Gap Dream | Heartbreaking Bravery

June 14, 2016

Dentist – Joel (Stream)

Monday tends to be one of the more eclectic release days for standalone streams and today proved to be no different. Worthwhile material emerged from just about every genre this site typically covers and continued to stretch some boundaries. The following artists all had songs that deserved to be heard: Consilience, Jackal Onasis, Gap Dream, Sweat, Scarlett Saunders, Cheena, Possible Humans, Ranch Ghost, Above Top Secret, and The Meltaways. In addition to those releases, a small handful of notable music videos from angelic milk, Wireheads, Haley Bonar, Preoccupations, and Ali Beleitc also saw the light of day.

Dentist’s surf-tinged “Joel” wound up securing the feature spot by virtue of sheer strength. Opening up on a foreboding riff and staccato chord stabs awash in reverb, “Joel” sets an intriguing — and oddly compelling — tone at its onset. Slowly, the guitar fades and gives way to a creeping piano figure that injects the song with an eerie Southern Gothic sensibility. Then, after a brief rest, the song snaps into a sugary overdrive that kicks the energy up from 15 to 80 in an instant.

Following the switch, Dentist falls comfortably into a groove that operates as a pastiche of pop influences from decades long gone. It’s a perfect transition that illustrates the band’s understanding of their craft, suggesting that Dentist’s forthcoming Ceilings may be one of 2016’s most unexpected joys. Apart from the invigorating dynamic shifts of “Joel”, the song’s vibrant second act endearingly instills the song with a surplus of giddy joy. “Joel” ultimately goes from bleakly intimidating to openly welcoming, leaving one hell of an imprint in the process.

It’s another entry in an already-long string of unlikely summer anthem candidates, carefree and just about perfect.

Listen to “Joel” below and pre-order Ceilings from Little Dickman here.

[Editor’s Note: The beginning of coverage in 2016 was an extremely hectic time and one odd quirk of this site was overlooked. That particular oversight will be amended in this post, which precedes the resumption of posting the 100 immediately preceding entries in the continuously-expanding Heartbreaking Bravery catalog of posts. A few of the image links are broken and some of the galleries are missing but all of them will eventually make the migration to Heartbreaking Bravery’s flickr. Keep an eye out.]

To access posts 700-799, click on the links listed below.

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February 6, 2014

Heartbreaking Bravery: A Retrospective Introduction

When Heartbreaking Bravery started, it was originally intended to be a place where film and music found equal footing. Now, 100 days and 100 posts later, it’s clear that somewhere along the line it established an identity firmly based on the music side of things. There are going to be a few changes made to the site in the upcoming year, one of them will be a section devoted to the discussion of film. New features will start and old features will be kept running. A few of the first updates were made earlier today. In addition to having its own domain, Heartbreaking Bravery now officially has homes on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Look for extra content, to varying degrees, on all three platforms.

For those just joining in or becoming aware of Heartbreaking Bravery’s existence, there are two things to ease into the familiarization process. One’s a playlist that features the kind of music that’s most regularly featured, which can be found below. Below that, active hyperlinks for the first 99 articles. Happy listening.

There are 25 bands and songs in this playlist. A few have received coverage from Heartbreaking Bravery, another few should have, and a fair few were part of what inspired its very existence. All of these bands mean something to this place and hopefully they’ll mean just as much, if not more, to whoever comes across them.

