The “Be Mean” Video or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Let Tweens Continue to Do Everything Right. Now, this isn’t the first time Tweens have been mentioned here (or “Be Mean“, for that matter) but some things are worth bringing up over and over again. After releasing an incredible demo last year, the band signed with Frenchkiss Records, and have been mounting a delightful pre-release campaign for their self-titled debut full-length. Their lo-fi video for “Be Mean” is the latest example for this, utilizing an early VHS aesthetic to drive home the song’s retro tendencies. While all of this unfolds, Tweens-themed Jeopardy-style screens appear, allowing the viewer a sort of how-to crash course. It’s irresistibly fun and should make just about anyone look forward to whatever they’re cooking up next. Watch it below.
White lung have been beating their own path for a while now, fearlessly flying forward and leave in a trail of flames in their wake. In the most recent example of this, they’ve unleashed the video for “Drown With the Monster” off of their upcoming Domino debut 7″ of the same name. In the clip they take their brooding post-punk to a level of intensity that’s impressively become standard territory for the band. There’s no shortage of frustration in Mish Way’s impassioned yells or in the bands propulsive nature; everything here is short and precise, landing each blow with considerable weight. The video itself is a live performance clip that’s not flashy, just effective, mirroring the band’s MO. Watch “Drown With the Monster” below and hang on for dear life.
Mozes and the Firstborn quietly released one of the best debut records of last year on Burger as a cassette and few people noticed. Now, though, on the brink of releasing that same record in all major audio formats (and in the midst of a tour with together PANGEA), lots of people’s heads are turning. All it takes is one listen to just about any song off of Mozes and the Firstborn to know that this quartet of kids from the Netherlands has tapped into something special. Serious songwriting chops paired with enviable pop sensibilities and enough dirtied up grit to make any Ty Segall acolyte blush. All of this is why this site’s already spent a fair amount of words on the band. They’re a band worth celebrating and undoubtedly deserve the praise and affection that will be coming their way.
Today, the band outdid themselves. Already prone to sneaking in nods to film (their name is a reference to the animated religious film ThePrince of Egypt), they elevated their filmic tendencies by releasing a music video for “Bloodsucker” that’s a loving ode to The Big Shave, the 1967 short film that launched Martin Scorsese’s career. Only this time, instead of the principle subject shaving the bottom half of his face off, the band and director, Jeroen Dankers, give the stark story a blackly comic twist that prompts as much laughter as it does disgust. It’s an audacious move and may even become an iconic clip in certain circles. While the video’s dedication to a faithful aesthetic recreation of its source material is impressive, it’s the song that pushes this over the edge. “Bloodsucker” is the kind of vintage powerpop that’s incredibly difficult to get successful without sounding strained but is a style Mozes and the Firstborn manage to pull off effortlessly. With “Bloodsucker” backing the increasingly garish imagery that accompanies it, they create an incredibly memorable piece of art that deserves to be seen. Watch “Bloodsucker” below, pre-order Mozes and the Firstborn from Burger, and don’t take any brushes with fate for granted.
There are very few names that have been as instrumental to Heartbreaking Bravery’s (admittedly limited) early success and continuing expansion as Perfect Pussy‘s Meredith Graves. Endlessly supportive and impossibly kind, she’s lent an unwavering support that’s both humbling and welcome. For this reason and this reason alone, I’m going to abandon at least one rule of the hidden manifest I’ve held Heartbreaking Bravery to up until this 110th post; the use of a first-person narrative. I’m breaking this rule specifically for this post because these words will be about Perfect Pussy’s new music video as much as they’ll be about sincerity. Sincerity, compassion, and empathy were at the heart of our last discussion and were three of the things that attracted me to the band begin with. There’s an unflinching honesty that, as evidenced by the almost immediate backlash following their success, alienated about 1 person for every 10 that it’s inspired.
In terms of sentiment, the lyrical content on I have lost all desire for feeling elevates itself past the bleeding-heart realm into a full-on self-performed open heart surgery that cuts off halfway through, laying everything bare for onlookers. It’s not kitschy, it’s fucking brave. Detractors like to speculate that it’s all just an act, grossly unaware of how little of a veil there is that separates the band from its audience. There’s a heart on display that’s beating furiously and unapologetically, allowing anyone paying attention to interpret its motions as they will. Operating without a filter and embracing as much positive energy as humanly possible, the band’s already managed to establish a reputation for themselves on the strength of a four song demo and fierce touring.
