Miss June | Heartbreaking Bravery

July 21, 2016

Gurr – Moby Dick (Music Video)

gurr

Miss June, The Dirty Nil, Gothic Tropic, Chris Farren, Kids of the Apocalypse, The Girdles, His Clancyness, Drugdealer, ScHoolBoy Q, Avers, Japancakes, and Young Moon all had excellent music videos emerge over the past three days. Joining their ranks was Gurr’s light, expressive clip for their latest single, “Moby Dick”.

The premise for “Moby Dick” is exceedingly simple but ties into the band’s identity extraordinarily well. Both band members mime the words to the song while dancing around in alternating one-shots, everything taking place in front of a faded turquoise backdrop. Neither member’s able to suppress a genuine smile as the Andrea Weiczorek-directed clip progresses, giving the whole affair a contagious, carefree joy. It’s a light clip but it’s perfectly executed and was clearly born out of love, a dynamic that’s become increasingly rare for the format.

While it may feel a little familiar it’s also a breath of fresh air, something to combat the overly serious nature of the types of narratives that have been dominating all corners of the media in recent times. That’s an important status to occupy and Gurr deliver on that level tremendously and heighten the anticipation for their upcoming record, In My Head, in the process. Consider it a small victory for everyone.

Watch “Moby Dick” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on the band’s forthcoming record(s).

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July 13, 2016

Miss June / Astro Children (Split 7″ Review)

Tying together the final loose ends of the exceptional material that surfaced over this site’s recent mini-hiatus are full streams from the following: Silent Pictures, Puddle Splasher, Beef Jerk, Nona, The By Gods, and Lord Bendtner. As always, each of those titles are deserving of as many — and likely more — listens that they’ll inevitably receive but today’s feature spot falls to one of the year’s most ferocious split 7″ releases.

Each band provides one song to the split and each band makes that song count. Miss June (pictured above) kicks things off with an explosive burst of noise entitled “Anxiety on Repeat” that quickly falls into a back-and-forth pattern of frantic verses and monstrous sections of noise/punk that suggests some unholy union between Sonic Youth and Le Tigre. In under two minutes and thirty seconds, the band provides a whirlwind of pure exhilaration and unbridled emotion that dissects, embraces, and curses anxious impulses all at once. Abrasive, startling, and brilliant, it would have made the 7″ worth the purchase on its own.

Of course, Astro Children step up to the plate for the flip-side, grit the teeth and connect with all of their collective might. Their song, “When You Lose”, takes on a more sinister, insidious approach that slowly draws the listener in with a tantalizing sense of creeping darkness. Subtle, eerie, and altogether haunting, “When You Lose” shows the band operating at a level that many seasoned bands could never hope to match. It’s a beautiful complement to the meteoric force of “Anxiety On Repeat” and ultimately secure the split a spot as one of this year’s finest releases.

Listen to the split below and pick it up here.

September 2, 2015

Littler – Somewhere Else (Stream)

And the hits keep coming. This past Tuesday may not have been as overflowing with worthwhile material as some recent days have been but it did unearth quite a few feature-worthy items. In the full stream category there was CITRIS‘ elegantly crafted, 90’s-indebted Panic in Hampton Bays, Mumblr‘s dark, created-in-a-day EP Super! Premium! Deluxe!, elle le fantôme’s brooding paint it blacker, and Charm School– one of the year’s best demos- courtesy of Dame. For music videos, Car Seat Headrest got the Matador era of their career off to an extraordinary start with the excellent clip for “Something Soon“, Miss June issued a strong reminder that they’re responsible for one of the year’s finest EP’s via “Student Loan“, while Hayden, Insect Ark, and Media Jeweler rounded the format’s offerings out with flair. A select few individual songs wound up creating a deep impression, a group that included Stove‘s formidable “Jock Dreams“, Miserable’s tender “Palmistry Notes“, Petal’s career highlight “Sooner“, and Fleurie’s swirling “Still Your Girl“.

