Review | Heartbreaking Bravery

Tag: Review

December 27, 2015

2015: A Visual Retrospective, Vol. 5

Johanna Warren I

Throughout the course of 2015 I’ve been fortunate enough to attend upwards of 100 shows, festivals big and small, and spend approximately half a year living in a city that hosted a mind-boggling amount of quality shows on a nightly basis. To that end, it’s probably unsurprising that I wound up taking over 10,000 photos this year alone. Over the course of the next few days, this site will be running seven volumes of the shots that stood out as personal favorites, whether that was due to their composition, sentimental attachment, or an intangible emotional or intellectual response. It’s been an honor to be able to take even the smallest part in the ongoing sagas of the artists in the photographs below and an additional thanks is due to the venues that allowed me to shoot (as well as the people who encouraged me to keep shooting).

Enjoy the gallery.

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December 26, 2015

2015: A Visual Retrospective, Vol. 4

Car Seat Headrest

Enjoy the gallery.

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December 24, 2015

A Short Review (Live Video Compilation)

Ever since relocating back to central Wisconsin from Brooklyn, this place has been playing catch-up in a variety of fields (look at the preceding 15 posts for overwhelming proof), which left live coverage staggering over to the wayside. To partially amend that fact, I’ve compiled a collection of live videos from that rough time frame. Beginning with Krill‘s second-to-last show (an extremely memorable set at DBTS, which ended with literal crowdsurfing) and working to a reprisal of the Bad Wig footage that was contained in the recent review of their EP, there’s a lot of ground to cover. Included in that range are the videos from the first set from The Glow and the second set from Museum of Recycling, an extraordinary full set from site favorites Young Jesus, PWR BTTM and Mitski taking over Wisconsin, Midnight Reruns proving their worth with a powerhouse set in Green Bay, and LVL UP tearing into an inspired rendition of “DBTS” on hallowed ground. All of that and a whole lot more can be seen in the videos below. Enjoy.

CENDE

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LVL UP

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KRILL

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MUSEUM OF RECYCLING

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THE GLOW

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SLIGHT

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NORMAL PERSON

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HEAVY LOOKS

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YOUNG JESUS

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HUE BLANC’S JOYLESS ONES

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SOUL LOW

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MIDNIGHT RERUNS

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SPACE RAFT

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PWR BTTM

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PALEHOUND

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MITSKI

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BAD WIG

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December 23, 2015

Dark Blue – Delco Runts (Stream)

dark blue

[EDITOR’S NOTE: With the site now entering emergency year-end catch-up mode thanks to the cruel, mocking nature of time, tonight’s trio of posts will simply be short reviews of the song(s) in the headline(s) and an accompanying list of tracks that deserve to be heard.]

John Sharkey III once led Puerto Rican Flowers, a band that earned an almost excessively devoted following thanks to a small string of incredible records. The band’s eventual demise was a crippling blow but opened up the floor for new opportunities, one of which was quickly seized and invested in until the project, Dark Blue, began accruing an impassioned following of its own. Last year, the band put out the monumental Pure Reality, which was highlighted by songs like the brilliant “Here On My Street” which incorporated a greater emphasis on Sharkey’s formidable pop sensibilities.

In January the band will be returning with Vicious Romance b/w Delco Runts, a 7″ that recently got off to an extremely promising start with the record’s driving B-side. “Delco Runts” sees the trio continuing to expand their more pop-leaning influences without ever sacrificing their post-punk roots. Damaged, romantic, and wide-eyed, “Delco Runts” is a bruiser with a backwards grin, dissecting moments of youth with all the panache of the best tragicomedies. Eventually, “Delco Runts” builds itself into a heartbreaking conclusion that feels lived-in and brutally honest before dropping into a mournful outro section that lends the song some additional emotional weight, ensuring the song a valued place in what’s shaping up to be a formidable discography.

Listen to “Delco Runts” below and pre-order Vicious Romance b/w Delco Runts here. Underneath the embed, explore a list of great songs to have appeared over the course of the last several months.

