KEXP | Heartbreaking Bravery

May 31, 2016

Watch This: Resuscitations, Pt. II

After a large handful of extended posts, Watch This will be back to its weekly schedule following this collection. Watch This has been an essential part of Heartbreaking Bravery since its first era as its very foundations are rooted in a philosophy that complements this space’s mission statement. They’re frequently ignored despite their astonishing level of artistry and are rarely featured in any meaningful way on any other forum. Live documentation is deeply important as it creates an immediate visual aid for a multifaceted chapter of history (and specifically the intersections that occur between venues/locations and artists).

Once again, 25 bands are featured in the below packet. Among these videos are performances that run the gamut from explosive covers (Meat Wave tackling Elliott Smith, Tacocat taking on Katy Perry), head-turning solo performances (Declan McKenna), confident experimentation (Operators, Fresh Snow, Blasteroid), and adrenaline-fueled thrill rides (Audacity, PWR BTTM, Mike Krol), among several other performance modes. Everything on display in this collection is worth studying, whether it’s the fillmmaking aspect or the performances themselves. There’s a lot to ingest so, as always, sit up straight, adjust the volume, get settled, and Watch This.

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1. Audacity – Dirty Boy (BreakThruRadio)
2. PWR BTTM – Ugly Cherries (Radio K)
3. Meat Wave – Speed Trials (SideOneDummy)
4. Stephen Steinbrink – Absent Mind (Little Elephant)
5. Moving Panoramas – Radar (BreakThruRadio)
6. David Bazan – Both Hands (KEXP)
7. The Zolas – Swooner (Light Organ)
8. Chris Bathgate – Nicosia (Radio K)
9. Hype – Last Man On Earth (DZ Records)
10. Operators – Space Needle (WFUV)
11. DIIE – Miracles & Magic Are Real (Radio K)
12. The So So Glos – Dancing Industry (Little Elephant)
13. Declan McKenna – Brazil (Conan)
14. Fresh Snow – Your Thirst For Magic Has Been Quenched By Death! (Exclaim!)
15. Mike Krol – This Is The News (KINK)
16. Tacocat – Roar (The AV Club)
17. The Kills – Tape Song (KCRW)
18. Guerilla Toss – Eraser Stargazer Forever (BreakThruRadio)
19. Blasteroid – Triple D (VHS Sessions)
20. GoGoPenguin – Branches Break (WFUV)
21. Saintseneca – How Many Blankets Are In The World (WXPN)
22. Murder By Death – Foxglove (Paste)
23. Nada Surf – Friend Hospital (World Cafe)
24. Furnsss – Roll With It (VHS Sessions)
25. Lee Fields – Don’t Leave Me This Way (KDHX)

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May 31, 2016

Watch This: Resuscitations, Pt. I

Two Watch This posts will run tonight, bringing the series back up to the current release cycle. After more than 100 entries and several long-form packages, Watch This has only managed to expand in both scope and range. The underlying principle remains steadfast: this is a project to celebrate the very best in live performance video, one of the most under-recognized and under-appreciated multimedia art forms in the music and film world. An intense amount of craft is required to make a live video memorable (or, failing that craft, a formidable level of personality) and some of the people who are brave enough to make entries turn in unforgettable work.

Below are 25 great performances from 25 artists who are worth exploring. Whether it’s PUP tearing through the strongest opening 1-2 punch any record’s boasted this year, Courtney Barnett putting her heart into a gentle solo rendition of “Depreston“, Midnight Reruns unveiling a new song, or Small Houses putting a warm spin on a Weakerthans classic, there are a lot of moments to appreciate embedded into this compilation. Old favorites and emerging acts found themselves posited as the centerpiece(s) of artful documentation and this installment of Watch This is a presentation of those documents. So, as always, turn up the volume, calm down, lean in, and Watch This.

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1. Summer Cannibals – Go Home (KEXP)
2. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said (The Current)
3. Meat Wave – Delusion Moon (Ratio Beerworks)
4. Small Houses – Watermark (Onder Ivloed)
5. PUP – If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will + DVP (Stiegl)
6. Bird Laww – In My Sleep (Public Radio /\)
7. The Black Angels – Better Off Alone (Jam in the Van)
8. Mise En Scene – Show Me You’re Real (BreakThruRadio)
9. Wolf Solent – Countless Minds (Sea Records)
10. Courtney Barnett – Depreston (The Current)
11. The Coathangers – Make It Right (Paste)
12. Midnight Reruns – Warm Days (Set List)
13. Kevin Morby – Singing Saw + Doroth (The Daily Indie)
14. Katie Von Schleicher (Jenn Harrington)
15. Emily Yacina – Soft Stuff (This Has Got To Stop)
16. Bob Mould – Voices In My Head (Sound Opinions)
17. Palehound – Healthier Folk (Radio K)
18. Hemming – All I Want (Weathervane)
19. Odio Paris – En Junio (BalconyTV)
20. Mike Krol – Neighborhood Watch (Radio K)
21. Journalism – Watching & Waiting (BreakThruRadio)
22. David Bazan – Oblivion (Little Elephant)
23. Murder By Death – Shiola (Paste)
24. Lucy Dacus – Green Eyes, Red Face (BreakThruRadio)
25. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Clean Slate (3RRR)

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May 28, 2016

Watch This: A Full Session of Full Sessions

As was mentioned in the last post to run on this site, Watch This — the (usually) weekly series celebrating the very best in newly-released live video presentation — experienced an extended hiatus in the wake of incessant traveling and the frantic catch-up mode that traveling necessitated. Over the course of the next week, there’ll be a small handful of collections to get the series back on track.

