Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Life is Murder

November 25, 2014

Kal Marks – Don’t Pussy Foot With A Pussy Footer (Stream)

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It’s been a few days since regular non-series content’s been posted on the site so tonight’ll amend that in two installments that cover the best material to have been released over the past two days. For full streams there was The Freezing Hands’ infectiously melodic Coma Cave ’13 while Cellphone‘s frenetic, lo-fi “Human Rights” clip held down the music video territory. HOLY made a splash with the fuzz-pop of “Golden Fog” and Michael Feuerstack unveiled the entrancing “Clackity Clack“. Most importantly, though, Kal Marks followed advance streams of “Zimmerman” and “It Was A Very Hard Year” with the final track from their forthcoming Just A Lonely Fart EP, “Don’t Pussy Foot With A Pussy Footer”.

With both “Zimmerman” and “It Was A Very Hard Year” reaching (and in some cases exceeding) the stratospherical heights of Life Is Murder, the band’s extraordinary 2013 full-length, “Don’t Pussy Foot With A Pussy Footer” could have fallen flat and Just A Lonely Fart still would have ranked among the year’s best EP’s. Instead, the last track to trickle out into the public from the upcoming Exploding in Sound release opts to rev the engines, showcasing Kal Marks’ penchant for wiry aggression. “Don’t Pussy Foot With A Pussy Footer” is Kal Marks at their rawest and most straightforward, allowing the band to extend their claws and sink through the skin straight to the viscera. It’s a temporary abandonment of the tension/restraint dynamic that the band thrives on, leading to a staggeringly exhilarating release that punctuates the EP at its midway point. Raucous and sprawling, this is Kal Marks operating at their finest; kicking and screaming against the walls of frustration in a bid for a sense of greater freedom. “Don’t Pussy Foot A Pussy Footer” may sound like a title ripe for something lightly comedic rather than overwhelming bleak, but even in spite of the fact that this leans towards the latter it still offers a reprieve, a surge of momentum, and pure catharsis. Embrace its spell and don’t make the mistake of missing out on this EP. Follow the link and buy it below.

Listen to “Don’t Pussy Foot With A Pussy Footer” below and pre-order Just A Lonely Fart from Kal Marks’ bandcamp.

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May 6, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 23

Well, it’s certainly been a while since Watch This ran regular non-themed content. As such, there’s quite a bit of ground to cover for this volume, the series’ 23rd installment. This Watch This will feature both the familiar and the fresh; there are old standbys in terms of both bands and outlets and there are a few who have, somewhat inexplicably, never earned a mention on here before. It’s all worth watching and this collection, more than most, is a perfect summation of the type of music this place invests in most. So, sit back, stand up, kneel as if in prayer, assume literally any position- just make sure to Watch This.

1. Ovlov – Where’s My Dini (Elephant Room)

Ovlov’s 2013 record, am, was a nearly unclassifiable triumph. Since then, they’ve managed to grab a lot of people’s attention. This is in part thanks to a ferocious touring schedule that had them playing on stacked bills nearly every night. Through all of that, they’ve only managed to sharpen their craft, perfecting their cinematic shoegaze-heavy 90’s Midwestern-emo rambles. Here, they take to the Little Elephant to perform “Where’s My Dini”. If an introduction piece to the band was needed, it’d be close to impossible to improve on this video.

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2. Parquet Courts – Black and White (WNYC)

While this doesn’t have Fred Armisen augmenting their guitar attack, Parquet Courts’ WNYC performance of “Black and White” is as fierce as anything the band’s done. It’s performances like this one that have Sunbathing Animal creeping up on an outside radar. Parquet Courts aren’t messing around. Straight, to the point, almost abrasive in its minimalism yet weirdly cathartic, this is worth a few watches.

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3. Jeff Rosenstock – The Trash The Trash The Trash (TCGS)

What is there to be said? Jeff Rosenstock keeps doing things worth writing about. During this particular at-bat, he takes over Don Giovanni comedian Chris Gethard’s show to perform “The Trash The Trash The Trash” before it devolves into complete chant-a-long chaos. It’s a surreal spectacle that has an absolutely incendiary performance at its center. This is the best kind of weird.

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4. Kal Marks (BreakThruRadioTV)

Exploding in Sound recently took over BreakThruRadio for a stretch, offering the label a perfect platform to showcase their incredible roster. They wasted no time in getting Boston trio Kal Marks a featured spot on a performance and interview series (in a similar vein to KEXP). It’s a good thing they did, too. Kal Marks is an incredible live act who put out one of 2013’s very best records with their punishing masterwork Life is Murder. Their Serious Business episode is one of the most packed BreakThruRadio has ever done and is well worth carving out some time for.

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5. The Orwells – Let It Burn (KEXP)

It’s been a weird road for The Orwells following their infamous Letterman performance. In under five minutes, they became one of the most divisive young punk bands to court that much attention in who knows how long and then kept quiet for a while to let things play out. Now, with their sophomore effort, Disgraceland, nearing its release date, they’ve lined up a string of relatively high-profile stops and, as can be seen here, are making the most of it. If “Let It Burn” is an accurate indicator, they’ve got one hell of a record up their sleeves.

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