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HB001: Audacity – Hole in the Sky (Music Video)
HB002: Swearin’ – Surfing Strange (Album Review)
HB003: Albert Hammond Jr – Carnal Cruise (Music Video)
HB004: PUP – PUP (Album Review)
HB005: Perfect Pussy – I have lost all desire for feeling (EP Review)
HB006: All Dogs – 7″ (Review)
HB007: Radioactivity – Radioactivity (Album Review)
HB008: A Look at Burger Records and the Longevity of the Cassette Tape
HB009: La Luz Suffer Major Setbacks in Semi-truck Collision
HB010: Midwives – EP (Review)
HB011: Pkew Pkew Pkew (gunshots) – Glory Days (Music Video)
HB012: Midnight Reruns’ Debut LP Streaming on Punknews
HB013: Nobunny at the Frequency – 11/11/13 (Live Review)
HB014: Angel Olsen – Forgiven/Forgotten (Music Video)
HB015: Polvo – Light, Raking (Music Video)
HB016: Split Feet – Fall Demo 2013 (Review)
HB017: Big Eyes – The Sun Still Shines (Music Video)
HB018: INTERVIEW: Meredith Graves (Perfect Pussy)
HB019: Great Thunder – Groovy Kinda Love (Album Review)
HB020: Gap Dream – Shine Your Light (Music Video)
HB021: Arcade Fire – Afterlife (Music Video)
HB022: Vaadat Charigim – Odisea (Music Video)
HB023: On the Up: Acid Fast
HB024: Watch This: Vol. 1
HB025: Va°nna Inget – Inga fra°gor Inga svar (Music Video)
HB026: Benny the Jet Rodriguez – Run. (Music Video)
HB027: Rookie Streams the Beyond Inversion Comp
HB028: On the Up: Meat Wave
HB029: Popstrangers – Rats in the Palm Trees (Music Video)
HB030: Allison Weiss – Wait for Me (Music Video)
HB031: Watch This: Vol. 2
HB032: Beyond Inversion Available at Bandcamp
HB033: Burger Releases MCII on Cassette
HB034: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Higgs Boson Blues (Music Video)
HB035: Vaadat Charigim – Kezef Al Hamayim (Music Video)
HB036: Angel Olsen – Forgiven/Forgotten (Official Music Video)
HB037: Globelamp – Star Dust (EP Review)
HB038: Watch This: Vol. 3
HB039: Saintseneca – Visions (Music Video)
HB040: Sunn O))) & Ulver Preview Collaborative LP
HB041: Burger Streams Velvet Underground Tribute Compilation
HB042: The Thermals Release Online Video Game
HB043: Tokyo Police Club – Argentina (Parts I, II, & III) (Music Video)
HB044: The Dead Weather Unleash Killer New Single
HB045: Majical Cloudz – Savage (Music Video)
HB046: On the Up: Nervosas
HB047: Watch This: Vol. 4
HB048: Burger to Release Night Drives Debut
HB049: AV Club Premieres Acid Fast’s “Tangle”
HB050: Home for the Holidays & A Guide to Surviving (Mixtape)
HB051: Burger Streams Massive Holiday Mix
HB052: Come Back Soon
HB053: Vertical Scratchers – These Plains (Stream)
HB054: Watch This: Vol. 5
HB055: The Flaming Lips’ Christmas on Mars (Film Stream)
HB056: On the Up: Tenement
HB057: Happy Holidays (Video Playlist)
Hb058: Yuck – Somewhere (Music Video)
HB059: The Flaming Lips’ 1983 2nd Cassette Demo (Stream)
HB060: 2013: A Video Review
HB061: Watch This: Vol. 6
HB062: RIP: Benjamin Curtis (Secret Machines, School of Seven Bells)
HB063: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Wig Out at Jagbag’s (Stream)
HB064: 2013: A Photography Review
HB065: The Hussy – EZ/PZ (Stream)
HB066: Fire Retarded – Meat Stairs (Stream)
HB067: Mutts and Buffalo Moon Release Music Videos, Get People Dancing
HB068: Watch This: Vol. 7
HB069: Cass McCombs – Big Wheel (Music Video)
HB070: On the Up: Technicolor Teeth
HB071: 25 Best Demo’s, EP’s, 7″ Singles, and Compilations of 2013
HB072: Mozes & the Firstborn – Skinny Girl (Music Video)
HB073: Protomartyr – Rise, Scum! (Stream)
HB074: Nothing – Guilty of Everything (Trailer)
HB075: Watch This: Vol. 8
HB076: Liars – Mess On A Mission (Stream)
HB077: Big Air – Cemetery With A View (Song Premiere)
HB078: Perfect Pussy – Driver (Stream)
HB079: Tweens – Be Mean (Stream)
HB080: Cloud Nothings Preview New Record in Brooklyn (Stream)
HB081: Golden Animals – Most My Time (Music Video)
HB082: Watch This: Vol. 9
HB083: Eagulls – Possessed (Stream)
HB084: Sneak Peek: Failures’ Union, Neighborhood Brats, Corrections (Streams)
HB085: Perfect Pussy at Schubas Tavern – 1/22/14 (Live Review)
HB086: DTCV – Alpha Waves in a Gelatinous Conductor (Music Video)
HB087: PILE – Special Snowflakes (Stream)
HB088: Watch This: Vol. 10
HB089: Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me (Stream)
HB090: Adam Widener – Laughter on Your Heels I’ll Follow (Music Video)
HB091: Potty Mouth – Black and Studs (Music Video)
HB092: Lemuria – Oahu, Hawaii (Music Video)
HB093: Screaming Females at Cactus Club – 1/29/14 (Live Review)
HB094: together PANGEA – Offer (Music Vide0)
HB095: The Trucks – Space Famous (Demo Review)
HB096: Watch This: Vol. 11
HB097: Saintseneca – Happy Alone (Music Video)
HB098: Vaadat Charigim – Ein Nehama Ladoachim (Music Video)
HB099: The Sleepwalkers – It’s A Good Day to Watch the World Go By (Stream)

