Cayetana have proven, time and time again, that they’re fully capable of making energetic basement pop that incorporates some pop-punk trappings while remaining gritty enough to never truly fall squarely into that genre. It’s when they slow down that their range is revealed and of the tracks they’ve released with a slower tempo, “Bus Ticket” stands out. Easily one of the band’s most effective efforts to date, “Bus Ticket” is a powerful meditation on unsparing self-analysis shot through with enough self-deprecation to come across as brutally honest.
“Bus Ticket” is the sound of an artist coming to grips with personal limitations, a public self-flagellation that’s lent even more impact by wisely twisting the band’s status quo into something that cuts and bruises just as much as the narrative. It’s an astonishing and brave moment for a band that keeps growing, relentlessly, in the face of hardship and with “Bus Ticket” they’ve given that fight its own soundtrack.
Listen to “Bus Ticket” below and pre-order New Kind of Normal from the band here.
The 48th installment of Watch This reads like a laundry list of this site’s favorite places to cull videos from; Allston Pudding, The Chris Gethard Show, and Little Elephant among them. Live versions of songs that have previously been fawned over resurface with new levels of urgency and old treasures prove their longevity. Every performance that gets featured here is impassioned and clearly illustrates the respective band’s obvious connections to their own music (with a strain of apathy-fueled music growing steadily prominent, this is- unfortunately- more of a rarity than common occurrence). Trying to wax poetic about most of these videos in this paragraph would most likely just wind up doing them a disservice, so: sit back, turn the volume up, ignore the time, lean in, and Watch This.
1. Little Big League – Property Line (Little Elephant)
There hasn’t been a band in quite a while to pull off what Little Big League achieves by virtue of this placement; this is their third consecutive video to appear in this series- in as many weeks- and they’re all from the same Little Elephant session. So, some straight talk: “Property Line” is one of the year’s best songs and the band’s current career-best effort. Even though the live version doesn’t have the benefit of those chill-inducing horns, it retains its formidable pull. As always, the band reveals themselves to be an excellent live act and provides several reasons to get excited about their upcoming LP, Tropical Jinx.
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2. Sweet John Bloom – Aging In Place (Allston Pudding)
Allston Pudding’s made a habit of making impressive live videos- this outstrips all of their previous work with an assured ease and a new level of confidence that suits them well. An extraordinary live-edit that features a stunning performance from emerging act Sweet John Bloom to promote their upcoming full-length, Weird Prayer. Expertly marrying high-energy basement pop with deliriously frantic post-punk, it’s inclusion would have been an easy decision as an isolated standalone- the additional edits towards the video’s close put it way over the top and render it one of the more artistically inclined live videos to ever appear in this series. Don’t skip out on this one.
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3. Protomartyr (La Blogotheque)
Protomartyr’s Under Color of Official Right was one of the highlights of 2014’s first quarter and it’s held its ground ever since its release. Here, the band teams up with La Blogotheque to film stripped-back live performances of “What the Well Said” and “Scum, Rise!” in the moats of Saint-Malo, a port city in France. It’s a fitting backdrop for the band’s take on post-punk, something that bears the influence of their Detroit home. Unsurprisingly, it’s spectacularly shot and bizarrely compelling, continuing La Blogotheque’s unique penchant for producing live footage that excels on those levels.
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4. Jeff Rosentstock & Friends – Hey Allison! (TCGS)
Don Giovanni comedy darling Chris Gethard hosts a show. These shows host live acts. It seems that nearly every time a video of these performances surfaces, it earns a spot in this series. Jeff Rosenstock‘s “Hey Allison!” has already emerged as one of the more relentless earworms of the past few weeks and the live version is an all-out blitz. Anytime anyone puts this much heart into music this good, it’s going to earn a write-up. The Chris Gethard Show also has the unique advantage of utilizing a crowd of misfits being encouraged to be as weird as possible, turning single song performances into outright events. There are few things more encouraging than watching a band and an audience enjoy each other’s company in equal measure at an absurdly high degree. This is can’t-miss entertainment.
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5. METZ – Get Off! (Pitchfork)
METZ was one of the more unforgettable debuts of the past few years and the band’s live show, easily one of the best around, pushes those songs to exhilarating heights. Employing humanism and sonic annihilation at roughly the same pace, anytime the band takes the stage it’s a small victory for everyone involved. Here, they tear through a fired-up version of “Get Off” and incite some fierce reactions from an adoring crowd. METZ themselves remain as entertaining as ever, putting just about everything they have on the line every time they take the stage- and they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
First, the facts: Protomartyr are an incredible post-punk band from Detroit, MI. They recently announced they’d officially signed to Hardly Art. “Scum, Rise!” is the first look at their sophomore effort due out on April 8th, entitled Under Color of Official Right. “Scum, Rise!” itself finds the band working with an expanded production budget without sacrificing too many of their tonal qualities that made them a natural fit for their previously lo-fi recordings. Landing somewhere between the rhythmic pull of Thee Oh Sees and the goth-punk tendencies of Nervosas, “Scum, Rise!” is reason enough to get really excited about the band’s upcoming record. It’s a two-and-a-half minute blast of rhythm-propelling riffs and miniature explosions. Easily the most energetic preview track to have surfaced in this very young new year, “Scum, Rise!” sounds like a band truly announcing itself. This could be huge. Hear “Scum, Rise!” below (and check out the record’s killer artwork above).
Heartbreaking Bravery 