Rejoice | Heartbreaking Bravery

As stated in the preceding post, a lot’s been happening in the world of Heartbreaking Bravery (both in its interior machinations and mitigating exterior factors). Its public upkeep has been largely neglected but behind the scenes, the work continues to be ceaseless. Watch This, the typically weekly series that celebrates the greatest live videos of the given week, has been on somewhat of a hiatus. To amend that, for this 15oth installment, this will extend far beyond the series’ usually confined scope.

In the previous 50 markers for Watch This, Heartbreaking Bravery’s original live videos have been featured. With matters of scheduling, it’s been impossible to keep that pace but bookmark the site’s YouTube channel for upcoming clips of acts like LVL UP, Alex G, Nobunny, The Hussy, and more (with a few long-archived clips finally making their way to air). So, instead of personally-generated footage, this will celebrate not five but 50 of the finest live clips to have appeared since the last Watch This ran at the end of October.

Single song performances, full sessions, individually-helmed efforts, and professionally-captured studio takes all appear. With this amount of material featured, it’d be a hyper-herculean task to take everything in all at once. The best route may simply be to bookmark the page, the clip, or fast-forward at will (though everything featured is more than worth the effort). So, as always, sit back, grab a drink, adjust the settings, focus, and Watch This.

The tracklist for Watch This: Vol. 150 can be found below the embed.

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1. Car Seat Headrest – Drunk Driver/Killer Whales (Fallon)
2. Monica LaPlante – Hope You’re Alone (The Current)
3. Cymbals Eat Guitars (KEXP)
4. Casper Skulls – Love Brain (Exclaim!)
5. Um Are – Dark Entry (Boxfish Sessions)
6. LVL UP (KEXP)
7. Jack – Blue (I Like It Session)
8. Islands – Fear (Do512)
9. Jeff Rosenstock – Wave Goodnight To Me (Radio K)
10. Mercury Girls (WKNC)
11. The Peep Temple – Constable (3RRR)
12. Total Slacker – Don’t Ever Fade Away (BreakThruRadio)
13. And The Kids (WKNC)
14. Special Death – Perfume (DZ Records)
15. Spit – Days In Dreams (The Loft Sessions)
16. Drive-By Truckers (NPR)
17. Daisy Chains – Prove It (Radio K)
18. Lee Ranaldo – Electric Trim (La Blogotheque)
19. Bellows (Audiotree)
20. The Just Luckies – Conventions (DZ Records)
21. Lady Lamb – Spat Out Spit (Buzzsession)
22. Fraternal Twin – Big Dipper (Allston Pudding)
23. Pinegrove (NPR)
24. John K. Samson – Reconstruction Site (ANTI- Records)
25. Small Houses – Telling It Wrong (Sofar Sounds)
26. Wilco – If Ever I Was A Child (La Blogotheque)
27. Sad13 (PressureDrop.tv)
28. Sidney Gish – Hexagons and Other Fun Materials (Boxfish Sessions)
29. Julien Baker – Rejoice (KVRX)
30. Snail Mail (Michael Andrade)
31. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – Nobody Dies (NPR)
32. Swimsuit Addition – Uptick (DZ Records)
33. Frankie Cosmos – What If (Allston Pudding)
34. Cayetana (Audiotree)
35. Courtney – Going Out Tonight (DZ Records)
36. Bethlehem Steel – Figure It Out (I Like It Session)
37. Atlas Crash – V.O.L.E. (Sofar Sounds)
38. Kishi Bashi (KEXP)
39. Ben & The Saints – Gold Rush (Sofar Sounds)
40. Wrekmeister Harmonies (Audiotree)
41. MASZER (KEXP)
42. Field Mouse (Audiotree)
43. Mall Walk (PressureDrop.tv)
44. Hovvdy – Problem (KVRX)
45. Purling Hiss (PressureDrop.tv)
46. Fufanu (KEXP)
47. Bear Vs. Shark (Audiotree)
48. Okkervil River (KEXP)
49. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Magneto (Andrew Dominik)
50. Explosions in the Sky (NPR)

