Now Now | Heartbreaking Bravery

July 20, 2018

A Look Back at the Past Two Weeks: Streams, Music Videos, and Full Streams

The past two weeks of material, once more, have been loaded with exceptional works. Each of the major categories saw the influx of notable items keep the same ridiculous pace that 2018 has set across multiple genres. No matter the level of notoriety or recognition, every week this year has brought in a slew f entries that have ranged from wildly entertaining to legitimately unforgettable. With that being the case, featuring everything is an impossible task. This post serves as a reminder and reference point for a slew of those songs, clips, and records worth remembering.

Songs

Gia Margaret, Mooner, Snow Roller, Izzy True, Babehoven, Richard Rose, Honyock, ASM, Tokyo Police Club (x2), Tony Molina, Dead Soft, SIGNAL, Evan Jewett, Advance Base, Gold Star, Beak>, Astronauts, etc., LT Wade, The Rizzos, perfume-v, Dyan, Delafye, Frøkedal, Quiet Hollers, Saul Williams, Super Paradise, Westerman, Tunng, Ohmme, United Ghosts, El Ten Eleven, Lucero, Koschika, Claw Marks, Miss World, Mister Lies, Menace Beach, Bleeth, Taylor Janzen, Wild Pink, Lewis Burg, Brother Reverend, Swamp Dogg, Darren Jesse, The Coup, La Force, Verse Metrics, Ancestors, Joe Kaplow, and David Bazan.

Music Videos

Waxahatchee, Saintseneca, Curling, Steady Holiday, Fred Thomas, Trust Fund, Jeff Rosenstock, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Night Shop, The Goon Sax, Cat Power, Queen of Jeans, The Beths, Macajey, Slang, Frankie Cosmos, Devon Welsh, Saintseneca, Bully, Estrons, The Molochs, GRLWood, Jane Church, Sad Baxter, Richard Reed Parry, Dama Scout, The Black Delta Movement, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Campdogzz, Harrison Lipton, The Velveteins, Lala Lala, PR Newman, and Couch Jackets.

Full Streams

Harvey Trisdale, trulyyrs, Cold Lunch, Spissy, Shapes In Calgary, Cruel Diagonals, Delhia de France, and Wilder Maker.

April 8, 2018

Anna Burch – With You Every Day (Music Video)

The opening week of April 2018 featured a host of impressive music videos from the likes of Hatchie, Eleanor Friedberger, Winter, Freedom Fry, Hinds, Remember Sports, Now, Now, Buddy, West Thebarton, LANZ, Middle Kids, Frederick the Younger, Beach House, Ladytron, Therese Lithner, MOURN, Chris Crofton, Peach Kelli Pop, Kal Marks, Kirby Forest, Bodega, and SPAER. While all of those clips are worth a look, the one that made the strongest impression was Anna Burch‘s latest impressive visual, “With You Every Day”.

Burch has made a habit of showing up in this site’s “Best Of” compilations in its interim period, notching inclusions in everything from songs to music videos to records, thanks to the considerable strength of the material connected to Quit the Curse. “With You Every Day” continues the trend in kind, scaling things back to their most minimal and direct.

It’s a hyper-stylized performance clip that makes excellent use out of its palette and Burch’s magnetic charisma and multi-faceted talents (Burch co-directed the clip with Ben Collins). Invoking or echoing everything from Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense to John Hughes films to The Hives’ notoriously meticulous control over their own visual presentation, “With You Every Day” manages to provide a refreshingly distinct modernist take on familiar influences. It’s worth every view anyone’s willing to give.

Watch “With You Every Day” below and pick up Quit the Curse from Polyvinyl here.

May 12, 2017

Surfer Rosie – Worms (Stream)

A little over half of this week has passed and it’s seen great new songs surface from the likes of Grey Gersten, Slowdive, Jesse, The Sea Life, VAJJ, Doghouse Charlie, Swimming Tapes, TOPS, Now, Now, Sheer Mag, Swiftumz, Kazyak, and Cutty Flam. That same stretch also produced Surfer Rosie’s outstanding “Worms”, a fine introductory track to an incredibly promising new project.

Last year this site was fortunate enough to host the premiere of Sun’s Out Bummed Out’s “Cut All My Hair“, a song that’s refused to relinquish its vice-like grip on my brain ever since. Laura Daegling, the songwriter responsible for that project, is back at it again with another new outfit: Surfer Rosie. Formed as a Pixies cover band, the quartet eventually morphed into something else entirely and they’re offering a glimpse at what’s to come with “Worms”.

Spiky, atmospheric, and a little bit vicious, “Worms” is a contained burst of oft-kilter pop, dressed up in a decidedly punk aesthetic. It’s a simple, effective, and even gripping work, making the absolute most of two minutes and injecting that time with a distinct personality. Invigorating and galvanizing in equal measure, its easy to see why Good Cheer Records — a label that continues to make all the right choices — has tapped the band for their debut release. While further details have been kept quiet, “Worms” will go a long way in filling that silence. Give into its minimalism for a maximal effect.

Listen to “Worms” below and keep an eye on this site for more updates on Surfer Rosie.

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