Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Light Organ

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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February 12, 2014

Vertical Scratchers – Memory Shards (Stream)

And the hits just keep coming. After yesterday’s parade of content, today’s been just as ceaseless in terms of output. There were outstanding songs by Young Widows, The Wytches, A Million Billion Dying Suns, Papercuts, Anto Dust, Downliners Sekt (which is a near-definitive example of what ambient dubstep should aspire to be), and JPNGRLS. Then there were stunning clips from the likes of Mr. Dream, Hockeysmith, Yellow Ostrich, and Blouse, in addition to the insta-classic videos from Guided by Voices and The Notwist. In the largely dark and wiry post-punk onslaught that is the majority of that list, Vertical Scratchers managed to sneak in another near-perfect track leading up to the release of Daughter of Everything later this month.

With that song, Vertical Scratchers officially go two for two. It wasn’t too long ago that this site covered their excellent first offering, “These Plains”, and now the Merge duo’s back with an equally infectious piece of quick-moving powerpop. Incidentally, the band that “Memory Shards” most prominently recalls is Guided by Voices, who came close to being today’s feature by virtue of their Funny or Die music video for “Planet Score”. From the shared sense of melody to the paradoxical aesthetic (energetically lackadaisical), Vertical Scratchers and Guided by Voices share a lot more in common than expected at first glance. There’s an impossibly smooth falsetto, a perfect amount of crunch, and a whole ton of melody packed into an immensely enjoyable two minute burst- sound familiar? If all of Daughter of Anything is as good as the first two cuts suggest it is, Vertical Scratchers will be making one hell of an entrance. Here’s hoping they wind up with a career as storied as their predecessors. Listen to “Memory Shards” below and get ready to wear this record out over spring and summer.

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