July 13, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 131

Over the course of the past two full weeks, there has been a brief reprieve from the Watch This series, which normally runs in weekly installments. Part of the reasoning behind its recent absence has been explained in previous posts (it was mostly a matter of scheduling) but returns now in a two-part installment to cover those complete weeks. The week that’s currently in session will be accounted for on Sunday and unaffected by these installments. Laura Stevenson, NUEX, Tango Alpha Tango and the Malady of Sevendials, The Dirty Nil, Charles Bradley, Bruiser Queen, Spooky Ghosts, The Goon Sax, Weakened Friends, Bombay, Money, Beach Slang, Adia Victoria, Protomartyr, and Maritime were the featured artists that comprised roughly half of the honorable mentions in the covered time frame, fully illustrating the strength of the featured cuts. So, as always, sit up, adjust the settings, focus, and Watch This.

1. Summer Cannibals (PressureDrop.tv)

PressureDrop.tv has been responsible for a lot of the more memorable full sessions of recent memory but the series recently topped themselves with this no-holds-barred session from site favorites Summer Cannibals. None of the other performers on the series’ enviable roster of guests have matched the sheer velocity of Summer Cannibals’ energy here and the visuals match that propulsion. Nearly every second of the performance feels perfectly complementary and suggests that PressureDrop.tv just might be realizing their full potential.

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2. free cake for every creature – All You Gotta Be When You’re 23 Is Yourself (BreakThruRadio)

free cake for every creature have appeared on this site numerous times but with each successive link, they’ve bettered themselves and hit yet another apex with this BreakThruRadio performance of “All You Gotta Be When You’re 23 Is Yourself”, a standout from their most recent release. Conjuring up a spell of subdued magic, the band effortlessly breezes through the track and closes it out with a soft smile.

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3. Clearance – You’ve Been Pre-Approved (Constellation Chicago)

One of last year’s more overlooked releases came in the form of Clearance‘s excellent Rapid Rewards [full disclosure: my photography is used for the back art] and the record’s allure has actually grown since its release. A large part of that is thanks to Mike Bellis’ knowledgeable songwriting, which is front and center in this recent solo take of one of that record’s many highlights, “You’ve Been Pre-Approved”.

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4. Tancred (Little Elephant)

Something is happening in these Tancred videos for Little Elephant that both suggests they’re unfinished and creates a curious pull that’s not entirely dissimilar from quicksand. The performance from the band, as ever, is sharp as hell but the audio sounds canned, as if only an overhead mic was picking the band up. That effect winds up working in tandem with the band’s influences astonishingly well, creating a damaged VHS sound quality that transforms this session into a surprisingly gratifying Easter egg.

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5. Julien Baker (Exclaim!)

If a pro-shot Julien Baker session emerges over the course of any given week, it’s probably safe to assume that it’ll find representation in this series. Baker’s an innately talented performer and a mesmerizing lyricist that’s already managed to carve out a space next to Elliott Smith as one of the most effective and intimate narrators of tragedy that the music world’s had in quite some time. All of those qualities infuse this recent two-song performance for Exclaim! with a hypnotic sadness that manages to be both reassuring and heartrending all at once.

May 30, 2016

Splitting at the Break: The Live Videos of 2016’s First Half

2016 is just about at its midway mark and there hasn’t been any live coverage on this site since before the year turned over. There have been a number of extenuating circumstances preventing the live documentation that has been captured this year from being posted (travel, time, other commitments, etc.) but that changes today. Below are ten video packets from ten shows that I was fortunate enough to catch — and shoot — this year.

Normally, as a general rule of thumb, I avoid posting anything from shows I play but am making an exception for the Jungles package because the band’s woefully under-represented in America for their undeniable strength as a live act. A few other packets may be missing an artist or two but what’s below is the vast majority of what I’ve seen over the past six months.

