I’ll start this with a necessary preface (and accompanying admission): I’ve never really been all that invested in Death Grips’ music. At their very best, I viewed them with reserved admiration. I’d crack wise about how I just assumed every site that I was unable to access due to a 404 error was probably just a re-direct to Death Grips’ official website. I grew frustrated with some of their more questionable antics. Now, the trio’s gone ahead and released one of the most jaw-dropping songs of their career. Eschewing their characteristically frenetic tendencies for an aim that’s more direct than they’ve ever been, “On GP” finds them reaching unthinkable heights.
Zach Hill finally gets a proper showcase for his enviable talents behind the kit, MC Ride (Stefan Burnett) goes off on what might be the finest lyric copy of his impressive career, post-punk guitars surge out of the speakers and the rest of the music, which comes off as a hyper-adrenalized version of Fucked Up colliding with early Iceage, follows suit. It’s split apart like a miniature suite, with the aggressively taut sections ceding to sporadic ambient instrumentals- courtesy of producer Andy Morin, in what’s his best contribution to Death Grips to date- that lend the proceedings an air of occasional (admittedly eerie) calm before the bands resumes their normative delirious wrecking crew state. Lyrically, it’s an incisive self-examination that’s unafraid of peering outwards. On the song’s most charged moment, Ride tackles his inner demons in what may go down as 2015’s most striking verse, ending it with a wry “It’s been a pleasure, Stefan.” By the time “On GP” cuts itself off abruptly, it’s landed an impressive array of blows, each furious volley more punishing than the last.
“On GP” is a part of the long-gestating The Powers That B double album, with the second half- Jenny Death (of which “On GP” is included)- due out next week. It’s purportedly the last record that anyone will ever be hearing from the group and if “On GP” is any indication, Death Grips are going out as defiant- and as pissed off- as possible.
Watch the video for “On GP’, which is nothing more than a static frame shot of the band in the echo chamber of Sunset Sound Recorders’ Studio 1, below.
One of the best benefits of running a site is that it opens up the floodgates to great new music via unsolicited submissions. A few personal favorites have fought their way through that weird, uncharted territory that would otherwise have slipped by, potentially unnoticed. From Mulligrub to Spit to Space Mountain, it’s allowed the unearthing of a jaw-dropping assortment of treasures. Add Toby Reif’s vicious EP, 2014, to that list immediately. 2014 is a towering achievement that unleashes itself on the listener from the outset, courtesy of “Bug”, a snarling track that’s instrumental save for the layered ambient vocal samples towards the close. Equal parts post-punk and shoegaze, it falls into a territory not too far removed from the majority of Happy Diving’s excellent Big World.
“Skullkid”, 2014‘s ensuing track, flips the emphasis over to the (heavily distorted) vocals, which lash out of the speakers and make exacting cuts with no remorse. Once again, it’s a viscerally punishing track that sounds absolutely massive without bothering to cater to anything except for Reif’s formidable creative drive. Everything closes with the slow-burning “Going For A Walk And Then A Run At Night When I Should Be Sleeping”, which starts off on a delicate ambient tone before blooming into something much stranger. It’s a fitting end-cap to a genuinely great EP that should, if not anything else, establish Reif as an artistic force. Here’s hoping 2014 and Reif both find the audiences they deserve.
Yesterday this site’s coverage was exclusively dedicated to the premiere of Mutts’ incredible “Black Ties & Diamonds“, ensuring that there’d be quite a bit of material to catch up on today. There weren’t a lot of full streams to emerge but the ones that did made it count. Among them: Cloakroom‘s incredible new 7″, Michael Rault‘s sprightly psych-pop cassingle, Cross Wires’ spiky Your History DefacedEP, and Trust Punks’ snarling post-punk ripper Discipline. Each of those are good enough to have a shot at appearing in a few year-end lists and enhance each respective artist’s profile considerably.