All of those early trademarks- the empathy, compassion, sincerity, (positive) energy, fearlessness, and upfront honesty come together in Lukas Hodge’s clip for I have lost all desire for feeling‘s explosive opening track, “I”. Hodge opens the video with an endearing black-and-white shot of the band, all smiles, descending a staircase and led by an umbrella-toting Graves. Before the jump cut out of the stairwell hits an abbreviated quick cut sequence, Graves shoots the audience the kind of smile that seems to say “thank you” and “I love you” all at once, to anyone that cares. It’s a brief second that feels like it’s worth a lifetime, aptly illustrating a moment of something approaching self-actualization. It’s unlikely there will be anything as intimate captured this year.
Following the contained beauty of the band’s introduction, the video ably jumps between three scenarios; the live performance footage, the band shooting firecrackers off in a beautiful wide-open field, and walking around various city locations. All of “I” is lensed with a subtly soft, warm hue that maximizes the clip’s easy naturalistic feel. Though, there aren’t moments lacking in artistic merit in the face of that naturalism. While it’s difficult to tell whether or not it actually was raining, the band (and certainly the director) were likely aware of how significant something as simple as the umbrellas has been throughout musically-inclined film projects. From Mary Poppins to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg to, more recently, How I Met Your Mother, umbrellas have acted as beloved staples (and important plot devices) in culturally resonant art. While a two minute music video is obviously going to have to deal with some limitations, “I” already feels like one of the more definitive presentations of a very specific subculture within the confines of punk.
Before the video’s explosive confetti-strewn climax, Hodge manages to articulately convey the band’s frantic passion through exposition. By splicing together the outside footage with the performance, it’s easy to grasp the band’s personality which makes the final payoff that much more exhilarating. You want the people that greet you with a warm embrace to succeed, especially when their end goal doesn’t carry any inherently negative or mean-spirited consequence. That’s a space reserved for the kind of people who embrace the lighthearted fun that’s on display throughout “I”. By the time “I” hits its relentless stride and the band’s surrounded by friends, everyone under a shower of confetti and clothed in silly string, the moment feels deserved. Driving this point home, Hodge allows his camera to linger on a small group of hands that are raised up, as if in elated prayer, and a once small-but-significant moment acts as a stand-in for a much larger one; those few enlightened hands have now turned into thousands, each of which (mine included) more than happy to attempt to push the band to even greater successes and heights.
While Graves may still be on the operating table, picking herself apart and attempting to figure out how to live the most worthwhile life possible, there are people in her corner. There are people that know Perfect Pussy are a band that’s worth believing in, not just because they’re making great music but because they’re making sincere music, the kind that directly opposes the apathy that’s descended like a darkness and all but consumed the forefront of the DIY/basement punk scene. There’s an intrinsic value to Perfect Pussy’s commitment to honesty. At a time when things as basic as desire and enthusiasm are positioned as things that can damage credibility, I’ll be on the side of the band that comes into that fold and fucking destroys the misguided preconceptions about them. Perfect Pussy are a band that kids can look to and be assured that it’s okay to be excited about art and the importance of that should not be lost.
“I” will likely always be Perfect Pussy’s best calling card, distilling the band’s indomitable passion into a blistering 120 seconds (complete with an arresting mantra that perfectly captures the band’s paradoxical marriage of aspects gentle and forceful). Somewhere, in those two glorious minutes, an entire subculture’s esoteric pretense was stripped away. Somehow, Lukas Hodge managed to create a video that managed to push the band’s ideals further while presenting an accurate portrayal of their collective identity. Someday some fifteen year old kid is going to see that video and learn a myriad of things; that it’s okay to be who you are, that art/punk/noise/hardcore/whatever-the-fuck is one of the most gratifying experiences you can possibly have, that gender should never matter in music, that youth can be retained, and that sincerity is something that should never be overvalued.
