drawing listeners in for closer inspection. In its opening stretch, the song immediately (and successfully) sets out to bruise before its final stretch sees an inspired disintegration that veers incredible close to noise territory, getting significantly heavier before slinking into an eerie ambient work defined by swells of feedback and effects manipulation.

Between those two definitive markers, “Meat Mouth” is anchored by a familiar narrative, which at once expresses self-doubt, self-deprecation, and a buried desire for something resembling normalcy. From thinking sideways to the chemical makeup of the brain, “Meat Mouth” concerns itself with minutiae as much as the big picture, becoming an odd reflection of its own composition. It’s a remarkable work from a band worth hearing and a very strong lead-in to one of 2017’s most formidable EP’s to date.

Listen to “Meat Mouth” below and pre-order Normality from Debt Offensive here.

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May 13, 2015

Casting A Glance (Video Mixtape)

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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.

–

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

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HB400: Watch This: Best of 2014 (Video Mixtape)
HB401: 2014: A Pictorial Review, Pt. 1
HB402: Elephants – The Turtles Were Right (Song Premiere)
HB403: 2014: A Pictorial Review, Pt. 2
HB404: Watch This: Vol. 59
HB405: Watch This: Vol. 60
HB406: Watch This: Vol. 61
HB407: Watch This: Vol. 62
HB408: Watch This: Vol. 63
HB409: 2014: A Pictorial Review, Pt. 3
HB410: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper – Billions of Eyes (Music Video)
HB411: Laughing Fingers – Crutches (Stream)
HB412: Quarterbacks – Center (Stream)
HB413: Even Hand – Drifting (Album Review, Stream)
HB414: Male Bonding – A Kick to the Face (Stream)
HB415: All Dogs – Georgia (Stream)
HB416: La Dispute – Woman (Reading) (Music Video)
HB417: 2014: A Pictorial Review, Pt. 4
HB418: Watch This: Vol. 64
HB419: Mulligrub – Sprite Zero (Music Video)
HB420: 2014: A Pictorial Review, Pt. 5
HB421: 14 of ’14: The Best Music Videos of 2014
HB422: 14 of ’14: The Best Splits of 2014
HB423: 14 of ’14: The Best Online Singles and Other Assorted Oddities of 2014
HB424: 14 of ’14: The Best 7″ Records of 2014
HB425: 14 of ’14: The Best Songs of 2014
HB426: 14 of ’14: The Best EP’s of 2014
HB427: 14 of ’14: The Best LP’s of 2014
HB428: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 1
HB429: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 2
HB430: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 3
HB431: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 4
HB432: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 5
HB433: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 6
HB434: 2014: A Year’s Worth of Memories, Pt. 7
HB435: Mikal Cronin – Made My Mind Up (Stream)
HB436: Pile – Mr. Fish (Stream)
HB437: Diet Cig – Over Easy (EP Review, Stream)
HB438: Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian At Best (Music Video)
HB439: Ben Seretan – Ben Seretan (Album Review, Stream)
HB440: Girlpool: Things Are OK (Documentary Review, Stream)
HB441: Tenement – Morning Mouth (Stream)
HB442: Music Frozen Dancing at The Empty Bottle – 2/28/15 (Pictorial Review)
HB443: Kodakrome (Demo Review, Stream)
HB444: Yowler – The Offer (Stream)
HB445: First Quarter Songs, Pt. 1 (Mixtape)
HB446: First Quarter Clips, Pt. 1
HB447: First Quarter Full Streams, Pt. 1
HB448: First Quarter Full Streams, Pt. 2
HB449: Death Grips – On GP (Music Video)
HB450: First Quarter Clips, Pt. 2 (Video Mixtape)
HB451: Tica Douglas – Joey (Album Review, Stream)
HB452: Avid Dancer – All Your Words Are Gone (Music Video)
HB453: Denai Moore – Blame (Music Video)
HB454: Screaming Females (Documentary Review, Stream)
HB455: First Quarter Clips, Pt. 3 (Video Mixtape)
HB456: First Quarter Clips, Pt. 4 (Video Mixtape)
HB457: Young Jesus – Grow/Decompose (Album Teaser Premiere)
HB458: Geronimo! – Buzz Yr Girlfriend: Vol. 4 – Why Did You Leave Me? (EP Review, Live Videos)
HB459: Fred Thomas – Every Song Sung To A Dog (Stream)
HB460: Run the Jewels – Close Your Eyes (and Count to Fuck) (Music Video)
HB461: Downies – Widow (Stream)
HB462: Waxahatchee – Under A Rock (Music Video)
HB463: Sheer Mag – Button Up (Stream)
HB464: Dilly Dally – Gender Role (Stream)
HB465: 2015: First Quarter Highlights (Mixtape)
HB466: Meat Wave – Sham King (Music Video)
HB467: METZ – Spit You Out (Stream)
HB468: Fake Palms – Sun Drips (Stream)
HB469: White Reaper – Make Me Wanna Die (Stream)
HB470: Liam Betson – Rapture In Heat (Music Video)
HB471: Watch This: 2015, Vol. 1
HB472: Watch This: 2015, Vol. 2
HB473: Watch This: 2015, Vol. 3
HB474: Watch This: Vol. 68
HB475: Tenement – Dull Joy (Stream)
HB476: Hop Along – Texas Funeral (Stream)
HB477: Washer – Joe (Stream)
HB478: Bruising – Think About Death (Stream)
HB479: Connor La Mue – Stargazer (Stream)
HB480: Pleistocene – Liberteen (Stream)
HB481: Dogbreth – Hoarder House (Stream)
HB482: Watch This: Vol. 69
HB483: Courtney Barnett – Kim’s Caravan (Music Video)
HB484: Left & Right – 5 Year Plan (Music Video)
HB485: Speedy Ortiz – The Graduates (Music Video)
HB486: Bent Denim – Good Night’s Sleep (Music Video)
HB487: Meat Wave – Erased (Stream, Live Video)
HB488: Titus Andronicus – Dimed Out (Lyric Video)
HB489: Midnight Reruns – Ain’t Gonna Find (Stream)
HB490: Watch This: Vol. 70
HB491: Meredith Graves – Took the Ghost to the Movies (Stream, Photos)
HB492: A Third of the Way: Full Streams, 2015
HB493: Joanna Gruesome – Peanut Butter (Album Review, Stream)
HB494: Watch This: Vol. 71
HB495: White Reaper – I Don’t Think She Cares (Stream)
HB496: Mean Creek – Forgotten Streets (Stream)
HB497: Young Jesus – Milo (Stream)
HB498: T. Hardy Morris – My Me (Stream)
HB499: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Line On You (Stream)

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