J&L Defer | Heartbreaking Bravery

September 1, 2016

Sat. Nite Duets – Attached to the Lamp (Stream)

satniteduets

Yesterday saw the release of memorable music videos from Cherry Glazerr (who nearly nabbed this post’s featured spot), Diners, Diamond Hands, Molly Burch, Headwaves, and Jenny Hval. A trio of full streams from the camps of Radar Eyes, Chris Farren, and J&L Defer tied everything up in a neat bow, providing a dash of energy in the process. While all of those releases are worth exhaustively exploring, this post’s feature spot was claimed with brash confidence by Sat. Nite Duets‘ exhilarating career highlight, “Attached to the Lamp”.

Heartbreaking Bravery was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of Air Guitar several months back and “Attached to the Lamp” has been in near-constant rotation since its initial play. From the song’s epic-ready intro onward, “Attached to the Lamp” cranks out an astonishing amount of genuinely great moments, never once slowing down or bothering to look back at the carnage left in its wake. The band’s lyrics have never been sharper and the guitar leads echo the most sweeping moments conjured up by the likes of Titus Andronicus and Diarrhea Planet at their very best, elevating them with the narrative’s ridiculously effective tongue-in-cheek humor.

“Attached to the Lamp” may come as a shock to the system for anyone who wrote the band off as a Pavement retread several years ago (an unfortunate tag that never really did what the band was doing any kind of justice) or anyone who was expecting something more along the lines of the excellent “TAFKA Salieri“. More than anything the band’s done in an already impressively storied career, “Attached to the Lamp” is a frantic, all-out blitz of a song that showcases a band with a serious amount of assurance in their identity.

Sat. Nite Duets are typically at their very best when they’re at their most unhinged and every second of “Attached to the Lamp” feels like a definitive example of that aspect of the band’s stylistic makeup. Tearing away at a breathless pace, the song winds up nearing the three minute mark but feels less than half as long (and more than twice as complete as most songs that run a similar length).

The band find an unteachable amount of joy in reveling in snark, expertly doling it out at a rapid pace in the song’s opening stanza:

I don’t wanna pick up the phone when it rings
‘Cause I know who it is they wanna talk about things
Oh yeah, I prefer the silence of nothing at all
Just the books on my shelf and the shit on my walls

The quips don’t let up from that point forward, including an absolutely perfect and absurdly clever stanza that retells the story of watching an opening act get picked up by his dad providing an unexpected twist with the repeated insistence that “it’s happening right now”, which paves the way for all kinds of painfully honest moments when the band takes this on tour. All of the sly lyrical moments ultimately culminate in an unforgettable final verse that abruptly switches gears from comedic distancing to open sincerity, providing “Attached to the Lamp” with one last grace note that ensures its status as one of 2016’s most outstanding moments.

Not a second of “Attached to the Lamp” is wasted and the band coaxes maximum effect out of every scintillating solo, turn of phrase, dynamic moment, and snare hit they can muster. Whether it’s the final bridge that finds the vocals dipping to match the sudden recession of intensity or the intuitive bends of the soaring main riff, Sat. Nite Duets seem hell-bent on making a mark that lasts. By the end of “Attached to the Lamp” one thing’s very clear: they have themselves one hell of a little motherfucking rock n’ roll band.

Listen to “Attached to the Lamp” below and pre-order Air Guitar from Father/Daughter here.

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August 25, 2016

Dirty Dishes – Lackluster (Music Video)

In the opening days of this week, there has been a bounty of impressive streams from the likes of Hot Shorts, Clearance, Johanna Warren, No Nets, The Glazzies, Phyllis Ophelia, Vexx, Black Thumb, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, No Age, Teenage Fanclub, Ulrika Spacek, Fond Han, Holy Sons, The Black Black, Wovenhand, Richard Edwards, Crying, Dan Edmonds, Orchin, Infinity Crush, Flock of Dimes, Sharon Van Etten, Delicate Steve, Computer Magic, Power Animal, Lowly, Miracle Sweepstakes, Lilac Daze, J&L Defer, John Travoltage, Smokey Brights, Elijah Ford, Brother Moses, Inner Oceans, and Slaughter Beach, Dog.

While all of those deserve all of the listens they’ll inevitably receive (and likely many more), this post’s featured spot falls to one of last year’s most intriguing breakout acts: Dirty Dishes. The project of Jenny Tuite, Dirty Dishes garnered a sizable amount of acclaim for the astonishing Guilty, a brooding record full of sharp-edged post-punk. More than a full year after its release, Guilty‘s retained a significant amount of bite, which winds up lending to the vitality of the recently released clip for “Lackluster”, one of the record’s many highlights.

