Great Deceivers | Heartbreaking Bravery

Ratboys – Elvis in the Freezer (Music Video)

In the past four days, a small handful of exceptional records have been released by artists like Tica Douglas, Jodi, Christopher Gold & the New Old Things, Taiwan Housing Project, Great Deceivers, Street Eaters, Show of Bedlam, Nick Pope, and Old Maybe. While all of those are worthy of celebration, this post’s feature fell to a different format: the music video. Ratboys‘ “Elvis in the Freezer” proved far too exceptional to let pass without a closer look.

Director Kenna Hynes was at the helm for the “Elvis in the Freezer” clip and Hynes’ deft touch ensures that the clip’s not only wildly engaging but both heartrending to the point of being emotionally shattering and just heartwarming enough to keep it vibrant. The crux of the story presented in the clip for “Elvis in the Freezer” is simple: a cat dies and a good friend comes to console its owner. What’s impressive is the way Hynes frames this story, utilizing a variety of effects to heighten each emotional beat. From the slo-mo reversals of the opening sequence all the way through the clever Julia Steiner (Ratboys’ guitarist/vocalist and principal songwriter) reveal.

As the clip works its way through each new movement, the song lends the sequences some additional dramatic heft. “Elvis in the Freezer” is the type of track that lets anyone paying attention to Ratboys know that the band’s evolving in increasingly successful ways, sharpening their strengths and injecting a greater sense of ambition into their work. Here, the song works wonders as the soundtrack to a familiar, everyday story that’s undoubtedly struck a major cord with an array of viewers. Both the song and the clip are heartfelt, bittersweet, and memorable pieces of work that deserve to be remembered. Thankfully, “Elvis in the Freezer” is very hard to shake.

Watch “Elvis in the Frezzer” below and pre-order GN from Topshelf here.

2016: The First Two Months (Full Streams)

Now that the songs have, by and large, been brought up to the present release cycle, it only seemed fitting to turn the attention towards some of 2016’s strongest records. Since records are more time-consuming than individual songs, none of them will be featured individually in the next week. However, all of the records below are more than worthy of investment. A small handful of these even have a shot of being expanded on at the end of the year. For now, though, I’ll simply provide another list for exploration. Once again, there’s absolutely no way these can be listened to in one sitting so it may be best to just bookmark the page and return at will. From demo debuts of solo projects (Potty Mouth‘s Aberdeen Weems) to triumphant returns (Jawbreaker Reunion, photographed above) to fascinating splits (Great Thunder and Radiator Hospital) to outstanding compilations, there’s a lot to discover. Dive in below and find some new bands worth following.

Jawbreaker Reunion – Haha and then What 😉 || Margaret Glaspy – You and I b/w Somebody to Anybody || Purling Hiss – Something || Kal Marks – Life Is Alright, Everybody Dies || Two Inch Astronaut – Personal Life || Aberdeen – Blue Lemon Demos || ROMP – Departure From Venus || Lucy Dacus – No Burden || Swim Team – Swim Team || Rita Fishbone – Spilt Milk || Hothead – Hothead || Sioux Falls – Rot Forever || Past Life – EP I || Abi Reimold – Wriggling || Nice Try – Nice Try || Krafftmalerei Plagiat || Lawndry – EP || Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk – Burritos || Mal Devisa – Kiid || Kane Strang – Blue Cheese || Big Ups – Before A Million Universes || Årabrot – The Gospel || Michael Nau – Mowing || Looks Like Mountains – Quick, Before We’re All Dead! || High Waisted – On Ludlow || Sin Kitty – Softer || Rafter – A Sploded Battery || Candy – Azure || Baklaava – Dane On