In single stream territory, things got relentless with no less than 11 great songs fighting their way out into the world. These included another look at Cellphone‘s upcoming Excellent Condition with the blistering “No Wind In Hell“, Quarterbacks‘ completely revitalized full-band version of Quarterboy highlight “Center“, A Place To Bury Strangers’ unrelentingly aggressive industrial post-punk bruiser “Straight“, and Seagulls’ airy left-field pop number “You & Me”. Colleen Green teased the upcoming I Want To Grow Up with a career-best in the form of “Pay Attention“, Soft Fangs revealed the quietly mesmerizing “Dead Friends“, Elvis Perkins made an unexpected return with the lightly damaged pscyh-folk of “Hogus Pogus” in advance of the upcoming I Aubade, and Leapling celebrated their teaming with Exploding in Sound via the compelling bizzaro pop of “Crooked“. American Wrestlers teased their upcoming 7″ with the driving lo-fi psych-pop of “I Can Do No Wrong“, Noveller revealed the characteristically beautiful “Into The Dunes“, and Two Gallants unleashed a preview of their upcoming We Are Undone with the vicious title track.
Music videos were just as eventful thanks to efforts like Desperate Journalist‘s strikingly minimal clip for their arresting “Control“, an absolutely gorgeous turn-in for Blonde Redhead‘s “The One I Love“, and Belle & Sebastian’s playful nostalgia in the black-and-white-turned-multicolor “The Party Line“. Elvis Depressedly celebrated their Run For Cover Records signing with the endearingly weird video for “No More Sad Songs“, Dizzee Rascal continued his unlikely hot streak with the visual medium in the supernatural-tinged kung fu revenge tale contained in “Pagans“, and Hey Elbow conducted an unnerving psychedelic visual collage experiment for “Martin“. Viet Cong created an intensely disquieting clip to serve as an accompaniment for their excellent “Continental Shelf“, TOONS went the simple-and-charming route with “Sittin’ Back“, and Angel Olsen deliver the absurdly stunning Rick Alverson-directed “Windows” (which featured startlingly gorgeous cinematography) to round things out in a manner so stunning that it very nearly earned today’s feature spot.
Enter: MOURN. The young band recently became one of Captured Tracks’ most exciting acquisition since site favorites Perfect Pussy. Immediately standing out thanks to their surprisingly young age(s), MOURN seems to have caught just about everyone off-guard thanks to the enviable strengths of their songs. None of those songs landed with as fierce of an impact as their barn-burning “Otitis”. Unfailingly bleak and deeply impassioned, “Otitis” never goes for anything but a merciless kill. All of this played into why the song was previously featured on this site in the 53rd installment of Watch This, where the song grew even sharper fangs. MOURN has been available digitally for some time and comfortably stands as one of 2014’s most exhilarating releases with “Otitis” being its definitive exclamation point. From the wiry verse progressions, to the cavalcade of sharp hooks, to the intuitive harmony work, to the intimidatingly dark chorus, “Otitis” has put MOURN firmly on the map. All of the excitement rests in watching where they go from here.
Listen to “Otitis” below and pre-order MOURN from Captured Tracks here.
Chicago trio Mutts have been steadily building a deeply impressive resume for over five years. Each time the band steps up to the plate, they improve on their previous best- leaving 2013’s extraordinary (acoustic-based) Object Permanenceas their current high-water mark. As unlikely as it seems considering Object Permanence‘s unfailing grace, the record they’re about to release- Fuel Yer Delusion vol. 4– may surpass it to take up the mantle of career-best. “Everyone Is Everyone” kicked off the pre-release roll-out for Fuel Yer Delusion vol. 4in exhilarating fashion with bandleader Mike Maimone passionately dismantling the politics of negative slurs- a stance that takes on a much more personal meaning considering Maimone spent the last few records grappling with the anxieties and emotional releases that accompanied his decision to come out.
