Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Outsider Pop

August 15, 2014

Radiator Hospital – Bedtime Story (Music Video)

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There are very few things that were as consistent in 2014 as Radiator Hospital’s career-best effort, Torch Song. Mixing Sam Cook-Parrott’s characteristic pathos, humility, heart, and grit into a fiery new breed of songwriting, the record showcased the very best of what today’s outsider pop has to offer. While the inimitable Salinas Records will be releasing the LP in the very-near future, it’s already lived through an endless amount of plays via the band’s bandcamp (where the lyrics to each song have also been made graciously available). Torch Song is a full-length that’s almost over-stuffed with highlights, from the opening trio of tracks alone (“Leather & Lace”, “Blue Gown”, and “Cut Your Bangs”, respectively) straight through to the rambling, off-kilter closer (“Midnight Nothing”), the band’s crafted a very strong contender for album of the year honors.

“Bedtime Story” is essential to that, it’s right in the record’s halfway stretch and manages to both sustain and further Torch Song‘s momentum- no small task for a towering fifteen-song effort. Now, it’s been given a warm, black-and-white video that revels in the “old home movie” aesthetic. There’s a nostalgic familiarity that runs strongly through the veins of Radiator Hospital’s work, something that Perfect Pussy‘s Meredith Graves touched on expertly with her piece for The Talkhouse, that the video for “Bedtime Story” plays off of perfectly. Featuring little more than lo-fi clips of the band and their friends, it’s a low-key entry that’s both personal and personable, rendering it an impossibly welcoming bit of multimedia art for the people that really care.

This is a video that premiered over at The Media, which is one of the only things that can claim to be as consistently excellent in 2014 as Torch Song was- and Cook-Parrott offers a perfect explanation for why he chose that venue as the vehicle to premiere the video. As always, it’s worth reading and reflecting on (a trait that The Media seems to specialize in) and can be read here.

Watch “Bedtime Story” below and make sure to order a copy of Torch Song directly from Salinas here.

RADIATOR HOSPITAL, “Bedtime Story” from the media on Vimeo.

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August 14, 2014

Follies – I Make Sense (Stream)

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Over the past few days, there’s been a lot of great content to be unveiled. This is including, but certainly not limited to, a great new Dead Soft video “Everything”, a stream of a new Parlour track for an upcoming compilation from the always-outstanding Marshall Teller imprint, a look at the upcoming album from the deservedly legendary Blonde Redhead, and a new stream from Big Mess (courtesy of Allston Pudding). There was a great new self-titled EP released by Crossed Wires, a first look at Trust Fund‘s side of their impending split with Joanna Gruesome, a new song from Colleen Green, and an engaging music video from The History of Apple Pie.

Now, 2014’s already seen a treasure trove of genuinely great releases bearing the Double Double Whammy stamp and they’re adding to that already enviable streak with an impending split between Wishbone and Follies. The latter of those two bands has raised anticipation for this release considerably by offering a glimpse at their side by offering a stream of the damaged, feverish “I Make Sense”. It barely eclipses three minutes but packs so much raw lo-fi weirdness into them that it’s difficult to gauge the run time at all.

Changing at the drop of a dime, there’s a myriad of fascinating influences all gnawing at each other in the forefront of “I Make Sense”, rendering it a winsome mess that’s utterly entrancing. Whether it’s outsider pop through a psych lens or a new breed of shoegaze-influenced post-punk or just an unfiltered version of Phil Hartunian’s personality (he’s the driving voice behind the Follies project), “I Make Sense” still stands as a gripping piece of music that, like all of the best art, is impossible to completely define. There are very few songs that have been released in the past month to be this courageously weird- or this unrelentingly hypnotic.

Stream “I Make Sense” below and make sure to pre-order the split from Follies’ bandcamp.

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August 11, 2014

The Freezing Hands – Good Morning Takeout (Stream)

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From Bent Shapes to Vertical Scratchers, 2014’s been surprisingly plentiful in the powerpop department and now The Freezing Hands have thrown their hat into a pleasantly crowded ring. The Tuscon act are currently enjoying a joint release through the powerhouse teaming of Burger (which is running a pressing that’s limited to 50) and Recess Records, which should already be a sign that this is a release worth wearing out. Impressively, the release getting this treatment, Coma Cave ’13, is The Freezing Hands’ debut, marking them as a band that’ll immediately have a fair amount of expectations to live up to.

Fortunately, “Good Morning Takeout” proves, with no reservations, that they’re worthy of the prestige of both labels involved in pressing and distributing Coma Cave ’13. It’s an exhilarating, expertly-constructed song replete with a sunny demeanor that carries the song towards something more transcendental than just a great from-the-cuff outside pop song. A harmonica provides some welcome texture while the melodies keep “Good Morning Takeout” coasting along, completely carefree. While that’s a tricky area to perfect, it’s something that Coma Cave ’13 sustains for its duration, making it one of 2014’s more memorable summer releases.

