Today, like several previous Thursdays, saw this week’s pace of new releases slowing a little but yielding some of the week’s strongest material. Ditch Club’s self-titled EP and Shannon & the Clams‘ Gone by the Dawn were the only entries in the full streams field but constituted a strong day for the format nonetheless, while PINS‘ film-damaged “Dazed By You” and Girl Band‘s sly “Pears for Lunch” more than assured the music video field was well-represented. There was a fascinating variety of individual songs that made a dent as well, including: Helvetia’s singular “A Dot Running for the Dust“, Painted Zeros‘ dynamic masterclass “Pretty Rig“, Day Wave’s unabashedly lovely “Come Home Now“, Say Lou Lou’s perfectly crafted pop anthem “Hard For A Man“, Roadside Graves’ driving, widescreen “Clouds“, Windhand’s sludgy triumph “Hyperion“, Naytronix’s subtle, nuanced “Back In Time“, and Philosophical Zombie’s towering basement pop number “Garden Grows Regardless“. Of course, there was also the unveiling of today’s featured item: PWR BTTM’s “1994”.
With the release of PWR BTTM’s outstanding Ugly Cherries drawing closer every day, the duo’s making sure to keep everyone invested in the release through what, so far, has been a perfectly-executed rollout campaign. It’s latest flourish, the release of record highlight 1994, manages to showcase every one of the record’s best attributes. While all of the songs to have found a release as a preview have been identified in part by sadness, it’s an element that acts as one of the strongest characteristics of “1994” and created a mood that can’t be shaken- not entirely- even during one of the year’s most bombastic music moments (a dazzling display of fretwork fireworks from Benjamin Hopkins). Even with that prevalent sense of buried personal pain, it’s difficult not to feel at least a little uplifted in the chorus, which plays out like a small victory; a moment of wordless clarity that infuses the proceedings with a liveliness to even the track out into something affirming.
One of the reasons I’ve expressed so much love for PWR BTTM over the past few months is their exceedingly high level of empathy. It’s abundantly clear in both their music and their thoughtful functionality, which acts as one of the band’s most attractive driving mechanics. By being so upfront about being part of a marginalized community and a continuing fight for a greater understanding, the band’s slowly been transformed into something resembling a highly celebrated representative of several of those sects. They’ve become revered for all the right reasons, which is increasingly rare in a culture that perpetuates immediate gratification at a potentially damaging rate.
PWR BTTM’s also a remarkably committed act, not because the context demands them to be but because they have a genuine passion for their craft. At the bottom of this post there’s a video of the band playing “1994”. The performance is typically spectacular (the band’s live show is genuinely inspiring) but doesn’t even slightly betray the fact that Benjamin Hopkins- the guitarist/vocalist for “1994” (the duo sporadically trades off instrumental and vocal responsibilities)- was incredibly sick the night of that show, passing out only shortly after it finished. Those situations and moments are the kind that can go a long way in defining a band but for PWR BTTM it acted as another assurance of how ingrained all of the qualities mentioned in the above paragraphs are into the act’s veins.
Personal perseverance has been one of their most uniting themes and it’s one that comes full circle in “1994”, which is a deceptively calm rallying call that makes a strong case for simply allowing yourself to be alive. Due to the emphatic nature of its reasoning, it easily becomes not only one of Ugly Cherries‘ most memorable moments but stakes a very serious claim as one of the best songs of 2015. Honest, powerful, and strangely reassuring, “1994” may feel like it’s lost in time but its message is timeless. Hang on to it and make sure it’s remembered for years to come. Songs like this one deserve that level of investment- just don’t forget to strive to live along the way.
Listen to “1994” over at NPR and pre-order Ugly Cherries from Father/Daughterand/or Miscreant ahead of its September 18 release. Watch the video of the band performing the song at Shea Stadium below.
After a strong start to the week, this Tuesday saw the flood of releases pumping the brakes a little but still delivering a handful of great songs and music videos. The former category saw the release of Summer Twins’ “Demons“, Lou Barlow’s “Wave“, Julien Baker’s “Something“, Woozy’s “Venom“, and Destruction Unit’s “The Upper Hand“, while the latter category lodged fascinating new entries from Kagoule, Brick + Mortar, and Gangrene (ft. Sean Price and Havoc). While all of those managed to pack a formidable amount of strength, today’s focus fell to an old site favorite: Shannon & the Clams.
