Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: In Waves

October 27, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 148

Continuing on with the two-part installment, The Let’s Go, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, The Luyas, C Duncan, The Growlers, Warpaint, Faux Furs, Flesh Panthers, Ego, Courtney Marie Andrews, Adam Torres, Slow Club, Oh Pep!, Pity Sex, Northcote, Bec Sandridge, and Brooke Sharkey all put forth valiant efforts in last week’s crop of exceptional live videos. With the strength of those acting as an indicator, the merit of the five featured clips shouldn’t be questioned. A handful of series staples, a gorgeous and inventive new clip, and an excellent video from a series that’s quickly emerged as a new favorite constitute the spotlighted entries for the 148th installment of Watch This. So, as always, lean in, block out all the distractions, get studios, and Watch This.

1. Margaret Glaspy – You & I + Emotions and Math (Skype)

A biting wit, a commanding performance style, and tremendous songwriting have made Margaret Glaspy one of the most featured artists on this series over the past few months. While the selections here — “You & I” and “Emotions and Math” may be familiar, they’re still at the root of powerful performances. Week in and week out, Glaspy has proven to be a formidable talent. This abbreviated session’s no exception.

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2. Lucy Dacus (La Blogotheque)

Lucy Dacus, another artist who made a habit of appearing on this series over the past several months, gets the La Blogotheque treatment in this characteristically gorgeous clip. Performing a trio of songs — including 2015 standout “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” — Dacus is never anything less than mesmerizing. Framed by a series of lived-in Manhattan locations, the entire affair breathes effortlessly and casts a tantalizing spell all of its own.

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3. Rhea – 3am (Boxfish Sessions)

As Cuttlefish Collective’s Boxfish Sessions project continues, their offerings seem to get more impressive. While their gold standard remains Long Neck‘s breathtaking showcase that was featured in Watch This: Vol. 143, this entry from Rhea’s not far behind. An entrancing performance of a brilliant song from an intriguing emerging artist, “3am” is comprised of a little bit of everything that this site was built to celebrate. Don’t let lack of familiarity prevent a look; this is exceptional work.

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4. Angel Olsen – Give It Up (BBC)

My Woman will likely be showing up a lot as year-end lists start rolling out but that level of excessive praise is deserved. Angel Olsen delivered one hell of an album just last month and has been riding a wave of critical and commercial success in the wake of that release. Instead of just coasting, the songwriter’s turning in incredibly committed performances that not only retain but elevate the impressive bite that informed Burn Your Fire For No Witness. BBC’s Radio 6 studio was recently lit up by a charged performance of one of My Woman‘s many highlights, “Give It Up”, and finds the band sounding locked in and ready for anything.

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5. Glen Hansard – Stay the Road (Nooks & Crannies)

Last year Glen Hansard delivered one of the most beautiful clips to ever be featured on this series in the painfully gorgeous “McCormack’s Wall” and has finally come through with what feels like a natural successor in “Stay the Road”. Shot in, around, and outside of the legendary Sydney Opera House, the tenderly-shot black-and-white clip tracks Hansard making the most of the venues architecture and delivering a heartfelt rendition of “Stay the Road”. A beautifully constructed clip, it’s a very capable demonstration of what can be accomplished while working within the confines of a very niche medium. It’s a masterful piece of multimedia artistry and it more than deserves a spot on this list.

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August 3, 2016

Minor Victories – Cogs (Music Video)

minor victories

Monday and Tuesday have all but come and gone, gifting us great new tracks from Young Jesus, The Regrettes, Purling Hiss, Drive-By Truckers, Sat. Nite Duets, Hoops, Cheena, Cass McCombs, Virgin of the Birds, Morgan Delt, The Pooches, Mutts, Tall Heights, and Indira Valey. Sweetening the deal were eye-catching music videos courtesy of Cara dal Forno, Boogarins, Numerators, AJJ, Slow Club, and Soto Voce. Rounding everything out was a surprisingly formidable slate of full streams belonging to artists like Stove, Dogbreth, Field Mouse, Good Morning TV, Russian Circles, Restorations, Super Defense, Soul Low, Daniel Kerr, Lungbutter, and Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band.

All of the above links contained strong material but none of those titles were as legitimately breathtaking as Minor Victories‘ latest music video, “Cogs”. The band’s been steadily revealing some of the most captivating music videos of 2016 by embracing the virtue of restraint. The best of those — the strangely moving clip for “Folk Arp” — saw them perfecting the art of the static shot, which had defined their prior two clips (“Breaking My Light” and “A Hundred Ropes“).

Following the conclusion of that static shot trilogy, the band’s turned their attention to motion. “Cogs”, which was released Monday, hinges on an exceptionally acute sense of fluidity. Presented once again through a crisp black and white, “Cogs” opens on a slow-panning shot of seemingly empty woods. Before long, a figure enters the frame at full sprint, though the video never wavers in its commitment to slow motion, unfolding at a pace that considerably heightens the tension. It’s an expertly staged trick, allowing the serenity of the setting to take on sinister undertones.

As “Cogs” goes through the motions, the central figure’s pulled tighter to the lens and some disconcerting imagery comes into play. The person assumed to be the protagonist of “Cogs” is a balding man, dressed in a hospital gown, whose movement grows more frantic and erratic with each step. It imbues “Cogs” with a sense of mystery that elevates the tension even further, prompting a series of questions that will go largely unanswered.

One of those question does find an answer at around the halfway mark as “Cogs” expertly stages the man’s exit from frame with the entrance of a figure in a poncho. Its imagery that echoes Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster and winds up benefiting from the association. The similarities serve to expand the scope of the questioning surrounding the contained narrative of “Cogs”, while offering an outcome that similarly manages to become both definitive on a small scale and ambiguous on a much larger one.

Swirling around everything is the bruising maelstrom of “Cogs” itself, a barbed, punishing song that’s one of the band’s most tenacious offerings. Surging forward with a euphoric sense of clarity and purpose, “Cogs” injects its visual accompaniment with so much additional urgency that the clip feels as if its about to come to life. It’s a staggering accomplishment that’s utterly transfixing through every frame, from its unassuming opening to its startling grand finale. In short: it’s a masterpiece.

Watch “Cogs” below and pick up Minor Victories from Fat Possum here.

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