Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: LVL UP Radiator Hospital Ovlov Krill split

October 12, 2014

Three Quarters Down (Mixtape)

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[EDITOR’S NOTE: First off, to get this out of the way at the top, there will be no Watch This today. It’s absence will be made up with a unique 50th post next Sunday.]

We recently hit another quarter mark in the year and this site just hit another fifty posts. A digital mixtape- Three Quarters Down– has been curated to celebrate both of these occasions. All 25 songs on display have managed to become favorites in the span of their (admittedly short) existence. It didn’t matter where they came from- splits, records, singles, exclusives- if it was a great song that came out over the course of the past three months, it wound up on the list. However, there are a handful of others that were excluded by virtue of not appearing in Soundcloud’s public library- those will likely get their due in December both here and elsewhere. In the meantime, revisit some of the best songs that led us straight into fall by listening to the mix below.

Beneath the 8tracks player is the original listing of the songs in this collection. Enjoy.

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1. Mitski – Townie
2. Two Inch Astronaut – Foulbrood
3. LVL UP – DBTS
4. Little Big League – Tropical Jinx
5. The History of Apple Pie – Jamais Vu
6. Menace Beach – Come On Give Up
7. Thalassocracy – Shimensoka
8. Cellphone – Human Rights
9. Ovlov – Ohmu Shell
10. Mumblr – Sober
11. Trust Fund – Reading The Wrappers
12. Girlpool – Jane
13. Night School – Casiotone
14. Happy Diving – Sad Planet
15. Dilly Dally – Green
16. Washer – Rot
17. Speedy Ortiz – Bigger Party
18. The Midwest Beat – Vortex Hole
19. Bass Drum of Death – For Blood
20. Mannequin Pussy – Sheet City
21. Pity Sex – Acid Reflex
22. Mogwai – Teenage Exorcists
23. Nothing – July The Fourth
24. Dark Blue – Here On My Street
25. Crimson Wave – Say

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October 9, 2014

Ovlov – Ohmu Shell (Stream)

A steady stream of streams flooded most of today’s music news and several of them wound up making strong impressions. Among them were Girlpool’s jittery “Blah Blah Blah“, Bad Power’s hardcore ripper “Jawws“, and Cellphone‘s Halloween-friendly post-punk nightmare “Human Rights“. Nothing continued to improve in exhilarating fashion, hitting a new high with the damaged beauty of “July The Fourth and YAWN bandleader Adam Gil’s new solo project- Dam Gila- offered up the tantalizing pysch-pop of “History“. Mineral’s vocalist, Chris Simpson, streamed Pink Chalk, the lilting record that’s due out soon from his Zookeeper project. Joel Jerome followed up the excellent Babies On Acid with Psychic Thrift Store Folk, which is now streaming in full over at Wondering Sound- a site that also has the distinct pleasure of hosting a full stream of Night School’s Heart Beat EP (which is easily one of the year’s best).  Then, of course, there was Ovlov‘s newest song- the second to be released from the jaw-dropping four-way split 7″ that also includes Krill, LVL UP, and Radiator Hospital.

All four bands on this split have earned the distinction of site favorites thanks to their punk-leaning strains of outsider pop. This will be the latest in a handful of releases born out of the collaboration between Double Double Whammy and Exploding in Sound, which continues to be one of the most exciting things in music. Krill’s “Peanut Butter” had already been unleashed on the world a few weeks back and kicked the obvious promise of the split up a few additional levels. Ovlov take that level of acceleration and floor it, not only offering up one of the best songs of their career but- impossibly- lending even more promise to the split. “Ohmu Shell” is a song that sounds like an assurance; this is a confident band who are fully aware of their identity (something many strive to achieve and fail to accomplish).  There’s a greater immediacy on display then there was on last year’s excellent am and continues their streak of incredible contributions to splits (Little Big League being the latest, following another four-way split with Ex-Breathers, Gnarwhal, and Woozy)- all from this year.

Every time the band steps up to deliver something new, it seems like they’re continuously improving upon their career-best, which is the kind of trajectory that can speak volumes about a band’s potential. Everything about “Ohmu Shell” works to perfection; the guitars charge as much as they swirl, the vocals manage to be alternately impassioned and apathetic- creating a contrast that injects the song’s explosive moments with an obscene amount of energy. There’s a greater emphasis on a skewed 90’s revivalism that’s deeply rooted in the slacker and outsider sub-genres of punk. Ovlov sounds more alive than ever, wide-eyed, determined, and prepared for anything that dares to come their way. If LVL UP and Radiator Hospital deliver on this level (which they’re both fully capable of, considering both of their full-lengths are locks for this site’s Top 10), this split just might be the best thing to come out of 2014.

Listen to “Ohmu Shell” below and pre-order the split from from Double Double Whammy here.

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October 1, 2014

Speedy Ortiz – Doomsday (Stream)

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Even on relatively quiet days, there will be things that warrant a paragraph’s worth of fawning. Today, that distinction could have gone to Big Ups’ gnashed-teeth brawler, “Rash“, just as easily as it could have fallen to We Come From the Same Place, a triumphant new record from Allo Darlin’. There were also attention-demanding examples of overblown visual weirdness that covered the DIY-professional production spread thanks to The New Pornographers and Krill, respectively. Even more left-field than those two videos was the video for “Never Catch Me“, the collaborative single between Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar off of the former’s upcoming You’re Dead– an easy 2014 highlight. While all were great for an array of (extremely) varying reasons, none of them hit home quite as hard as Speedy Ortiz’s “Doomsday”, a song that continues the band’s growth in mesmerizing fashion.

A lot of Speedy Ortiz’s most stunning material is tethered to a duality of feelings, whether it’s the wistful melodies contrasting the uplifting affirmations in “No Below” or a vulnerable paranoia being met by the relentless aggression of “American Horror“. It’s something the band seems to have an awareness of and likely why both of those songs wound up as singles. For all of Major Arcana‘s successes last year, the band could have easily used 2014 to coast on a victory lap. Instead, they’ve released an incredibly strong EP (Real Hair) an Adult Swim single (“Bigger Party“), and now they’re following those up with a stunning new effort for Famous Class Records’ LAMC series. “Doomsday” is a song that the band’s been playing out for a while and it’s been an easy set highlight each time thanks to the fact that it’s a genuinely great song. Easily one of Speedy Ortiz’s strongest works to date, it retains all of the elements that caused the band to be celebrated in the first place- only this time, all of those traits feel astonishingly complete. After a string of rightfully-acclaimed releases, Speedy Ortiz have found their identity and crafted something that feels wholly their own- and it’s extraordinary. How “Doomsday” can feel so weighted when nearly every small moment of it suggests something lighter is impossibly impressive; de facto bandleader Sadie Dupuis’ grasp on the material, strong enough to ensure that this is a band emerging musicians will look to as an influence in the years to come. If “Doomsday” is any indication of the material the band has in store, their next record could easily wind up being a classic. Until then, just listen to “Doomsday” on repeat and make sure to get out to one of the band’s upcoming dates with Ex Hex- because those shows won’t be worth missing.

Stream “Doomsday” below and order the 7″ (which is backed by a lovely acoustic track from Chris Weisman) from Famous Class’ bandcamp.

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