Owen Pallett | Heartbreaking Bravery

June 29, 2015

The Hussy – Turning On You (Stream)

The Hussy, a Wisconsin mainstay, were part of the very first live review to ever be published on this site. Even before then, the duo held a connection to the site’s archives: one of the first live sets to ever be uploaded to YouTube was one of their very first shows (at the dearly-missed Appleton house venue that was run by members of Tenement, The BFG). Since then, the band’s become a celebrated force in DIY punk and found friends in the likes of Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees, who have championed the band on more than one occasion.

For the past several years, the duo- made up of Bobby Hussy and Heather Sawyer- have managed to sustain a schedule that sees them releasing nearly one full-length for every year, continuously upping their levels of ambition. The band’s upcoming full-length, Galore, was recently unveiled as part of Impose’s excellent Week in Pop series and sees an extension of that pattern. Before the project was revealed in full, the pair offered up their scorched-earth single “Turning On You”.

As manic and urgent as anything in the band’s discography, it immediately showcases the band’s innate charisma and sets about doing its best to destroy everything in its path. As bruising as it is exhilarating, it proves that The Hussy haven’t lost their touch and goes an even longer way in justifying their insanely prolific release schedule. Turn it up or get out of the way; all that’s left in its wake is smoldering wreckage.

Listen to “Turning On You” below and pick up Galore from Southpaw here.

–

Veruca Salt – Empty Bottle
Nostalgist – Pull of the Plow
Heaters – Kamikaze
Hurula – Betongbarn
Bilal (ft. Kendrick Lamar) – Money Over Love
Jacob Banks – Grace
EZTV – Soft Tension
Owen Pallett – The Phone Call
Doubting Thomas Cruise Control – Lillehammer
Tearjerker – Perfect

1 Comment

April 28, 2015

Left & Right – 5 Year Plan (Music Video)

Continuing on with April’s music video catch-up mode allows for the inclusion of a dozen more clips- with one gaining the primary focus. Before getting around to the title included in the headline, it’s time to turn the attention towards 11 other clips worth watching. Among those entries were The OBGM’s snarling “Torpedo“, Weird Wombs’ staged party in “Luxury Punks“, Desparecidos’ typically political “City on the Hill“, and Matthew E. White’s endearingly warm “Feeling Good Is Good Enough“. Expanding the number count for excellent clips were Owen Pallett’s skillfully crafted “The Sky Behind the Flag“, Talkies’ lightly altered “Never Fear“, American Wrestlers’ retro “Kelly“, and Broken Water’s uncomfortably dystopian “1984“. Bringing this contained collection to a close were Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s breathtaking “Gloria“, Sam Amidon’s coming-of-age narrative “Blue Mountains“, and All Boy/All Girl’s noir-infused “Lion“. Each of those videos are deserving of thoughtful contemplation but- for this post- the lion’s share of the attention is (once again) being directed toward site favorites Left & Right.

The last time a Left & Right video surfaced, it was met on this site with a ton of praise that held enough water to secure it a spot on our best videos of 2014 list. One of that video’s most distinctly unique elements was that it didn’t actually feature anyone in Left & Right. For the surging “5 Year Plan”, the band flips the script entirely and only allow themselves to be subjects for the lens. In under 100 seconds, the band unleashes a frantically paced performance clip that incorporates some exhilarating editing and genuinely committed performances from the band. Filmed in a manner that brings the feeling of taking in a live performance to the forefront, “5 Year Plan” is a lot more nuanced than it first appears. Sharply accentuating the song’s manic energy, the clip quickly reveals itself to be as intuitive as it is heartfelt, providing Left & Right their second consecutive outright triumph in the music video department.

Watch “5 Year Plan” below and pre-order the LP of Five Year Plan from Old Flame Records here.

1 Comment

November 5, 2014

Chandos – ..Pretty Sure it’s ‘Tang Top’ (Stream)

With the entirety of yesterday’s post dedicated to Mitski’s miracle of a record, Bury Me At Makeout Creek, there’s quite a bit to catch up on today. There were a bevvy of single streams that included Le Rug’s blown-out rager “Dudley“, Ghastly Menace’s vibrant pop confection “Closing“, and The Dodos’ triumphant return single “Competition“. There was also a sprawling, punchy piece of anthemic open-road folk in the form of Small Houses’ outstanding “Staggers and Rise” as well as another look at YAWN bandleader Adam Gil’s solo project, Dam Gila, via “Home Again“. Rounding things out for the single stream category was a demo from The Guests (a new band featuring members of Sheer Mag), a typically bold Liars b-side, and a Girlpool cover of one of the most achingly romantic songs ever recorded.

In the realms of the music video there was an equally plentiful pool of treasures that included Diarrhea Planet’s oddly compelling fantasia in “Kids“, Metronomy’s stunning woodland-set magic surrealism in “The Upsetter“, and Spider Bags’ subtly nightmarish visual effects collage “Eyes of Death“. Additionally, there was Dream Generation’s stark “The Spirit of America“, She Keeps Bees’ gorgeous “Owl“, Owen Pallett’s inexplicably powerful “In Conflict“, and Corners’ masterfully executed “The Spaceship“. As if that wasn’t enough, the full streams that appeared over the past few days matched the rough output of both the single song and music video output with some truly outstanding efforts coming to light- like Caddywhompus‘ strong bid for Album of the Year contention with Feathering A Nest. The Paperhead emerged with their latest throwback-heavy gem, Africa Avenue, while Parkay Quarts built on their renewed buzz with the wiry Content Nausea. Open Wide released a demo of quietly stunning folk-leaning ballads, Ex Cops threw a darkly-tinted dance party with Daggers, The Jazz June resurfaced with some shockingly strong material in After the Earthquake, and Nots left burn marks with the scalding punk tantrums of We Are Nots.

All of those items are worth sitting down and spending time with but it was recent Carpark Records acquisition Chandos’ “..Pretty Sure it’s ‘Tang Top'” that gets today’s feature spot. It’s a vicious piece of sharp, 90’s-indebted punk, equal parts Acid Fast, PS I Love You, and Speedy Ortiz, “..Pretty Sure it’s ‘Tang Top'” flies along, never bothering to do anything but build momentum through its myriad twists and sharp left turns. Tempos shift, personality gets exuded, and Chandos (formerly Chandeliers) wind up with something that sounds as raw as it does inspired. On Carpark’s ridiculously impressive roster, Chandos falls somewhere between Cloud Nothings and Popstrangers, which is really just shorthand for saying that Chandos’ upcoming record- Rats In Your Bed– is well worth an extremely high level of anticipation. If “..Pretty Sure it’s ‘Tang Top'” is any indication, Chandos is in the midst of a creative peak that will likely yield the band’s strongest material to date. If everything clicks as well as it does in this song, Rats In Your Bed could very well be the first great release of 2015 when it’s released on January 27. Mark the calendar now.

Listen to “..Pretty Sure it’s ‘Tang Top'” below and pre-order Rats In Your Bed from Carpark here.