“Lackluster” coaxes maximum impact out of a minimal setup. The majority of the video consists of psychedelic projection overlays that are intercut with footage of Tuite performing the song in front of that backdrop. In conjuring up an effectively eerie atmosphere — one that’s furthered by the decision to transition between straight-ahead shots and spliced-in close-up footage of the backdrop and what appear to be some outside sources — the clip manages to elevate the song (and vice versa).

Everything here, all of the subtle effects and edits, the song, the pacing, the dynamic approach of the structure itself, work in tandem to create something unforgettable and wholly hypnotic. It’s a masterclass in DIY artistry and a gripping reminder of Guilty‘s staggering power. Jump into the waters and get lost to the waves.

Watch “Lackluster” below and pick up Guilty here.

August 15, 2016

Clearance – Owner/Operator (Stream)

Since Friday, there have been notable streams from IAN SWEET, Fake Palms, American Wrestlers, Space Mountain, John K. Samson, Tanukichan, What Moon Things, Peace Be Still, Axis: Sova, Twist, The Veils, Quarterbacks, J&L Defer, Bon Iver, Cheshires, Black Thumb, CHUCK, Suntrodden, Makeout Point, Shapes In Calgary, Adam Torres, Dowsing, and Hiva Oa that have all appeared. On top of that, there were great music videos that came courtesy of Pleasure Leftists, Jake S-M, Breathe Panel, Emma Russack, Winter, Ka, and Pfarmers. Full streams that came via Bueno, Swimsuit Addition, Echo Courts, Big Bliss, The Channels, Cassels, BJ Barham, Dolfish, and Red Heat closed the haul of new material out in a memorable fashion.

All of those entries impressed on multiple levels but it was the latest offering from site favorites Clearance that earned this post’s featured position. “Owner/Operator” is the band’s second individual release — following the excellent “Are You Aware” — since their outstanding Rapid Rewards LP and sees the quartet continuing to find fascinating ways to balance a carefree atmosphere with urgent conviction. The song will be featured as part of their forthcoming Are You Aware 7″, which seems poised to stand as one 2016’s finest releases for that format.

A large part of those expectations can be accredited to the successes of “Owner/Operator”, a breezy and bristling three-and-a-half minute number that both refines and advances Clearance’s songwriting. From the structure to the dynamic nuances, there’s an uncommon liveliness that electrifies the proceedings, pushing a good song into the realms of greatness. Surprisingly memorable, weirdly powerful, and unashamedly casual, “Owner/Operator” is an unlikely slacker pop anthem for the basement punk crowd.

Listen to “Owner/Operator” below and pre-order Are You Aware from Tall Pat here.

July 13, 2016

Izzy True – Total Body Erasure (Stream)

Following a small gap in coverage (mostly due to travel and preliminary work on upcoming projects), there’s a lot of material to cover. Roughly five dozen excellent new tracks emerged over that course of time and a third of them will be presented throughout the initial round of review coverage. This particular list constitutes the middle third and contains excellent new numbers from J&L Defer, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Mothers, Bellows, Yohuna, Manuela, Black Marble, June Gloom, Yea-Ming and the Rumours, Juliana Wilson, Angelic Milk, Ubetcha, Creative Adult, Golden Suits, King Creosote, Sharks’ Teeth, Ryan Hemsworth, Ryley Walker, and Lizard Kisses.

The featured track belongs to A Year’s Worth of Memories alum Isabel Reidy’s project, Izzy True. After a dazzling EP, the project’s readying their debut full-length, Nope. Leading off the rollout campaign is the record’s brilliant lead-off single “Total Body Erasure”. Tapping into the swamp-punk, roots, Americana, folk, blues, and dirtied up rock n’ roll influences that made the Troll EP one of last year’s most compelling listens, “Total Body Erasure” also achieves the impressive feat of heightening the level of lyricism attached to the band by tackling a subject that manages to feel both intimate and political without one aspect ever outweighing the other.

It’s an astonishing piece of songwriting that suggests Reidy’s quickly becoming one of this generation’s finest young lyricists. If the rest of Nope can live up to the level set by its introductory piece, Izzy True has a legitimate shot at being one of 2016’s most notable breakout successes. All that’s left is to wait, see, and hit repeat on “Total Body Erasure” until that moment, during that moment, and well past that moment. Whichever way it shakes out ultimately won’t matter. What does matter is the strength of Reidy, Troll, and “Total Body Erasure”, which is more than enough to prove that we should all keep listening.

Listen to “Total Body Erasure” below and keep an eye on Don Giovanni for the pre-orders of Nope.

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