“Black Ties & Diamonds” may not be as fiery as its predecessor but it’s just as- if not more- immediately gripping. Easily the band’s most atmospheric moment to date, “Black Ties & Diamonds” is as fire-and-brimstone as it is smoky haze, a classically noir-ish retreat down a murky riverbank. It’s an entirely new look for Mutts and one that suits them so naturally that it’s easy to forget their standard mode is blistering blues-infused noise-punk. As always, Maimone’s lyrics and keyboard work are just as sharp as Mutts’ rhythm section (which is made up of drummer Chris Pagnani and bassist Bob Buckstaff, respectively)- adding to their easily posited claim as one of the tightest units in the upper Midwest.
In lyric copy, “Black Ties & Diamonds” becomes a total deconstruction of a myriad of events, eventually revealing itself as a collection of vignettes that illustrate the trials of life’s overwhelmingly mundane nature. There’s a melancholic nature permeating throughout the track, accentuated by organ stabs, mood-heavy drumming, and frighteningly intuitive bass work. Musically, this veers far closer to the realms of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds than the usually inevitable Tom Waits comparison the band’s so frequently earned in the past. It’s a complete anomaly in the band’s catalog; a minor headphones track in a sea of turned-to-11 explosives.
Production-wise, “Black Ties & Diamonds is the best Mutts have ever sounded electric- something that holds true for the rest of Fuel Yer Delusion vol. 4. This is a record that’s layered, sequenced, and mastered to perfection, with “Black Ties & Diamonds” standing out as the definitive track. Mutts aren’t done experimenting, moving forward, challenging themselves, or progressing. Not by a damn sight. “Black Ties & Diamonds” cements this as inexorable proof in stunning fashion, playing directly into the commendable ethics of one of America’s hardest-working bands. Don’t be too surprised to see their name starting to fight its way into regular conversation- and don’t make the mistake of ignoring something as subtly haunting as “Black Ties & Diamonds”.
Mutts will be throwing an LP release party for Fuel Yer Delusion vol. 4 which will be presented by Gapers Block and feature additional performances from Archie Powell & the Exports, The Kickback, and Pop Goes The Evil. This will take place on December 6 at The Metro. 8 pm. $12 at the door and $8 in advance. Don’t make the mistake of missing this one.
Stream “Black Ties & Diamonds” below and make sure to pick up Fuel Yer Delusion vol. 4 as soon as possible.
Over the past few days, the truly great single song offerings have been fairly scant. Sure, there was another career-high effort from Crying and another outstanding entry in Art Is Hard’s Pizza Club series- but apart from the monstrous Two Inch Astronaut slow-burner (more to come on that in a short while), the well seemed to have been fairly tapped. Enter: Toby Coke. Back in December, this site ran a “Best Of” that included some extremely low-key releases, like the solo venture from The Frankl Project drummer (and occasional vocalist) Joseph Frankl. That solo venture, BREAKERS, was seeped in impact-heavy shoegaze that proved tantalizing enough to stand out from a lot of other artists operating in that genre.
Now, Frankl’s changed guises and switched over to Toby Coke, an equally promising project. “Face Taker” is the first look at the new project and it’s a masterfully composed stunner. Written about the extremely controversial Monsanto corporation, it also immediately aligns Toby Coke’s politics with other commendably active, difference-making artists. “Face Taker” itself is a lo-fi, mid-tempo, shoegaze-leaning post-punk gut-punch. Intensely melodic and completely unapologetic in its viciousness, there isn’t a moment that goes by without a noteworthy hook or a clever turn of phrase. It’s too impossibly great to ignore and ranks among the year’s best songs; a gut-punch thrown from the ether. Don’t let it pass by without the attention it deserves.
Over the past few months, this site has given plenty of coverage to both LVL UP and the label two of its members founded (and run), Double Double Whammy. Included in the ranks of the Double Double Whammy roster was another artist who’s emerged as a site favorite: Mitski. When the two announced they’d be touring together (and, subsequently that LVL UP would be backing Mitski), being in attendance for the nearest show was a foregone conclusion. On October 12, their tour made its way to Chicago’s Beat Kitchen where they headlined a bill that also included local acts Mtvghosts and Staring Problem.