Listen to “Good Morning Takeout Below” and make sure to pick up a copy here.

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August 11, 2014

Ex-Hex – Beast (Stream)

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Mary Timony’s career so far is loaded with material that influenced- or will influence- generations worth of musicians. This being the case, any time a Timony project releases new material it’s worth paying attention to- mostly because it always seems to end up as being good as “Beast”, Ex-Hex’s most recent sampling from their upcoming debut album Rips. Following the excellent pairing of “Hot and Cold” and “Don’t Wanna Lose“, “Beast” lives up to the extraordinarily high standard set by those two tracks.

Where “Beast” sets itself from the other two is in the gleeful pacing and shred-happy riffing. Propulsive in all of the best ways, it’s another song that could easily work as a summer soundtrack years into the future. There’s a certain timelessness to it that’s not uncommon to Timony’s work, which is part of what makes the bulk of it so memorable. A few different decades are evoked thanks to the influences that “Beast” wears so proudly on its sleeve; 70’s surf, 80’s  proto-punk, and 90’s powerpop being the big three. It’s a massively enjoyable way to spend a few minutes and ensures the promise of Rips being a record worth owning.

Listen to “Beast” below and pre-order rips directly from Merge here.

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August 11, 2014

Girl Tears – Candy Darling (Stream)

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Near the end of July, Girl Tears put up the first glimpse at their upcoming full-length, Tension, with “Candy Darling”. It’s a charging bit of scuzz-punk that barely eclipses a minute in length and announces the Los Angeles-based trio as an act worth paying a lot of attention to. Tension will be the band’s debut record and they’ve secured a release through the excellent Sinderlyn Records, furthering their prospects at making an impact on an audience far greater than the one they’re enjoying now.

“Candy Darling” itself a snarling bit of lo-fi outsider punk mastery; micro-punk at its finest. Operating like a cathartic joyride, “Candy Darling” practically flies off the handle from the moment it starts, barreling forward with a natural intensity characteristic of the best kind of immediacy (one that sticks). Blink and it’s done, so make sure both eyes are wide open because this is something that deserves to be witnessed.

Listen to “Candy Darling” below and make sure to pick up a copy of Tension when it’s released on August 26.

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August 11, 2014

LVL UP – I Feel Ok (Stream)

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LVL UP are drawing closer to the release date of Hoodwink’d, an album that’s loaded with the band’s best material to date. To celebrate its impending release, and to tease just a little bit more of how insanely good this thing is, they’ve offered up another glimpse in the form of the rollicking outsider pop tune “I Feel Ok”. It’s a deceptively complex song that manages to underscore just how capable this band is of writing great songs to anyone willing to invest the time in deconstructing all of its individual elements.

There’s a feeling of ease and weightlessness to “I Feel Ok” that’s not uncommon for LVL UP but taken to new heights on this particular outing. From the song’s ornate percussive features to the twinkling guitar tones and floating vocal melody, it’s an outsider pop gem courtesy of a band that seems to have a ceaseless supply of them. “I Feel Okay” also stands out for stripping away a lot of the band’s gnarled fuzz (something they hit new heights with on “Soft Power“) without shedding any of LVL UP’s immediacy or innate charisma. Never over-reaching or overbearing, “I Feel Ok” is the sound of a band living up to increasingly heightened expectations with aplomb. What’s almost terrifying about the pairing of “Soft Power” and “I Feel Ok” is that between the two of them, they’ve barely scratched the surface of what LVL UP is capable of.

Listen to “I Feel Okay” below and make absolutely certain to pre-order Hoodwink’d from site favorites Double Double Whammy (a label run by two members of LVL UP) here.

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August 11, 2014

We Need Secrets – How You Remember (Stream)

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At the end of last month, We Need Secrets (the project of Halifax-based Chad Peck) released Melancholy and The Archive, a shoegaze-heavy debut LP that’s been four years in the making. Anytime that amount of time’s invested in a single release, expectations are going to be considerably heightened. Fortunately, Melancholy and The Archive immediately obliterates any lingering doubts with its scorched-earth opener “How You Remember”.

Ferocious and delicate in equal measure, the oneiric “How You Remember” demonstrates Peck’s near-alarming levels of understanding in regards to genre, composition, and control. Even from the record’s first few seconds, a brief stretch of quiet ambient noise that gets obliterated when everything kicks in, it’s evident that there’s something rare happening with the music in Melancholy and The Archive. Effortlessly commanding attention, Peck (who plays next to every instrument throughout the record) holds nothing back from the get-go, going full-throttle and never letting up over the course of the record. It’s a wonder his name’s not one that’s gained greater familiarity, which is a possibility that’s not entirely out of the question if We Need Secrets is consistently held to a standard this fully-realized.