Already several releases deep into a legendary career that’s amassed the band a feverish cult following, Shannon & the Clams are showing no signs of slowing down. On “It’s Too Late”, the characteristically charismatic second single off the band’s forthcoming Gone by the Dawn, the band demonstrates a casual mastery of their craft. Utilizing the many strengths of Shannon Shaw (the band’s bassist/vocalist) to perfection, “It’s Too Late”- over the course of it’s two-minutes-and-change run-time- sees Shannon & the Clams taking what feels like a well-earned victory lap. There are no stakes on “It’s Too Late”, just an almost sheepish carefree vibe that suits the band’s retro-leaning mold to a tee. Irresistibly light, fun, and perfect for the last days of summer, “It’s Too Late” is the band’s latest nod, wink, and smile. Don’t let this one disappear.
Listen to “It’s Too Late” here and pre-order Gone by the Dawn from Hardly Art ahead of its September 11 release date here.
One thing that this site has strived to maintain is its own visual aesthetic. While it’d be impossible to find a photo in the archives for every given band that headlines a post, an original photo will be posted anytime the opportunity presents itself. Upgrading cameras halfway through the year provided a bevvy of new opportunities and the subsequent implementation of a more photo-centric presence. That’s not by mistake. Photography (especially event photography) has always been an important crux of multimedia journalism. It can be a way to implicitly (or explicitly) convey some of the more minute details of a singular moment to a reader- or it can simply act as an intriguing supplement. Those were just a few of reasons that went into the decision behind a headfirst dive into photography investment (on both a personal and public level) and factored into why one camera or another was brought along to every show this site covered in the past year. Now, with 2015 just around the corner, seemed like as good a time as any to showcase a few photographs from the past 12 months that stood out as personal favorites. Since there are a few too many to go up all at once, they’ll be posted at random as part of installments that will run from now to the start of January. Most of these shots have been published on the site before (or on The Media), though there are a few that will be appearing for the first time. Enjoy!
After Day 1 of NXNE got the festival off to a strong start, Day 2 is when the madness kicked into high gear. From late afternoon to well past midnight, there were sets from Caddywhompus, Speedy Ortiz, PS I Love You, Pissed Jeans, The Pizza Underground (although it’s still unclear if that could actually be called a set), Shannon & the Clams, Odonis Odonis, The Yips, and Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs. These were spread out across four venues and, at the bottom of these writings, there’s visual documentation of all of them.
Day 2 started off at the gorgeous (and gorgeously lit) Mod Club Theatre, which boasted a stacked bill that was headlined by Pissed Jeans- who delivered what would be one of the most memorable single sets of the festival. Before that, there were several standout moments from each of the three bands preceding Pissed Jeans. Caddywhompus set the wheels in motion with their enticing combination of traditional math elements and post-punk. From their surprisingly sweet vocal melodies to the power drumming and guitar fireworks that drove the momentum of their set, it’s easy to see why people are starting to latch onto this band. Proving even more impressive was their use of noise-prone ambient transitions to seamlessly segue between many of their songs. Somewhere between their terrifyingly precise tempo shifts and their soaring choruses, they’ve carved out something even more impressive; a wide-open future.
Site favorites Speedy Ortiz were next to take the stage and delivered a set laced with great moments from Major Arcana as well as a song they’re currently prepping to release as a single for an Adult Swim series that’s entitled “Bigger Party”, which is the band at their most definitive. Grass is Green‘s Devin McKnight has taken up the space recently vacated by guitarist Matt Robidux and managed to come off as an integral (and more importantly, incredibly dynamic) part of the band. By the end of Speedy Ortiz’s set, they’d made the most of their penchant for irreverence by keeping the between-song moments lively with genuinely funny banter and a great rapport. There were no lulls or dull moments; the evening had hit its stride early with what would ultimately become one of the night’s most engaging sets.
