Katy Goodman | Heartbreaking Bravery

June 15, 2014

La Sera – Fall In Place (Music Video)

La Sera’s Hour of the Dawn asounds like summer. It’s also the best album Katy Goodman (ex-Vivan Girls, All Saints Day) has ever crafted. A big part of this is thanks to the explosive fretwork that comes courtesy of new guitarist Todd Wisenbaker, which helps lend the record quite a bit of an explosiveness. Every track on the record is a vibrant little triumph that stays just understated enough to avoid tipping over into grandiosity. One of the best examples of this is “Fall In Place”, a song that boasts an incredibly sweet chorus and keeps itself grounded with some astoundingly warm verses. Actually, come to think of it, warmth may be the record’s defining characteristic; the tones, the atmosphere, the arrangements, and the delivery- all of it feels welcoming and familiar. In that respect, “Fall In Place” may be Hour of the Dawn‘s defining song and the video matches it perfectly. The Michael Erik Nikolla-directed clip consists of nothing more than Goodman and Wisenbaker walking down a closed-off street with their dog and a crew that consistently switches out Wisenbaker’s guitar(s), it’s decidedly more slice-of-life than Big Moment- and it’s all the better for it.

Watch “Fall In Place” below and take a long walk in the sun at the next available opportunity.

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March 30, 2014

First Quarter Finish (Mixtape)

Well, Heartbreaking Bravery’s another 50 posts in, which means that it’s time for another mixtape- and the timing couldn’t be any better. As April springs forth, a new quarter begins and leaves the first part of the year behind, opening it up for examination. First Quarter Finish is a testament to the the startling strength of 2014’s first three months and is largely composed of music that’s been featured on this site. Perfect Pussy‘s “Driver” kicks things off in a typically frenzied fashion, reflecting the purpose of this collection as acutely as possible. Make no mistake, this is a batch of songs that traffic in very high intensity even in their quietest moments.

From tour-only tapes to standout cuts off early Album of the Year contenders like Burn Your Fire for No Witness, Here and Nowhere Else, and Rooms of the House to eerily hypnotic moments, deranged apathetic insanity, and a very long list of promising glimpses at upcoming records, it’s truly been a hell of a start and deserves celebration. Listen to the sounds of that celebration below (if the player is not appearing onscreen, it can also be accessed here).

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TRACKLIST

1. Perfect Pussy – Driver
2. La Sera – Losing to the Dark
3. Cheap Girls – Knock Me Down
4. Archie Powell & the Exports – Everything’s Fucked
5. Crow Bait – 83
6. Big Air – Cemetery With A View
7. PAWS – Tongues
8. Brain F≠ – Sicks
9. Antarctigo Vespucci – I’m Giving Up On U2
10. Playlounge – Waves and Waves and Waves
11. Vertical Scratchers – Memory Shards
12. Angel Olsen – Forgiven/Forgotten
13. Silence Dogood – Chairman of the Bored
14. Priests – Right Wing
15. Green Dreams – Eye Contact
16. Fucked Up – Paper the House
17. Creepoid – Baptism
18. La Dispute – Woman (in Mirror)
19. Sleep Party People – In Another World
20. Odonis Odonis – Order in the Court
21. PILE – Special Snowflakes
22. Young Widows – King Sol
23. Protomartyr – Scum, Rise!
24. Technicolor Teeth – Tomb
25. Cloud Nothings – I’m Not Part of Me

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March 5, 2014

La Sera – Losing to the Dark (Stream)

Well, it happened. Vivian Girls called it quits and each respective member now has the freedom to throw themselves into their other projects to a more complete extent than they could have while the band was still active. Of all those projects, Katy Goodman’s solo venture, La Sera, has been the most consistently captivating over the past few years. La Sera’s last record, 2011’s Sees the Light, hinted at a darker sound with contained noir-punk moments like “Drive On”- but nothing provided full preparation for something like “Losing to the Dark”.

Goodman’s lyrical stock and trade leading up to this point has largely relied on either joy or apathy, “Losing to the Dark” shifts that focus to unbridled anger. In accordance with that anger, in the Hour of the Dawn lead-off single she’s crafted a song that winds up being a perfect combination of all her previous works strongest elements. There’s recklessness, restlessness, and a humanizing touch of lightness to be found in both the melody and overall composition. A guitar cuts in and out of a frantic solo, as if the hands of whoever was controlling it were lit on fire. All of it comes together in the most immediate way imaginable, stopping the listener dead in their tracks. There couldn’t have been a more perfect time for the arrival of “Losing to the Dark”, as it does really feel as if Goodman’s clawing her way out of Vivian Girls’ graves and setting a path for vengeance. If all of Hour of the Dawn winds up being this good, there may be a surprise album of the year contender in the works.

Listen to “Losing to the Dark” below.