repeat | Heartbreaking Bravery

May 29, 2016

Watch This: Another Full Session

There have been a few recent posts that have commented on (and made attempts to amend) the recent hiatus that Watch This experienced. There will be two more extended packets following this installment of the series and then Watch This will be caught back up to the current release cycle. After the last entry — the longest compilation of any kind that’s ever run on this site — nearly exhausted the finest full sessions of the past month and a half, it felt necessary to turn the attention to some more abbreviated sessions.

Now, for the sake of consistency of time, a few full sessions appear toward the end of the compilation below. There are 83 total videos in this package but, as is always the case for this extended version of Watch This, 25 performances are featured. Had they been able to fit in without repeating or more properly aligned with what this entry’s trying to accomplish (without being repeat inclusions for the artist), Charles Bradley & The Extraordinaires, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, and Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings all had sessions that would have made the cut. That trio of clips alone should serve as a testament to the strength of this edition of the series. So, as always, sit up, adjust the volume, lean back, and Watch This.

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1. Bully (The Current)
2. Those Manic Seas (Little Elephant)
3. Potty Mouth (Bedhead Sessions)
4. Torres (Paste)
5. Eddi Front (Hooke)
6. Alabama Shakes (Paste)
7. Tacocat (WFUV)
8. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (KCRW)
9. Seratones (WFUV)
10. Frightened Rabbit (KCRW)
11. Music Band (Jam in the Van)
12. Charles Bradley (KINK)
13. Mass Gothic (Rhapsody)
14. Greys (Exclaim!)
15. Izzy True (Don Giovanni)
16. Black Beach (Allston Pudding)
17. Erik Blood (Band In Seattle)
18. Acid Dad (Jam in the Van)
19. Suuns (Exclaim!)
20. Diarrhea Planet (Jam in the Van)
21. Parquet Courts (Rough Trade)
22. Negative Scanner (Pressure Drop)
23. Wild Powwers (Band In Seattle)
24. Burnt Palms (Pressure Drop)
25. Wimps (Band In Seattle)

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September 4, 2015

Meat Wave – Cosmic Zoo (Music Video)

It’s been an incredible week for new releases up to this point, so naturally it’s going out with a towering show of force. Fleurie’s glitchy Arrows EP and Craig Finn’s reinvigorated Faith in the Future provided the full streams with a memorable haul while Lou Barlow, Taxidermists, Dog Paper Submarine, and La Sera combined forces to ensure that the visual medium was extremely well-represented. Single songs had a jaw-dropping day yet again with two folk-heavy songs establishing themselves as unlikely song of the year contenders (Lost Balloons’ “Don’t Count On Me” and Futurebirds’ “Hotel Parties“, respectively) while also producing an extraordinary field that included highlights from Varsity, Shelf Life, Prison Whites, Dresses, Psychic Blood, The Intelligence, and Jacques Le Coque. In the middle of that whirlwind, site favorites Meat Wave also unveiled a stunning black-and-white clip for Delusion Moon highlight “Cosmic Zoo“.

A lot of words have been printed about Meat Wave on this site and that’s not a trend that’s likely to change; the band have been a steadfast part of my listening habits even before this site was brought into existence two years ago. The trio played our first showcase, were one of the only On the Up entries, and are responsible for the most-listened-to tape of my considerable collection. After approximately three years of yelling at people to listen to this band, a lot of them are finally starting to come around- a feat that’s no likely influenced by their new home, SideOneDummy. Now with the release of their forthcoming record- the fierce Delusion Moon– swiftly approaching, the band are offering up a video for one of its strongest moments: “Cosmic Zoo”. Andrew Robert Morrison once again takes the reins for the clip and offers up what may be the band’s most effective video to date, eschewing any real plot-based narrative in favor of focusing on the band’s humanity. Interspersing live clips with clips of the trio hanging out with their friends, the crisp, classically composed shots (a few of which echo the work of Anton Corbijn) are injected with an abundance of life. Accelerating the subtle emotional pull of the approach is the song itself, which is as gripping as the clip. It’s another reminder of Meat Wave’s tenacity but it’s also a demonstration of their more modest sensibilities. In short: it’s perfect.

Watch “Cosmic Zoo” over at Nerdist (where it was premiered by A Year’s Worth of Memories contributor Nina Corcoran) and pre-order Delusion Moon from SideOneDummy ahead of its September 18 release date here. Revisit the majority of the band’s set from the first Heartbreaking Bravery showcase below.

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May 19, 2014

Geronimo! – Euphoria (Stream)

While this site was (and is) still grappling with an inability to directly access soundcloud, an insane amount of music’s been brought into the world. The few songs that did earn features here were all accessed remotely, via other generous posters. One that seemed to slip by most, though, was music from the extraordinary, just-released Cheap Trick by the Chicago-based Geronimo!. Time to right that wrong. Cheap Trick is easily among the best records to have come out so far this year and the record’s penultimate track, the coursing “Euphoria”, manages to define both the record and the band in a little under seven minutes.

Not a single one of those seconds is wasted as the song goes from a sedated and contemplative slow-burner to a frenzied sonic assault. There’s a perfectly executed transition that leans in on the band’s penchant for woozy guitar riffs that are as inspired by shoegaze as they are post-punk. Even with that, the band still finds enough room for a few other influences; Midwestern emo, early hardcore, and left-field powerpop- and blends them into an aesthetic package that’s wholly their own.

By the time “Euphoria” hits, the record’s already full-sprint and climactic enough but this single song manages to push it, gleefully, over the edge of a cliff. It’s the soundtrack of the descent and it’s clear Geronimo! loves every exhilarating minute. Appropriately, considering the title, “Euphoria” winds up being the most noticeable moment of catharsis on a record full of them. Don’t let this one go unnoticed.

Listen to “Euphoria” below and make sure to pick up Cheap Trick as soon as humanly possible.

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April 18, 2014

New Swears – Midnight Lovers (Music Video)

Junkfood Forever, Bedtime Whatever is the title of the upcoming New Swears record and “Midnight Lovers” is the first glimpse at what promises to be a raucous debauchery-fueled stomper of a record. The Ottawa quartet’s been making some waves for a while now but if the absolutely insane music video for “Midnight Lovers” is any indication, they’re about set to explode. It’d almost be a disservice to the video’s mania to attempt to confine it to something as trite as what really amounts to just a small blurb but to hell with it, let’s do it anyway.

“Midnight Lovers” as a music video is as frenetic as the song itself, suggesting both a defiant energy and a fuck-everything approach reminiscent of (really) early Black Lips. This includes, but is not limited to, rampant drug use, heavy drinking, nudity, a penchant for Jackass-style action, and the kind of fearlessness that comes with being totally willing to commit to just about anything. Balloons, guitars repurposed as snowboards, silly string, and girls in Senators shirts are all involved. There are times when it’s hard to remember this is a music video and not a collection of turn-of-the-century Thrasher clips (right down to the fisheye lens). Most importantly, it genuinely seems like the band’s having fun which is something the music video format could always use more of.

Watch “Midnight Lovers” below and then watch it again tomorrow. Junkfood Forever, Bedtime Whatever will be available on Bachelor Records at a to-be-determined mid-summer date.

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