While all those are worth exploring, it was Littler’s “Somewhere Else” that secured the day’s headline slot by showcasing a good band’s steady ascension to greatness. Having already established a song discography, the band’s become increasingly poised and that newfound confidence has seeped into their songwriting. On “Somewhere Else” the band takes a few risks with their dynamics and they all pay off beautifully. From the slow-burning front section to the supercharged ending, there’s never a false note. Lyrically, it’s an exploration of romantic tendency that benefits greatly from a disarmingly honest approach. With the mantra of “It’s always better somewhere else” dominating the song’s second half, “Somewhere Else” offers an unflinching reminder of the effects of longing- and secures Littler a spot as one of today’s more promising emerging acts. Sharp throughout, this is a song that demands to be heard.

Listen to “Somewhere Else” below and keep an eye on this site for more details on any forthcoming releases.

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May 7, 2015

Joanna Gruesome – Peanut Butter (Album Review, Stream)

Joanna Gruesome‘s a name that’s been appearing on this site consistently throughout its duration and Peanut Butter‘s ensured that trend’s been one that continued throughout 2015’s first stretch. Weird Sister was one of the best records of 2013 and it came out just before Heartbreaking Bravery started operating, which meant they likely factored into the decision to create (and sustain) this space. In 2014, their Astonishing Adventures split with Perfect Pussy nearly topped our best splits of 2014 list (where Peanut Butter standout “Psykcick Espionage” made its debut) and they’ve earned themselves several standalone features through their music videos as well as their recorded output. In short, the band had a lot to live up to with Peanut Butter– and they answered those expectations with a deafening roar.

Embracing the dynamics that made them such a compelling act out of the gate, they’ve managed to refine their approach and incorporate a much heavier emphasis on dissonance. Peanut Butter is Joanna Gruesome’s heaviest, noisiest, and most accomplished work to date, extending a narrative arc of continuous improvement. For a band that already packed a punch, throwing in stabbing noise freakouts that punctuate a large number of Peanut Butter‘s tracks might seem unnecessarily excessive. What sets Joanna Gruesome apart from some of their like-minded kin when it comes to this department is their unwavering understanding of restraint. “I Wanna Relax” starts with sheer white noise- but it’s cut off at the head almost as soon as it appears, effectively rendering it a jarring warning of the content that lies ahead.

Joanna Gruesome didn’t set out to pull punches on Peanut Butter and much of the record comes off like an assault. Impressively, even with the strengthened bent on atonality, the band hasn’t sacrificed any of their melody- they’ve enhanced it. “Last Year”, the record’s opening track, is one of the best examples of this duality and sets the tone for the nine tracks that follow. Never dipping under mid-tempo, the band keeps things at a sprint throughout the record, never allowing the listener a reprieve. The closest they come is the band’s surprisingly gentle closer, “Hey! I Wanna Be Yr Best Friend”, which feels like the transcendental calm that descends after a violent storm.

Part of what makes Joanna Gruesome’s storm so electric is the way vocalist Alanna McCardle weaves her ideologies into her narratives, subtly drawing the line to gender expectations through tales of difficult relationships and personal angst. Throughout Peanut Butter McCardle grapples with what and what isn’t good, torturing herself by questioning her own motivations. At times, the self-examination is brutal but it’s softened by the band’s pop sensibilities, which are continuing to produce some of the most gorgeous moments of any band currently making music. Terrifying, exhilarating, and unfailingly brilliant, Peanut Butter isn’t just Joanna Gruesome’s current crown jewel, it’s also one of the brightest spots of a year that’s already overflowing with greatness. To further illustrate that last point, a list of titles worth hearing will be included at the very bottom of this page (which also acts as an addendum to the preceding post).

Before you scan through those titles, though, make sure to listen to Peanut Butter over at NPR’s First Listen (the Spotify embed will take the place of that link once the record goes live).

Pre-order Peanut Butter from the always-great Slumberland here.

Now, as promised, an accompanying list of some other previously unlisted 2015 titles that are more than worth your attention.

Johanna Warren – nūmūn
Pfarmers – Gunnera
Sick Sad World – Fear and Lies
Glockabelle – Wolf BBQ
Fraternal Twin – Skin Gets Hot
Coliseum – Anxiety’s Kiss
DTCV – Uptime!
Clean Girls – Despite You
Turnover – Peripheral Vision
Battle Ave – Year of Nod
Tres Padres – Father’s Day / A Lot to Maintain
Vomitface – Another Bad Year
Eskimeaux – O.K.
Crocodiles – Boys
Novella – Land
Blanck Mess – Dumb Flesh
Miss June – Matriarchy
Art Is Hard – Family Portrait Pt. II

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