Even if Graves & co. are pinching themselves now, in the midst of a rapid ascension to the kind of levels where all of their moves will be met with scrutiny, they’re not the sort to pay attention to any of the critical responses. That’s the final key to their success; by blocking out all of the outside opinion- apart from the reactions they get from shows, people buying merch through their bandcamp, or personal messages- they’re free to cater to the things they believe in. Luckily for us, those beliefs are worth celebrating. Nearly everything that I’ve written above (in addition to the twenty or so times I watched “I” today) has led me to a realization. Perfect Pussy have officially become a personal item for me. This isn’t a band I want to push- it’s one I need to. They’re doing important things, whether they know it or not, with a high enough profile that those things may have an actual impact and cause some positive reform in increasingly stale scenes. While Heartbreaking Bravery certainly won’t be the most visible source lending their aesthetics and creative decisions vocal support, it’s still worth discussing.
For a reminder of all of this, watch “I” below and pre-order a deluxe copy of Say Yes to Love over at Captured Tracks.
Valentine’s Day is unavoidable. This is one of life’s many facts. It’s not without its options, though. Someone meeting it with joy and openness is just as likely to happen as a person reacting to it with unreserved bitterness and cynicism. No matter what the situation is, there tends to be something to celebrate- it just needs to be looked for. Today, at least on the music front, it was relatively slow-going apart from Perfect Pussy saying yes to love and the purchasing public saying yes to pre-orders of that record and a few more folks saying yes to clear vinyl copies that were swirled with Meredith Graves‘ menstrual blood. Then, Heartbreaking Bravery was gifted with an assortment of things this site loves unconditionally, one of them being the gift-givers responsible; Burger act Summer Twins.
Having already secured their spot in the 25 Best… year-end list that ran at the start of last month, the band’s now offered up a sun-splashed music video for Forget Me highlight “Carefree”. In a recent video from Great Cynics, a lot of words were spent here emphasizing the symbolism of something as trivial as a swimming pool. In that write-up, swimming pools were posited as a stand-in for the impermanence (and subsequent celebration) of youth. In “Carefree”, Chelsea and Justine Brown seem content to maximize the incredibly difficult area of youth retention with stunning poignancy and grace. Everything here is bathed in warmth, whether it be any of the video or audio aspects presented, and it makes for a beautiful experience- and Valentine’s day or not, a beautiful experience is something always worth having. Watch “Carefree” below and start counting down the days to summer.
After two days enduring a seeming avalanche of new content from nearly every corner of music, Thursday has gradually tapered off of that relentless pace. Still, there were rippers from Thee Oh Sees, Tweens, Palehounds, Broken Gold, and Donovan Wolfington (especially Donovan Wolfington). There was also a new video from post-hardcore titans La Dispute (the band responsible for “King Park“, one of the most stunning pieces of songwriting in the past few years) and a beautiful, humorous, genre-encapsulating medley video from Don Giovanni’s Shellshag. At the end of the day, though, the song that stood out strongest was “Wild Grass” from Chinese trio Carsick Cars’ upcoming 3.
Carsick Cars may not be a huge name stateside but the band’s reputation in their homeland is certainly well-established and somewhere over the past nine years they managed to catch the ears of Sonic Youth (and subsequently play shows with them before their split). While Sonic Youth is, sadly, no more (at least for now), it’s easy to see their influence on Carsick Cars. If someone claimed that Steve Shelley was the person behind the kit on “Wild Grass”, there’d be no reason not to believe them. Their clean guitar tones are reminiscent of Moore and Ronaldo’s in the band’s latter-era run (Rather Ripped, in particular) and their pop sensibilities are similar. In fact, while “Wild Grass” does come off as an extraordinary Rather Ripped outtake (albeit one that’s sung in Chinese), where the bands do differ is in how far they take that pop sensibility. Carsick Cars are a few notches less noise-prone than their predecessors but they compensate for it with an emphasis on melody. That effortless powerpop melodicism is what makes “Wild Grass” really stand out and bodes well for the rest of 3.
While “Wild Grass” is certainly promising, it’s always been impossible to pin Carsick Cars down from record to record. They’ll likely have a few surprises in store for 3, which will be released later this month. If the past is any indication, those surprises will be worth the wait. Hear “Wild Grass” below and hope that the rest of 3 winds up being as good or better.