The collection below contains 25 of the best full sessions released over the past month and a half. KEXP, Audiotree, and NPR (understandably) dominate the selections as they’re all operating at a gold standard level for full session presentation. The final result is a compilation that features an arsenal of site favorites and nears the 11 hour mark in running time. To that end, it’s likely best viewed in small bursts so a page bookmark is recommended. Everything, in true Watch This fashion, is worth seeing (and hearing). So, as always, sit up straight, adjust the settings to your preference, and Watch This.

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1. Lucy Dacus (Audiotree)
2. Palehound (NPR)
3. Eleanor Friedberger (KEXP)
4. Seratones (NPR)
5. And the Kids (Audiotree)
6. Florist (NPR)
7. Sunflower Bean (KEXP)
8. Mall Walk (KEXP)
9. PWR BTTM (TCGS)
10. Hockey Dad (3voor12)
11. Diarrhea Planet (KEXP)
12. Blue Crime (3voor12)
13. Bob Mould (KEXP)
14. Yuck (KEXP)
15. Car Seat Headrest (KEXP)
16. Quilt (KEXP)
17. Deep Sea Diver (KEXP)
18. Acid Dad (Audiotree)
19. The Ergs! (TCGS)
20. Pinegrove (Audiotree)
21. Operators (KEXP)
22. Strand of Oaks (KEXP)
23. Julien Baker (Amoeba)
24. Benjamin Clementine (NPR)
25. Jason Isbell (Front Row)

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April 10, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 120

After several recaps, best-of features, and weeks of waiting, Watch This returns to its standard weekly installments. A large handful of memorable videos have managed to accrue during the course of the past week. Kississippi, The Cave Singers, The Belvederes, Lomelda, The Districts, Foxing, Cherry, The Zolas (x2), Choir Vandals, Fraternal Twin, Bayonne, Sun Club (x2), Jitters, 4th Curtis, Tomber Lever, Otis the Destroyer, Sounds Del Mar, Holy Wave, Shearwater, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Audacity, and The Greeting Committee all had individual efforts that merited multiple looks. Ultimately, this week belonged to the quieter sessions but still found a way to produce one of the most memorably raucous turn-ins of 2016 (so far, at least). There’s a lot to appreciate in the five videos below so, as always, straighten up, lean in, crank the volume, focus, and Watch This.

1. Mothers (NPR)

Last year, Mothers had me on the verge of tears with the unveiling of the devastatingly gorgeous “Too Small For Eyes“. I’d seen them a few months prior to that release but the restrictions CMJ presents essentially ensured that I wouldn’t be adequately prepared for the band’s astounding debut full-length, When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired. NPR recently hosted the band for an exquisite Tiny Desk session that does an intensely moving record justice.

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2. Sunflower Bean – Easier Said (World Cafe)

One of the more intriguing bands to watch develop and fine-tune over the past few years has been Sunflower Bean, whose insane work ethic has begun to translate to widespread success (and no shortage of burgeoning acclaim). While it may be easy to become fixated on the band’s backstory, in the face of their music — a lovely blend of powerpop and psych-pop — it simply doesn’t matter. The band’s recent World Cafe session sees them on steady, assured footing, ready to meet whatever may come their way.

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3. Kal Marks – Mankind (Allston Pudding)

Kal Marks is a name that’s appeared on this site multiple times over and the band keeps providing reasons to keep that name in heavy rotation on these pages. Case in point: an intense, scorched-earth single song performance for Allston Pudding. The band holds absolutely nothing back in this run through “Mankind”, which finds the trio elevating their no-holds-barred take on a blend of vicious basement grunge and snarling post-punk. It’s a thing to behold.

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4. Long Beard – Moths (VHS Sessions)

VHS Sessions has been crafting excellent live performance videos throughout 2016 but their current crown jewel came in the form of this humble run through “Moths” from Long Beard, who continue to set an exceedingly high bar for themselves and their peers. The trio constantly tap into an ineffable magic that renders songs that sound simple on paper transcendent in practice. This performance may very well be the most definitive example of their most intangible — and compelling — aspect.

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5. Daughter (KEXP)

One of the most unexpected shows I managed to luck my way into last year was Daughter‘s secret set at Baby’s All Right. I’d admired the band previously but was completely enraptured with their live set, even to a point where I was incapacitated by severe chills during a breathtaking run through “Doing The Right Thing”. While it’s impossible for what the band achieves onstage to translate to a filmed studio session, this KEXP run is as close as anyone’s likely to get for the foreseeable future.