Mtvghosts kicked things off after narrowly avoiding being no-shows and made their way through an energetic set of Strokes-influenced powerpop (not too dissimilar from Locksley). Now a few releases into their career, they made their way through a high energy set and played off each other nicely. Utilizing an abundance of energy and a clear connection, their set succeeded on pure entertainment value- Staring Problem‘s Lauren Owen would later make an amusing remark on the vocalist’s “Paul McCartney head thing”. While it’s clear Mtvghosts have a very firm grasp on composition and how to write a good pop song, not too much of it had any kind of longevity- although there’s enough talent in the band to suggest that point may not be too far down the line.
After Mtvghosts unabashedly pop concoctions, Staring Problem dove headlong into a set of primal post-punk that was tinged with early goth-punk influences. With songs that felt deadly serious and had pulsating undercurrents of the overwhelmingly bleak, they managed to sink into a groove that left most of the audience in a hypnotic trance. Mtvghosts may have had Staring Problem beat in terms of stage presence but Staring Problem’s songs proved to be immensely gripping, if unrelentingly minimal (their drummer’s kit was bare-bones and the only cymbal it made room for was a hi-hat). Impressive bass riffs dueled with intuitive guitarwork and Owens’ tranced-out vocals. Even with an emphasis on the grave, the band found room for humor; a song called “Pictures of Morrissey In Jake’s Locker” wound up being an unexpected highlight. By the time they exited, it was difficult to imagine they hadn’t made a few converts.
Mitski‘s been making quite a name for herself lately. After two very strong records of avant pop, the songwriter’s made a sharp left turn into blissed-out noise pop. With the distortion cranked up on the extraordinary soon-to-be-released Bury Me At Makeout Creek it’s afforded Mitski the chance to reignite an already impressive career. “Townie“, “First Love/Late Spring“, and “I Don’t Smoke” all showcase layers of a seriously enviable talent in composition and musicianship (as well as some gorgeous- and expansive- production), which shouldn’t be surprising taking into account Mitski’s SUNY Purchase background. Incidentally, SUNY Purchase was where Mitski would meet the members of LVL UP and forge a connection that would have direct implications for both artist’s respective careers.
Taking into account the high-functioning levels of production that provide Bury Me At Makeout Creek part of its character, a large portion of the pre-set anticipation lay in how Mitski would bring these songs to life with the assistance of LVL UP. Less than a minute into “Townie” any doubts that the songs would lose even a fraction of their appeal were absolutely annihilated. Aided by Michael Caridi on guitar and LVL UP bassist Nick Corbo on drums, Mitski lay into the song with a startling amount of intensity, causing the audience to erupt in bewildered applause by the song’s close.
All it took was that first song for Mitski to expand and win over an entire audience, which raises the stakes considerably on the expected reaction to Bury Me At Makeout Creek once it’s out in the world. Caridi and Corbo both flashed extremely impressive chops as Mitski commanded attention with the kind of effortlessness that suggests much bigger things will be happening for the emerging artist in the very near future. When Mitski’s set closed with Mitski absolutely shredding her vocal cords in bouts of guttural screaming at the end of “Drunk Walk Home”, half the audience seemed to be left speechless- and it was difficult to fault them- Mitski had delivered the kind of set that warrants the highest kinds of praise and ensures that even more people will be drawn into her orbit.
After Mitski’s set, it wouldn’t have been too surprising to see someone leaving thinking they’d seen the headliner- but it wasn’t before long that LVL UP proved that they were up to the task of following a gift of a set with another exercise in killer performances. Having already delivered one of the year’s best records in Hoodwink’dand one of the year’s best songs, “Big Snow“, on an absolutely essential split, their live set had quite a bit to live up to. Boasting a discography that’s bursting at the seams with songs that project a casual confidence and an excess of charisma, LVL UP’s very nature is practically defined by their willingness to embrace each the unique personality of each principal songwriter (Caridi, Corbo, and Trace Mountains‘ Dave Benton).