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.
It’s been another one of those days. A day with a cavalcade of new and noteworthy music news descending at an impossible velocity. There was official live performance videos from Cloud Nothings (which came with an accompanying tour announcement), Fever the Ghost, and Those Darlins. Following that, official videos from Metronomy (which has the distinction of being directed by Michel Gondry), OFF!, Soak, Tacocat, and Quilt. Additionally, there was new music from Black Lips, The Coathangers, Creative Adult, Denney and the Jets, Ex-Cult, and Woods (which would’ve been the feature today but it’s difficult to shake the feeling that With Light and With Love is going to be picking up a lot of press in the days to come). All adding up to an overload of material before the day even hit its halfway point. In the midst of all that chaos, a song by Brain F≠ (pronounced Brain Flannel, apparently) called “Sicks” managed to stand out.
Brain F≠ sound sort of like Be Your Own PET and OFF! were thrown into a blender while riding an adrenaline high, attempting to beat each other to death. “Sicks” is a manic blast of charged-up punk-leaning hardcore that’s accessible enough to snag a lot of potential interest. That interest will undoubtedly be coming their way following today’s release of Empty Set (via a joint release between Grave Mistake and Sorry State Records), the full-length that “Sicks” is taken from. Importantly, the band seems to have already grasped one of the keys to an early success- and that lies in the fact that no matter how aggressive Brain F≠ gets, they always retain a sense of fun that’s often far too buried (and crucial) to music that operates on the fringes of hardcore. “Sicks” is a genuine moment of excitement from a band worth getting excited over. Hear “Sicks” below and go destroy something useless.
Youth is an evasive object. It’s impermanence is something that many struggle with in a myriad of ways; how to utilize it, how to escape it, and how to recapture it. That being said, there are images and objects that feel helplessly, intrinsically connected to youth. One such staple has always been swimming pools, perpetually present throughout the growing process and brimming with ceaseless appeal. From swimming lessons to sexual awakenings to blackout-drunk parties, they always seem to be present. It doesn’t matter whether they’ve been drained and turned into skating havens or kept full of chlorinated water, they’ve always seemed to attract young life. Great Cynics and director/editor Andrew Johnson, whether they’ve realized it or not, have just presented a fully-realized sense of youth with their video for “Whatever You Want”, a song from their upcoming split 12″ with Muncie Girls.
A series of black-and-white performance clips are intercut with footage of the band on the street to begin the video, establishing a sense of progress early on. Before long, though, the band’s kicked “Whatever You Want” into high gear while the footage finds itself unable to move past where the band was headed all along; the swimming pool. Throw in the fact that Great Cynics seem to derive most of their influences from 90’s alt. bands, in a manner very similar to Cheap Girls, and suddenly nostalgia and youth are thrown together as unwitting dancing partners. This sudden culmination hits a peak near the video’s mid-section and the clip becomes vibrantly alive, a perfect reflection of living for the sake of living. In the end, “Whatever You Want” stands up as both easily digestible entertainment on its surface and a gorgeous ode to youth in its subtext. Watch “Whatever You Want” below and go swimming sometime soon.
When Heartbreaking Bravery started, it was originally intended to be a place where film and music found equal footing. Now, 100 days and 100 posts later, it’s clear that somewhere along the line it established an identity firmly based on the music side of things. There are going to be a few changes made to the site in the upcoming year, one of them will be a section devoted to the discussion of film. New features will start and old features will be kept running. A few of the first updates were made earlier today. In addition to having its own domain, Heartbreaking Bravery now officially has homes on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Look for extra content, to varying degrees, on all three platforms.
For those just joining in or becoming aware of Heartbreaking Bravery’s existence, there are two things to ease into the familiarization process. One’s a playlist that features the kind of music that’s most regularly featured, which can be found below. Below that, active hyperlinks for the first 99 articles. Happy listening.
There are 25 bands and songs in this playlist. A few have received coverage from Heartbreaking Bravery, another few should have, and a fair few were part of what inspired its very existence. All of these bands mean something to this place and hopefully they’ll mean just as much, if not more, to whoever comes across them.
Heartbreaking Bravery 