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Royal Brat – Shadethrower
Francis – Follow Me Home
Nathaniel Bellows – Oh, Now
Connie Constance – Answer
Cian Nugent – Things Don’t Change That Fast
Deleter – Seclusion
The Missendens – Rolling Start
Mount Moriah – Cardinal Collector
Crescendo – Repulsor
jj – Paranoid
Fews – The Zoo
Tangerine – Tender
Kiska – Long Divide
Butchers Blind – Black & White Dreams
Total Abuse – DNA Evidence
Bianca Casady – Poor Deal
Barren Womb – White Raven
High Highs – Cascades
The Secret Storm – The Dragon
Palm – Doggy Doctor
Val Hollie – Stepping Outside

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December 23, 2015

bed. – The Rule (Stream)

bed.

2015’s been a genuinely overwhelming year for music. From records that ranked as irrefutable masterpieces to the emergence of deeply promising new acts, there was a lot to digest. This site’s dedicated to the latter of those two categories and even in isolating that grouping, there are still- undoubtedly- countless pieces missing. Fortunately, bed. aren’t one of those missing pieces because their recent “The Rule” is as captivating as any song this year. By balancing dream-pop aesthetics with flashes of elements more comfortably rooted in post-punk, sludge, and basement punk, they’ve subverted a dichotomy that’s paid hugely successful dividends for the songs that this site’s featured in the past. “The Rule”, the band’s strongest work to date, suggests that in addition to establishing their footing, they’ve got a lot more to offer. All we need to do for now is listen while we wait to find out and, fortunately, “The Rule” makes that an easy task.

Listen to “The Rule” below and pre-order Klickitat here. Underneath the embed, explore a list of great songs to have appeared over the course of the last several months.

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Savages – T.I.W.Y.G.
Frankie Cosmos – Young
The Besnard Lakes – The Motorway
Jacob Metcalf – Ein Berliner
Museyroom – Ballad
Stoneholder – Air
Shirley Said – Crash
City & I – Geordie
They Might Be Giants – Out of a Tree
Mark McGuire – Sons of the Serpent
Walter Martin – Jobs I Had Before I Got Rich & Famous
Kamasi Washington – Theme from “Color Guard”
Basement – Promise Everything
Miranda Lee Richards – 7th Ray
Eliza Hardy Jones – Criminal
Half Waif – Nest
Golden Daze – Salt
Matt Kivel – Jamie’s
Thieves – Middle Man
Shy, Low – Algos
Headaches – VI

1 Comment

December 23, 2015

Two Inch Astronaut – Good Behavior (Stream)

Two Inch Astronaut I

Two Inch Astronaut have been squarely in this site’s crosshairs since 2014’s inspired Foulbrood, which wound up ranking as one of that year’s finest albums. In February, the band will be following that up with Personal Life, a record that the band’s been road-testing to impressive amounts of applause over the past few months. Apart from the live preview, the band’s now graciously offering up the record’s barbed lead-off single “Good Behavior” as a tantalizing preview of what they’ve got up their sleeve. Once again, there’s a formidable marriage of post-punk, basement pop, and outside hardcore influences to create something that, incredibly, is as accessible as it is complex. Leftield chord voicings collide with an impassioned vocal performance to demonstrate that this band’s only getting better as they go. Hairpin turns, heady arrangements, and a new studio member (Grass Is Green‘s Andy Chervenak) establish this song (and likely this record) as a legitimate behemoth.

Listen to “Good Behavior” below and pre-order Personal Life here. Underneath the embed, explore a list of great songs to have appeared over the course of the last several months.