Listen to “How You Remember” below and then let the rest of the record play through- it’s easily one of 2014’s most stunning surprises. Order it here.

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August 10, 2014

Places to Hide – Nowhere Bound (Stream)

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Places To Hide have been locked into a spot worth envying for some time now, appearing- and frequently headlining- absolutely stacked bills with the finest bands from rosters like Salinas and Double Double Whammy. Everyone seems to be on their side or putting in a good word or five for the Atlanta-based quartet and that loyalty’s being repaid in full, courtesy of the band’s distinctly original take on a peculiar 90’s bent, basement pop, and scuzz-punk- all filtered through an impressive lo-fi sensibility.

Near the end of July, the band unveiled the Wild N Soft EP, offering up the careening push-and-pull of “Nowhere Bound” as a free preview on their bandcamp. Encapsulating just about everything that’s helped transform the band into something approaching the territories of “underground’s best-kept secret”, “Nowhere Bound” is a malaise-filled rager worthy of the band’s discography. Vocals are traded, a haunting wordless melody sets the song’s tone, off-kilter instrumental work clashes and complements in a manner that recalls Speedy Ortiz at their absolute finest, and sections of blistering fuzz punctuate what otherwise sounds deceptively lazy (a hallmark of late 80’s/early 90’s SST). Combine all of those elements and inject them with a keen awareness for the modern musical landscape and it’s no surprise that Places To Hide have become as celebrated as they are.

Hear “Nowhere Bound” below and expect to be reading their name a few more times on this site.

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August 10, 2014

Kindling – Sunspots (Stream)

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Towards the end of last month, Easthampton duo Kindling set about releasing one of the best unheralded 7″s of the year so far with Spike & Wave. The duo, made up of Stephen Pierce and Gretchen Williams, leans heavily on shoegaze while not completely abandoning fuzzy outsider pop, in a vein not too dissimilar from site favorites Joanna Gruesome. Spike & Wave is limited to 300 copies on lavender vinyl, courtesy of Moon Sounds Records, and- because of songs like “Sunspots”- it’s worth snagging a copy before they’re gone.

All four songs on Spike & Wave are extraordinary in their own right but it’s the second track that defines the release. “Sunspots” has all of the requisite heaviness, tension, and swirling dream-like unease that characterizes the best shoegaze, while fully embracing a near-twee pop sensibility which they manage to keep grounding. Reverb cloaks the majority of the instrumentation, granting it a blown-out and completely wide-open feel that’s as welcoming as it is daunting. Totaling a mere two minutes and 25 seconds, it’s a masterstroke of genre craftsmanship and announces Kindling as an act to watch out for.

Listen to “Sunspots” below and pick up a copy of Spike & Wave from Moon Sounds Records here.

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August 10, 2014

Allison Crutchfield – Berlin (Stream)

Swearin' XXXVIV

Just a few days ago Allison Crutchfield surprised just about everyone by releasing a surprise solo EP (with a fair amount of additional help from Radiator Hospital‘s Sam Cook-Parrott) on a new bandcamp page with absolutely no advance warning. Considering that Crutchfield’s been a part of a few of the better bands of the past decade (Bad Banana, Dear Marje, P.S. Eliot, and Swearin’), the news sent a ripple through a few different communities. There was one major lingering question before taking the plunge and listening to Lean In To It– what would it sound like? It’s difficult to imagine anyone expected it to be a subdued, largely down-tempo glitchy lo-fi bedroom pop record but that’s exactly what it turned out to be- and it still managed to be as stunning as everyone expected.

All seven tracks on Lean In To It add up to something that’s more than worth the $5 price tag that accompanies it, a total anomaly that confounds as much as it entices. Everything on display throughout the EP is compelling to an absurd degree and while that is in part because of the release’s completely unexpected nature, it’s also due to Crutchfield’s undeniable talent as a songwriter. While the six tracks that precede it all have their own merit, it’s the closing track (“Berlin”) that really ties Lean In To It together. A warm synthesizer line props up a gently gnarled guitar line while a damaged drum track cuts everything apart from underneath. Topping everything off is Crutchfield’s always-arresting voice detailing a deeply introspective trip and a fierce longing to match. It’s a staggering amount of heartache that leads up to the release’s final line, which is exactly where the EP gets its name. All in all, it’s another stunning triumph for one of this generation’s more gifted talents and it deserves as wide of an audience as possible.

Listen to “Berlin” below and pick up the whole thing over at Crutchfield’s bandcamp, then join a growing number of people hoping this finds an outlet for a physical release.

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