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December 11, 2013

Burger Streams Velvet Underground Tribute Compilation

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Burger Records, no strangers to coverage on this site, have gone ahead with their zillionth noteworthy item this year; a full stream of their just-released tribute to Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat . While the release does cover all six tracks, it’s no quick cash-grab. Each track is packed to the gills with loving admiration and it’s clear a lot of care went into its making. Only one of the bands here turns in a completely faithful cover, while the majority turn in loving appropriations that suit their respective sounds. Each track and approach culminates in an unflinchingly honest and perfectly-crafted tribute piece.

Of the six tracks, the clear standout seems to be from Netherlands punks Mozes & the Firstborn. Their cover of “Lady Godiva’s Operation” continues an unlikely winning streak the band kicked off earlier this year with the release of their outrageously catchy self-titled record. “Lady Godiva’s Operation” is far from the only reason to listen to this tribute compilation, though.

All of this release is worthwhile, with each band taking memorable turns in a time of remembrance. From Natural Child to Gap Dream, Burger’s roster is well-represented. Curtis Harding, The Memories, and Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel are the three bands round out Burger’s cast for this release. Everything on display here comes together and points to one unshakable fact; Lou Reed may be gone but his legacy won’t be forgotten.

Listen to Burger’s tribute below and purchase it from the label here.

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November 20, 2013

Gap Dream – Shine Your Light (Music Video)

Burger Records is back at it again. After an absurdly huge 2013, they’ve still got a few aces hidden away. One of those is most certainly Gap Dream’s Shine Your Light, which is currently streaming over at Pitchfork Advance. Shortly after that stream went live the band unveiled a weirdly compelling music video for the title track that features an outstanding performance from Mr. Show‘s John Ennis as a hard-drinking detective who stumbles across an alien abduction plot. The Jonny Look-directed clip’s infused with the kind of psychedelic flourishes that permeate Gap Dream’s music, providing a level playing field where both audio and video complement each other to perfection. If nothing else, watch it for the outstanding facial expression at the 2:53 mark.

Stream the record (which is some of Gap Dream’s strongest work) by clicking the link to Pitchfork Advance in the above paragraph and watch the noir-inflected sci-fi video for “Shine Your Light” below. Pre-orders for Shine Your Light are available from Burger Records and the record’s available in several formats including a glow in the dark LP. Highly recommended.

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Tag: Gap Dream