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ARIGATO MASSAÏ (ft. Fannie Linneros) – We Love
Quilt – Eliot St.
Flowers – Ego Loss
Bandit – Flake
MONEY – I’ll be the Night
Pusha T (ft. The-Dream) – M.F.T.R.
Holy Esque – Silences
PWRHAUS – How I Feel About You
Timber Bones – Travelling Song
Sonya Kitchell – Mexico
Running – Reclaimed Would
Public Memory – Lunar
Eddi Front – Goldie
Atlantic Thrills – Vices
Prawn – Seas
Spring King – Who Are You
TV Baby – Half A Chance
Cassie Ramone – Run Run Rudolph
Eleanor Friedberger – He Didn’t Mention His Mother
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Aerobed
Mammatus – Ornia

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December 23, 2015

Casket Girls – Deep Time (Stream)

stardeath

Stardeath and White Dwarfs have gained a lot of notoriety thanks to both their association with The Flaming Lips and a strong discography of their own. Hopefully, some of that recognition ties over to another band they’ve paired up with: Casket Girls. The acts recently teamed up for a limited-run split that’s highlighted by Casket Girls’ arresting “Deep Time”, a haunting meditation on mortality and what makes us human. A swirling layer of feedback, organ, battered guitars, and drones drive the instrumental as a ghostly vocal figure delivering a series of probing questions provide the song’s emotional wallop with a considerable emphasis. Easy to digest and difficult to shake, “Deep Time” taps into something transcendental, providing Casket Girls with an unlikely new career best. Don’t allow this one to pass by unnoticed.

Listen to “Deep Time” below and pick up What Keeps You Up At Nght here. Underneath the embed, explore a list of great songs to have appeared over the course of the last several months.

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The Goon Sax – Boyfriend
Luke Rathborne – Losing It
Moss Lime – Comfy Cotton Shoes
Cold Sweats – Hater Failure
Emma Louise – Undeflow
Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s – Francine
Kiran Leonard – Pink Fruit
The Goldhearts – Here’s the Thing
WALL – Fit the Part
Rare Monk – California
The Brainstems – Simple Joys
Liskka – Keep Me Awake
The Cave Singers – Christmas Night
Pete Astor – My Right Hand
The Shivas – Gun In My Pocket (Revisited)
Prickle – Tell Me Why
Saintseneca – New Coats
Ed Tullett – Ply
Pet Sun – Dark Planet

2 Comments

December 23, 2015

Bruising – Honey (Stream)

One of the finest emerging bands of 2015 has been Bruising, an act whose origins can be traced back to a Perfect Pussy shirt. While they’re steadily building momentum to what promises to be one of the more anticipated debut full-length efforts in recent memory, the slow stream of songs they’ve been releasing have merited a great deal of excitement on their own. Earlier this year, the act unveiled “Emo Friends” the A-side of their latest single, which saw them refining the things that helped them stand out. In the time elapsed since this site last covered single streams, the band released the b-side to that single, the propulsive “Honey”.

Built around incendiary guitar work and another compelling vocal performance from Naomi Baguley, the song exemplifies the band’s impossibly charming aesthetic. There’s some menace buried in a shoegaze-informed basement pop track that feels improbably light. Nearly paradoxically, there’s also some real weight to be found in “Honey”, thanks to the scathing lyrical kiss-offs and the hard-charging instrumental section. In all, it’s another triumphant effort from a band that’s already established themselves as a site favorite only a few songs into their career.

Listen to “Honey” below and pick up “Emo Friends b/w Honey” here. Underneath the embed, explore a list of great songs to have appeared over the course of the last several months.

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Luxury Gbg – Strand
Bilge Rat – Jon Puked Last Night
Halfsour – Porch Sittin
Little Star – For Goth Easter
Living Hour – Seagull
Washer – Pet Rock vs. Healing Crystal
Soft Fangs – The Air
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – Nobody Dies
La Sera – High Notes
The Dirty Nil – Zombie Eyed
Telepathic – Suit to Fit
Kal Marks – Dorothy
Pinkshinyultrablast – The Cherry Pit
Half Japanese – Hold On
The Foetals – The World Isn’t That Big
Way Out – Arrival
Acid Fast – Just Grin
Thom Fekete – Treason
The Castillians – Piggy in the Middle
Casket Girls – Western World
Massenger – Cristal Animal

1 Comment

December 23, 2015

Bad Wig – Bad Wig (EP Review, Stream, Live Video)

[EDITOR’S NOTE: With the site now entering emergency year-end catch-up mode thanks to the cruel, mocking nature of time, tonight’s trio of posts will simply be short reviews of the album(s) in the headline(s) and an accompanying list of records that deserve to be heard.]