Whether it’s Meat Wave ripping through a crushing new song on a (freakishly sunny) winter day in Chicago, Beach Slang covering The Replacements two times over, or Torres making everyone’s hairs stand on end with an unforgettable one-song encore, these are worth a look and were a privilege to experience. A photo gallery will be coming within the next few days but for now, enjoy the footage.

American Wrestlers, Eternal Summers, Palehound, and Torres.

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Julien Baker and Charly Bliss.

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Muuy Biien, Meat Wave, The Spits, and Black Lips.

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Runners, Beech Creeps, and Heavy Times.

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Jungles.

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Mr. Martin & The Sensitive Guys, BAG-DAD, Haunter, Miserable Friend, and Heavycritters.

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Yoko and the Oh No’s and PWR BTTM.

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Micah Schnabel, Dyke Drama, Potty Mouth, and Beach Slang.

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Yowler, Eskimeaux, and Frankie Cosmos.

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Oops and Dilly Dally.

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November 29, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 105

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to the nature of these upcoming posts, a truncated version of this introductory paragraph will be appearing over the next several installments of this series.] It’s been quite some time since the 100th edition of Watch This went up on this site. There have been a lot of factors going into the extended interim but, as usual, a focal point of that absence was to make sure the preparation work was kept up to date. Full sessions, single song performances, DIY videos, and impressive turn-ins from radio stations abound. So, as always, sit back, adjust the setting, crank the volume, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Young Jesus – Every Little Landscape (The Trundle Sessions)

After a brief restructuring period, Young Jesus came out swinging in 2015 with one of the year’s finest records and an even more ferocious live show than they’d had with their previous iteration. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve been teasing new material in their live sessions. “Every Little Landscape” is another look at the band’s promising future that showcases guitarist/vocalist’s enviable knack for songwriting. It’s a quiet, impressive moment that suggests the band’s far from done.

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2. Woozy – Gilding the Lily (Little Elephant)

Every once in a while, Little Elephant brings a band into their studio that challenges their preferred style of music while still adapting some characteristics of those genres. Utilizing elements of ambient, post-rock, ’90s emo, and a wealth of other genres, Woozy hit upon a career highlight with “Gilding the Lily”, a song that’s performed here with no shortage of focus or determination. A masterclass in dynamics and composition, it’s a deeply impressive look at a band well worth our attention.

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3. Ultimate Painting (3voor12)

After a strong debut effort in 2014, Ultimate Painting came surging back this year with even more formidable material. Utilizing the same breezy aesthetic, the band turns in a set of open-road anthems for 3voor12. The performances are uniformly strong and bristling with an almost paradoxical relaxed energy. Jangly, folk-informed basement pop at its absolute finest, this is another step forward for a band that seems determined to make a mark.

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4. Alex G – Soaker + Rules (WXPN)

Over the past several years, Alex G has built up a surprisingly passionate cult following thanks to a string of bandcamp releases, the right connections, and relentless touring. The project had its breakthrough last year with DSU and reached greater heights with this year’s outstanding Beach Music. WXPN recently invited the band into their studio and they responded with impassioned takes on both “Soaker” and “Rules”, providing the station with one of their best sessions of the year.

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5. Julien Baker (OurVinyl)

Some artists just have a natural gift for creating transcendental moments and Julien Baker has carved out a spot in their midst. Sprained Ankle, her aching treatsie on mortality and human limitations, is comprised of nothing but those moments. Whenever a record like that comes into the public eye, it’s never surprising when the live performances buckle under the weight of personal expectation. On rare occasions, the artist responsible for the collection will actually enhance the emotional impact via a commitment to the material that can feel devastating. Baker belongs to the latter category and OurVinyl provides a (gorgeously shot) definitive document of those instances. “Something”, “Sprained Ankle”, and “Rejoice” are all chill-inducing and reaffirm Baker’s position as one of 2015’s most striking songwriters.

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Heartbreaking Bravery

Tag: Rejoice

December 16, 2016

Watch This: Vol. 150