“Soft Power“, “Ski Vacation“, “DBTS“, and “I Feel Ok” all hinted at LVL UP excelling as a complementary unit that would easily function when stripped back to individual elements. Balancing on the precipice between detached apathy and unbridled energy, the band’s songs came to weird, vibrant life in the live setting. Everyone traded off vocals with a casually practiced ease and a fiery commitment. True to Space Brothers‘ form, several of the songs bled into each other- with a particular highlight (one of a very large handful) being the opening trio of tracks from that very record. In fact, much of their set played out like a contained suite, with everything retaining maximum impact.
There was more than one point through LVL UP’s set where time seemed to be completely lost, as the band kept the audience engaged while they occupied their own world. Song after song, they demonstrated just about every reason why they’re a band worth celebrating- only emphatically enhancing the live elements of that particular spread. Solos were traded, select songs were extended with surprisingly heavy bridges and outros, and- more than anything else- left-field personality was exuded. Hoodwink’d and Space Brothers were about evenly split throughout the set, and both songs from the band’s incredible split with Porches. were represented as well.
While Corbo, Caridi, and Benton all shared a fair amount of spotlight, drummer Greg Rutkin held everything down with brute force and an unfailingly exact precision that made songs like the closing “ELIXR (19)” sound absolutely massive. Just like on record, everything managed to complement everything else in a manner that made all of LVL UP’s songs feel intensely alive. Before their set, each member had voiced various concerns about their headlining slot and thanks for Beat Kitchen’s kind accommodations (including sound, which was pristine throughout the show). When “ELIXR (19)” drew the set to a powerful close, it provided an exclamation point to a stunning set that coursed past their early apprehensions into the realms of the sublime. If there was any reservation about this before, their set ensured one thing: 2014 is LVL UP’s year. Get on board before it’s too late.
Watch a clip of LVL UP playing “Soft Power” and “Bro Chillers” below. Underneath that, view an extensive photo gallery of the show.
Exploding in Sound has been earning a lot of words here lately and that’s not a huge coincidence; they specialize in the exact intersection that this place was built to support. DIY aesthetics, basement pop, basement punk, off-kilter weirdness, impressive compositions, and (largely immediate) music that warrants both intellectual and visceral responses. Nearly everything the label’s put out in the past few months could justifiably earn year-end consideration. It’s a jaw-dropping tun of releases that seems set to continue with the upcoming split 7″ between site favorites Big Ups and wiry New York post-punks Washer.
Bigs Ups already unleashed the pulverizing “Rash“, a song that was aggressive even by their standards, proving the world its first glimpse at the split. Now, Washer is allowing a preview of their side with “Rot”, a characteristically jittery piece of gnashed-teeth post-punk. Fierce drumming combines with a guitar line that’s almost entirely clean to create an arresting sonic palette while the vocal melody ensures multiple returns. It’s bold, it’s weird, and it hits an elusive sweet spot in feeling familiar without sounding much like anything else out there (Even Hand and Bent Shapes were the first two bands to come to mind- and that’s a fairly diverse selection). Striking a perfect balance between being uncompromisingly ragged and relentlessly precise, it’s another strong example of Exploding in Sound’s penchant for bands that aren’t afraid to challenge themselves or their listeners- and that’s something worth celebrating.
Listen to “Rot” below and pre-order the split from Exploding in Sound here.