Earlier this year Bad Wig were still flying underneath the banner of The Midwestern Charm. Just after signing to Texas Is Funny, member departures and an accompanying shift in style facilitated a name change and the band’s not showing any desire to look back. All of that tumultuous internal terrain’s somehow translated into propulsive momentum and Bad Wig‘s the proof. “Stargazer“, a song that predated the name change and merely existed as a demo for The Midwestern Charm’s principal songwriter, Connor La Mue.

Despite being unattached to any project at the time, “Stargazer” earned a mountain of praise from this site while foreshadowing what was to come. The band’s now a trio and La Mue and fellow Midwestern Charm member Ryan McCrary now share vocal duties, each bringing a fiercely engaging approach that suggests they’ve been spending a lot of time picking up cues from the neighbors in Midnight Reruns and (especially) Tenement. Lo-fi, battered, and gritty as hell, this demo EP- released as a limited-run cassette- is one of 2015’s finest releases.

Listen to Bad Wig below and pick it up here. Below the embed, explore some live videos of the band performing songs from the EP and a collection of some of the best full streams to surface over the past several months.

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Pouty – Take Me To Honey Island
Vicky Speedboat – Two Years No Basement
☺- Boosegumps
Kississippi – We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed
Pool Holograph – Mortals
See Through Dresses – End of Days
Daddy Issues – Fuck Marry Kill
Adir L.C. – Oceanside Cities
Nigel Hall – Ladies & Gentleman…
Soldiers of Fortune – Early Risers
Crusher – Demo
Intertwine – Goraikoo
chipmunkson16speed – Sludgefest
dæphne – Full Circle
Daniel Menche & Mammifer – Crater
Penny Lame – Penny Lame
Busdriver – Thumbs
Go Deep – Influence
S.M. Wolf – Neon Debris
Keita Juma – Nights In Space A Short Film
KwolleM – Mellow
High Bloom – Haloed
Granny – Egg

3 Comments

December 23, 2015

Milk Crimes – Milk Crimes (EP Review, Stream)

[EDITOR’S NOTE: With the site now entering emergency year-end catch-up mode thanks to the cruel, mocking nature of time, tonight’s trio of posts will simply be short reviews of the album(s) in the headline(s) and an accompanying list of records that deserve to be heard.]

Every so often, a band explodes onto my radar by virtue of a simple email message and thoroughly captures my attention. Milk Crimes are one of these bands and their explosive self-titled EP, which recalls a number of acts from the impeccable Reeks of Effort roster at their most manic (while still clinging to the frantic pop sensibility that serves as one of their more defining elements).

Milk Crimes is comprised of five vicious punk-tinged basement pop numbers, each one barreling headfirst towards some unplanned destination. The trio trades vocals at will and are unified in their determinedly scrappy approach as individual musicians, conjuring up something that feels exhilarating because of the constant looming threat that it’ll all fall apart at any minute (yet never does). Wildly energetic and abrasively confrontational, it’s one of 2015’s finest hidden gems and deserves a lot more discussion than it’s getting. Get on board.

Listen to Milk Crimes below and pick it up here. Below the embed, explore a collection of some of the best full streams to surface over the past several months.

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Sevdaliza – Children of Silk
Rubber Bang Gun – Making A Fool of Myself
Fórn + Yautja – Split 7″
Nervous Trend – Shattered
Val Hollie – Val Hollie
Total Abuse – Excluded
Ashland – Ashland
Bethlehem Steel – Docking
Lysol – Demo
Correatown – Embrace the Fuzzy Unknown
Jacobus – Jacobus
Goldmund – Sometimes
100% – Incantation
The Empty Gestures – Total Collapse
Z Tapes’ Christmas Benefit Compilation
Emily Yacina – Soft Stuff
The Just Luckies – Same Kids, Same Things
PC Worship – Basement Hysteria
Petal – Raspberry Cough
Skaters – Advent Calendar
Marvelous Mark – Crushin’

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Tag: Review