Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: RLYR

June 16, 2016

Bueno – I Got Your Back (Stream)

bueno

The past two days have been eventful for nearly every major release category but standalone streams put up an incredibly impressive run thanks to great new tracks from Chris Staples, Toby Coke, Mozes and the Firstborn, Hater, Heaven For Real, Stephen Steinbrink, Year of Glad, IAN SWEET, Yeesh, Young Mister, Dumb Numbers, Tamper, Vomitface, Planning For Burial, Adam Torres, Private Joy, The Rantouls, Half Loon, LUKA, Pascal Pinon, DYAN, and Slow Hollows. Music videos offered up a strong class as well, including new pieces from Summer Cannibals, Nico Yaryan, Peter Bjorn And John, Allah-Las, Melaena Cadiz, Alice Bag, Shock Machine, John Southworth, and an astonishingly powerful entry into the format from Totemo. Graveface, Lea, clipping., Neutrals, Shickey, RLYR, Control Top, Spook the Herd, and a summer sampler from the remarkably consistent Z Tapes rounded out the full streams.

While all of those titles are more than worthy endeavors worth ever single moment of investment that they’ll be given (and likely even more), Bueno’s latest track grabs this post’s headline. Over the past several years, Bueno has gain an extremely dedicated following that have granted them an almost cult-like status among their converts. “I Get Your Back” justifies that adoration with a calmness that nears the serene. Incorporating an off-kilter powerpop sensibility into their typical ’90s-indebted slacker punk approach pays massive dividends here, as the erratic propulsion of “I Got Your Back” leads it into the kind of near-transcendental territory that’s hard to forget.

Listen to “I Got Your Back” below and pre-order Illuminate Your Room here.

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April 13, 2016

The Side Eyes – I Don’t Want To Go To School (Stream)

the side eyes

While Clique, Tamu Massif, Oscar, Pity Sex, White Lung, Thin Lips, Stephen Steinbrink, PAWS, Karen Meat, Spray Paint, Land of Leland, RLYR, and Nick Leng may have all released great songs over the past few days (that deserve a whole lot of repeat listens), this post’s feature falls on a band new to the site: The Side Eyes. The quartet’s releasing their debut EP as a tape on Burger, injecting the label with some exciting new blood.

“I Don’t Want To Go To School” is the EP’s lead-off single and it’s a tremendous, surf-tinged basement pop number that easily separates itself from their peers thanks to a monstrous chorus that slows the song from a sprint to a crawl. The song’s another in a long tradition of carefree songs about wanting to skip out of the rigorous trappings of school and enjoy their freedom and the open air instead.

Occasionally, those songs register as a lazily compiled pastiche of better, past efforts on the same topic. In the case of The Side Eyes, there’s enough conviction in both the composition and the vocal delivery that it’s almost impossible to not believe their narrative. From the frantic, surging guitar part to the rhythm section’s bite and the considerable venom of the vocals, “I Don’t Want To Go To School” doesn’t strike a false note.

Weirdly triumphant and effectively anthemic, the song could transition into a legitimate rallying cry for a new generation. A generation dealing with a broken education system that’s continuing to experience an inward collapse. A generation that’s being, increasingly, deprived of outdoors experiences. A generation that, at some point, we won’t be able to blame for wanting to skip school in favor of fresh air.

Maybe “I Don’t Want To Go To School” is a lot more simple than a pointed social commentary, maybe it’s not. Either way, The Side Eyes have gifted us an exhilarating, thoughtful track that deserves praise and loving inspection. Turn it on, crank it up, and then go spend some time outside.

Listen to “I Don’t Want To Go To School” below and keep an eye on Burger to pick up the cassette.

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