Ty Segall’s Manipulator is one of the year’s grandest rock n’ roll records. Massive in scope and sprawling in length, it avoided becoming an exercise in excess thanks to how absurdly grounded most of the songs on Manipulator wound up being. Easily the most readily accessible and wide-reaching record of Segall’s ridiculously prolific career, it felt like a well-deserved bow; the underground’s wunderkind earning a huge moment after years of tireless work and dedication. Impressively, it happened without Segall compromising his identity, his ideologies, or his defining characteristics. “The Singer” was one of more than a dozen standout cuts on Manipulator and the first to boast an incredible one-shot video as an accompaniment.
Segall isn’t new to one-shot clips, either- the video for the title cut off of Goodbye Breadremains a world-stopping piece of art. It’s fitting then, that he would abandon that visual hallmark up until Manipulator, a record that feels more like Goodbye Bread‘s natural successor than any of the ensuing entries in his discography. Not too surprisingly, Matt Yoka directed both clips and infused them with an eye that’s keenly tuned in to a very specific style of art that’s perfectly suited to Segall’s own creative vision (the mundane meets the gloss, neither wins). While “Goodbye Bread” undoubtedly offered more visual stimuli, the details of “The Singer” are worth stopping to appreciate. For one, nearly all of the colors in the static frame are muted- with two small instances of white acting as a double-frame for Segall. Even the members of his band are rendered as ghostly projections, giving some weight to the fact that Manipulator seems to be Segall’s true star-making moment.
It’s that self-awareness that likely caused Yoka to cast Segall in vibrant colors- it’s also Segall’s commitment to a scuzzy, almost feral, take on punk that likely led Yoka to cheekily place him just slightly off of center. If the color palette and framing devices alone didn’t make this a remarkably entertaining viewing experience, then Segall’s various (almost puppeteered) animations push it way over the top. “The Singer” already had catharsis in spades, with its sweeping string section providing a surprisingly strong undercurrent of raw emotion- but even that winds up being sharply accentuated with the video’s climactic ascension. All told, it’s a deceptively well-crafted piece of minimalism that’s deeply felt and carries an easy resonance; a great song turned classic by the perfect video. It’s Ty Segall’s world for the taking and if this is the kind of thing he’s going to gift it with, we should all consider ourselves lucky.
Watch “The Singer” below” and pick up Manipulator from Drag City here.
A steady stream of streams flooded most of today’s music news and several of them wound up making strong impressions. Among them were Girlpool’s jittery “Blah Blah Blah“, Bad Power’s hardcore ripper “Jawws“, and Cellphone‘s Halloween-friendly post-punk nightmare “Human Rights“. Nothing continued to improve in exhilarating fashion, hitting a new high with the damaged beauty of “July The Fourth and YAWN bandleader Adam Gil’s new solo project- Dam Gila- offered up the tantalizing pysch-pop of “History“. Mineral’s vocalist, Chris Simpson, streamed Pink Chalk, the lilting record that’s due out soon from his Zookeeper project. Joel Jerome followed up the excellent Babies On Acid with Psychic Thrift Store Folk, which is now streaming in full over at Wondering Sound- a site that also has the distinct pleasure of hosting a full stream of Night School’s Heart BeatEP (which is easily one of the year’s best). Then, of course, there was Ovlov‘s newest song- the second to be released from the jaw-dropping four-way split 7″ that also includes Krill, LVL UP, and Radiator Hospital.
All four bands on this split have earned the distinction of site favorites thanks to their punk-leaning strains of outsider pop. This will be the latest in a handful of releases born out of the collaboration between Double Double Whammy and Exploding in Sound, which continues to be one of the most exciting things in music. Krill’s “Peanut Butter” had already been unleashed on the world a few weeks back and kicked the obvious promise of the split up a few additional levels. Ovlov take that level of acceleration and floor it, not only offering up one of the best songs of their career but- impossibly- lending even more promise to the split. “Ohmu Shell” is a song that sounds like an assurance; this is a confident band who are fully aware of their identity (something many strive to achieve and fail to accomplish). There’s a greater immediacy on display then there was on last year’s excellent amand continues their streak of incredible contributions to splits (Little Big League being the latest, following another four-way split with Ex-Breathers, Gnarwhal, and Woozy)- all from this year.
