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Tag: Hi-Five

April 1, 2016

Ladada – Hi Five (EP Premiere)

ladada

While anyone that’s been following along with this site’s recent coverage can attest to 2016’s early strength, there have only been a small handful of releases to immediately jump out and make their mark. Ladada’s Hi Five EP is one of those releases. Easily one of the best EP’s I’ve had the fortune of receiving in 2016, I’m thrilled to be hosting its exclusive premiere here on Heartbreaking Bravery.

Nearly every hallmark of the kind of songs that are regularly featured on this site are present in Hi Five: a vicious marriage of basement pop and lo-fi punk, subtle psych flourishes, nuanced songwriting, a palpable sense of energy, and strong dynamic work. Hell, all of that’s evident in “New Psych”, the blistering lead-off track, alone. “New Psych” was Hi Five‘s pull track and, thankfully, was no misnomer. Everything that follows on Hi Five sees Ladada in full-blown demolition mode, ready to unleash a considerable amount of unchecked aggression at a moment’s notice without ever losing its balance.

A handful of intriguing influences permeate Hi Five and lend it a surprising amount of additional intrigue while ensuring its longevity by separating both the release and the band from their peers. Ladada have latched onto something relatively intangible with Hi Five that both advances their identity and increases their appeal. Every track boasts a casual confidence and self-assuredness that most acts operating within the confines of punk-inflected basement pop can only hope to reach. From the contained atmospherics of “Old Wave” to the sprightly, surf-indebted riffing that drives “Roll Back” to the nearly-instrumental “Tappa”, Ladada seems to be completely in control of every aspect of their music.

Song after song, hook after hook, Hi Five sees Ladada proving themselves to be a serious force. As a standalone EP, it’s a revitalizing piece of music. As part of the band’s discography, it’s undoubtedly positioned itself as a calling card for years to come. Everything about Hi Five works- and it works exceptionally well. Whether it’s the half-paranoid lyrics, the scintillating guitar work, or the rhythm section’s tendencies to veer off into near-tribal territory, Hi Five finds myriad ways to stake out its position as a standout release. One of 2016’s first truly great releases, Josiah Schlater’s project has hit its stride and waltzed away with a smile.

Listen to the exclusive stream of Hi Five below and order the double EP — it comes packaged with the band’s impressive self-titled EP  —  from Gold Robot Records here.

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February 3, 2014

Saintseneca – Happy Alone (Music Video)

Between the streaming of Terrestrials the behemoth of a collaborative album between Sunn O))) and Ulver, the announcement of a Bad Banana reunion show, John Dwyer releasing his first material post-Oh Sees hiatus, Big Air publicly unveiling their excellent debut tape, Buds, Fear of Men releasing a very promising sneak peek of their upcoming debut full-length Loom, a surprisingly punchy new track entitled “Any Wonder” from Yellow Ostrich, Mary Timony’s newest project, Ex Hex, offering up a hard-charging sample of their upcoming Merge debut, the cleverly constructed first music video to come out of the pairing of Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws and Julianna Hatfield for their Minor Alps project, an NPR Tiny Desk Session from The Pixies, the energetic black-and-white music video premiere of The Orwells’ “The Righteous One“, a live performance video of an all-acoustic run through of upcoming Drive-By Truckers track “Made Up English Oceans“, and Angel Olsen‘s absolutely stunning smoky, seductively noir-ish music video for upcoming Burn Your Fire for No Witness track “Hi-Five“, it’s been one hell of a Monday. Then, to top it all off, there’s the video that managed to edge out all of this to become today’s focus piece; Saintseneca‘s extraordinary clip for upcoming Dark Arc track “Happy Alone”.

Dark Arc, at this point easily one of the year’s most anticipated albums, should officially herald the arrival of Saintseneca, a band that was previously best known for being a conglomeration of two excellent Ohio basement punk bands; All Dogs and The Sidekicks. They’ve been maintaining an entrancing (and incredibly effective) rollout campaign for Dark Arc, their Anti- records debut, and seem poised to continue rewarding the investment of anyone who’s paying attention. “Happy Alone” has officially elevated their art form even further. The Christopher Good clip is clearly indebted to a vast array of arthouse influences and features stunning handheld cinematography, a gorgeous (magic hour-infused) color palette, inspired editing, yet another great song from the band, and band member Zac Little’s head in a giant bubble as he makes his way through everyday tasks.

It’s borderline dadaism and dips in and out of some Warhol-level pop art as it goes along to the most weirdly entrancing effect. It works as a surface level piece and as a light commentary on the nature of loneliness. There’s really absolutely no reason for any of it to add up to the inexplicably powerful whole that it is but it manages to do that and a little more. On its own, “Happy Alone” is definitive enough to act as a perfect introductory piece to the uninitiated while being singular enough to plausibly rank as one of the bands most important moments in their continuing evolution during this much-deserved groundswell of success. Above all else, though, it’s just a beautiful piece of art. That’s something that will always be worth rewarding. Watch it below.

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