powerpop | Heartbreaking Bravery

February 17, 2014

Archie Powell & the Exports – Everything’s Fucked (Stream)

First off, sincerest apologies for the gap in content posting. Much of the delay is due to an issue that’s close to being resolved and will (finally) result in the posting of the 13th Watch This installment. Apologies aside, the lack of content means there were a few things that slipped through the radar and couldn’t be given a timely post. That’s where ragged Midwest punk-leaning powerpop staples Archie Powell & the Exports come in. “Everything’s Fucked” (an appropriate sentiment for the current delay situation) is the first track the band’s allowed the public of their upcoming Back in Black LP, a follow up to the extraordinary Great Ideas in Action.

If “Everything’s Fucked” is indicative of the rest of Back in Black then the band’s grown even more incendiary over the brief amount of time that’s lapsed. Everything that made their past work so worthwhile is retained in full but there’s a greater urgency in the band’s controlled chaos. From the distorted acoustic opening chords through to the explosive finale, that noticeably elevated urgency drives the song off the rails and charts its own damn course. Considering everyone sounds like they were lit on fire before someone hit record, the fact that the studio didn’t burn to the ground when this thing was tracked is kind of astonishing. There’s a reckless go-for-broke mentality that permeates “Everything’s Fucked” which makes it one of the most infectious things the band’s ever done. Frantic and catchy as hell, “Everything’s Fucked” just might be an apt example of the band’s manic determination. If that winds up as being even half as propulsive as “Everything’s Fucked”, they may just generate enough momentum to push them onto much bigger things. Keep both eyes out, lock up the children, and listen to “Everything’s Fucked” below.

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February 5, 2014

The Sleepwalkers – My Best Was Never Good Enough (Stream)

Yesterday USA Today premiered the first song from The Sleepwalkers’ upcoming record Lost My Mind in Stereo (due out April 8 as a self-release), “My Best Was Never Good Enough”. For a few years now, it’s been one of The Sleepwalkers’ strongest songs during their live sets and the finalized studio version certainly lives up to expectation. The Sleepwalkers have been a band that’s deserved familiarization since before their first official release, The Reckless Kind, back when they were known as Ian Olvera and The Sleepwalkers and long before they moved to Milwaukee. They’re a band that’s consistently found itself in tune with an all-american longing. Open roads, baseball, apple pie, BBQ’s, fireworks, and basement shows all effortlessly evoked in their minutiae.

“My Best Was Never Good Enough” find this aspect of their music reaching new heights, as it seamlessly and simultaneously recalls the likes of The Replacements, Elvis Costello, Big Star, The Heartbreakers, and the Old 97’s. It’s littered with tones that have just enough crunch to make the music sound as dirtied up and hard-learned as Olvera does when he spits out the song’s title in the chorus. From the springboard intro through to the memorable riff that appears throughout and closes the track, “My Best Was Never Good Enough” packs one hell of a punch. Inspired guitar work, a propulsive rhythm section, and Olvera’s masterful lyricism (the entire second verse is a knockout blow) all get propped up to the levels they deserve through pristine production. There’s a down-home aesthetic, some fiery bursts of instrumentation (including one in that miraculous second verse that goes off like a stick of dynamite), and more than a few individual moments that threaten to become inescapable earworms. If anything, give this a listen to remind yourself that rock n’ roll is timeless.

Hear “My Best Was Never Good Enough” over at USA Today and keep up with the band on their Facebook.

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December 14, 2013

On the Up: Nervosas

Nervosas have had a whirlwind year since releasing their self-titled 2xLP debut album via Let’s Pretend Records. They went from a tucked-away secret to a band whose name seemingly dominated year-end conversations in more than a few specialty circles for the latter half of the year. Nearly every distro that Nervosas or any of their previous releases were available in are currently out of stock. After word got out about how good Nervosas really was, there was a grassroots word-of-mouth brushfire that propelled the band towards the upper echelons of punk.

Their trajectory has been one of the most impressive for any band this year and there’s reason to believe that their profile may eventually spill out towards even greater recognition. Nervosas’ sound skews towards Savages, who have experienced their fair share of success this year, only their take is less deliberate and quite a bit more fiery than their UK counterparts. Obvious no-wave influences are present but Nervosas are toying with them in ways that feel both new and unexpected. Nervosas itself is blinding and relentless but has an undeniable powerpop hue to it, not too dissimilar to how The Clash and The Replacements worked the genre into their music.

While Let’s Pretend (who have had an incredible past few years and emerged as one of basement punk’s leading taste-makers) have temporarily sold out of Nervosas material, the demo tape can still be purchased via Cowabunga! and the self-titled can be picked up over at No Breaks. Both tapes deserve to be secured immediately not just because of their quality but because of their scarcity; they’re great additions to any serious music collection and will undoubtedly be gone before long. These Ohio punk are showing no signs of slowing down and have positioned themselves nicely for a huge breakthrough.

Nervosas will be touring throughout 2014, including a March 1st double-header in Milwaukee that will find them playing with Appleseeds, Strange Matter, Crowdpleaser, Slut River, and two Heartbreaking Bravery favorites; Technicolor Teeth and Midwives. The early show (with Appleseeds, Strange Matter, and Crowdpleaser) will be at Center Street Free Space while the late show will take place at Quarter’s Rock N’ Roll Palace. Both are can’t-miss activities.

Listen to Nervosas self-titled full-length below.

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December 5, 2013

Vaadat Charigim – Kezef Al Hamayim (Music Video)

The World Is Well Lost has become a record impossible to shake; its implications run deeper than anticipated. Essentially a commentary on a variety of social issues currently facing Vaadat Charigim’s native Tel Aviv, the meanings behind the songs have faced major obstacles in breaking through a language barrier. However, the music on its own has remained impossibly affecting. Everything on The World Is Well Lost adds up to an incredible cohesive piece of art; the sum sometimes seeming far greater than its parts. That’s not to say those parts are unimpressive, a few of the songs taken as individuals are year-end candidates. One of them, “Kezef Al Hamayim”, now has a music video to accompany it.

“Kezef Al Hamayim” follows “Odisea” and comes about a month in advance of The World Is Well Lost‘s impending vinyl release. Vaadat Charigim sticks with the hazy glow they incorporated into the video for “Odisea”, only this time they turn the cameras on themselves. “Kezef Al Hamayim” is essentially nothing more than the band playing inside of a house but the way it’s lensed adds a sense of deep unease that plays into the song well. There’s little light to be found and the attention’s placed as much on the band as the song, which is a stunner. There are moments scattered across The World Is Well Lost that manage a stunning combination of post-punk, shoegaze, and powerpop. “Kezef Al Hamayim” is certainly one of them.

While the release may not be picking up the attention it deserves, despite the best efforts of both Burger Records and the band themselves, there’s no reason that can’t change. It hopefully will after the record receives a January vinyl release, because this is one of 2013’s best moments. Boundaries and barriers become less important when music operates on the level it does on The World Is Well Lost. The fact that a lot of people haven’t picked up on this band yet makes the record’s title frighteningly apt. Those that have (like FILTER, who premiered the video), won’t cease in their coverage until people have this band in their life. They’re that good.

The World Is Well Lost is available on cassette from Burger and the video for “Kezef Al Hamayim” is below.

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Tag: powerpop