Every time the band steps up to deliver something new, it seems like they’re continuously improving upon their career-best, which is the kind of trajectory that can speak volumes about a band’s potential. Everything about “Ohmu Shell” works to perfection; the guitars charge as much as they swirl, the vocals manage to be alternately impassioned and apathetic- creating a contrast that injects the song’s explosive moments with an obscene amount of energy. There’s a greater emphasis on a skewed 90’s revivalism that’s deeply rooted in the slacker and outsider sub-genres of punk. Ovlov sounds more alive than ever, wide-eyed, determined, and prepared for anything that dares to come their way. If LVL UP and Radiator Hospital deliver on this level (which they’re both fully capable of, considering both of their full-lengths are locks for this site’s Top 10), this split just might be the best thing to come out of 2014.
Listen to “Ohmu Shell” below and pre-order the split from from Double Double Whammy here.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Apologies for the delay on this post, it was held up pending a confirmation. That confirmation just came through and a regular daily wrap-up of today’s releases will be posted later on in the evening. This post has been edited to reflect its current standing.]
Tuesday was a much quieter today for great new releases than Monday’s mind-boggling output- but the few things that were released managed to hold their ground. Menace Beach’s “Come On Give Up” gave the day a swift kick and got things moving with fuzzed-out basement pop. Happy Diving teased their upcoming full-length Big World with another attention-ensuring track, “Sad Planet“, which provides a glimpse of what’s turning out to be a fairly enviable range (and is one of the year’s better songs). AV Club also contributed to today’s haul with the full stream of the record that’s earned quite a few mentions on this site over the past few weeks: Little Big League’s Tropical Jinx, which emphatically capitalizes on its early promise and is more than good enough to be listened to on a regular basis well into 2015.
Now, admittedly, there’s more than one reason that Meat Wave’s first music video, “Brother”, earned today’s feature spot. Before getting to the auxiliary aspects, two things are worth noting: 1. Meat Wave is a band that’s been on this site’s radar for a long while. 2. “Brother” is one of the more perfect visual representations of a band’s style this year. Those two facts alone would have given it today’s feature spot, with the rest just acting as a sizable bonus. “Brother” is an all-out blitz of a song, reveling in an off-the-rails aggression that’s always guaranteed the band was a serious force to be reckoned with- something the video taps into expertly.
Made up entirely of jagged quick-cuts and stop motion shots, “Brother” is as deliriously frenetic as it is disorienting and ferocious. What makes it stand out is a peculiar sense of humor that the band brings to the clip. It’s also worth mentioning that this is a video for a song that was released two years ago, from a record that’s still holding up impossibly well. With the video providing a reminder that this music is as immediate (and feral) as it’s ever been, Meat Wave’s also managed to bring across a very subtle message in the visual medium: the knives are out and the band’s no longer content to stay still. This is likely part of the reasons as to why the band will be joining site favorites Geronimo! (whose Cheap Trickis one of this year’s best records) on their farewell tour- which is a topic that brings up something else entirely.
On October 18, both bands will be stopping at a house venue (The Powerstrip) in Stevens Point, WI. Sweetening the deal is the fact that they’ll be joined by Mumblr, a Philadelphia-based band whose recently released Full of Snakesis full of highlights (“Sober” being one of 2014’s finest songs) and exists in the exact space that this site most frequently celebrates; the perfect marriage of basement punk and basement pop. It’ll be the first of what will hopefully be many forays into live shows (and subsequent documentation). Cameras will be rolling and footage will certainly be appearing at some point in the future. So, stay tuned and try to make it out- this should be a celebration to remember.
Watch “Brother” below, download Meat Wave from the band’s bandcamp, and check out the flyer for the show below the video (as well as all of Meat Wave’s other tour dates).
Heartbreaking Bravery 