Canadian favorites PS I Love You were the next ones up and have the benefit of a great new album on deck that they seemed eager to tease. Immediately apparent was their fondness for blistering volumes, which in lesser hands may have distracted from their musicality- not here. Add in a generous layer of fuzz and the jaw-dropping guitar heroics of Paul Saulnier (who also controlled blasts of bass-driven organ chords through wired presets on a pedalboard- and had sweat dripping off his fingers less than three songs into their set) and it wound up being a fairly staggering showcase for both Saulnier and the relentless drumming of Benjamin Nelson. While their set did drop its momentum after the ecstatic highs brought on by a genuinely impassioned performance of “Facelove“, things were restored by the very end of their set thanks to the strength of the songs on their outstanding upcoming full-length, For Those Who Stay.
After PS I Love You called it night, one thing suddenly became very clear: everything was about to become all about sludge-indebted hardcore titans Pissed Jeans. They didn’t disappoint. All but storming the stage, vocalist Matt Korvette started their set by immediately declaring that the band had a very important announcement to make: “We are no longer Pissed Jeans. We are now Virgin Mobile Pissed Jeans”- a possible dig at the festival’s increased incorporation of corporate sponsorship. Following that subtly-tinged bit of possible vitriol, their levels all quickly rocketed to seething. With Korvette absolutely owning the Mod Club Theatre stage (both Nick Cave and Iggy Pop frequently came to mind- and that’s saying quite a bit), his band exploded around him and consistently matched his energy level. Between songs, he would faux-berate the audience for not trying hard enough or for not being more into the performance- and at one point he even paused to conduct a music lecture on guitar composition (extended fives, sweeping fours, and triple sevens were all covered).
Never letting the energy levels drop even a fraction, Pissed Jeans annihilated just about every expectation and ended with what’s undoubtedly one of the strangest encores to ever be performed at NXNE. Here’s what happened: after a small but meaningful attempt from the audience to get the band back on stage for one more song, Korvette reappeared and took the reigns on bass and began playing a tribal-sounding bassline over and over, occasionally walking from the stage to the wings before disappearing completely (while still playing the bass). At one point, the guitarist became the drummer for a strange misdirect- and didn’t play a single note before getting off the throne and exiting the stage. Finally, after Korvette hadn’t appeared for about two minutes, he suddenly slid the bass out quite a ways onto the stage floor from his spot in the wings and the show was officially over. All of it caused one audience member to scream out “What did that even mean?!” which was shortly followed by his still-very-confused “…like, technically?!”. If only anyone knew.
Going from what was arguably the festival’s highlight to Lee’s Palace for what was inarguably the most uncomfortable set (courtesy of The Pizza Underground) was a little jarring. As mentioned up above, it’s difficult to know whether or not this could even be called a set- it was more of a comedy variety hour. At any rate, Maculay Culkin’s Velvet Underground-aping Pizza project had a hard time finding or developing any sort of noticeable rhythm and it kept tripping over itself to bring in new ideas or guests- among them: Plop Dylan (Bob Dylan songs with the lyrics altered so that they were about feces), a karaoke section from #PUSSYJOEL (Billy Joel songs about cats- the only thing the internet loves more than pizza), and a bizarre Tony Danza-impersonating stand-up comedian. The most clever of these wound up being the least tactful; Kurt Cobain’d- a man dressed up as Kurt Cobain (who was arguably the best musician to be featured throughout their set) doing Nirvana songs where all of the present tense verbs were switched to the past tense. By the end of their set, they were barely doing any of their original (a term used very loosely, all things considered) material. At least they bought Pizza for everyone.
An additional benefit of The Pizza Underground’s set? Culkin’s celebrity draw prompted one of the biggest non-Yonge Dundas Square turnouts and several of them stuck around- and were subsequently blown away- by an incendiary set from Shannon & the Clams. The band had previously caused a lot of people to fall pretty hard for them with an extraordinary track record of releases through Burger Records and Hardly Art. Live, the band more than lived up to the promise of their studio releases and quickly filled the spots in Lee’s Palace that had been abandoned after The Pizza Underground left a bad taste in much of the audience’s respective mouths. Not too long into their set, the entire standing section was full of people grinning widely and dancing their hearts out to Shannon & the Clams’ throwback rock n’ soul basement pop. All things considered, that lasting image was one of the best takeaway moments of NXNE.
After Shannon & the Clams had left everyone smiling, the plan was to go to Smiling Buddha to settle in for The Yips and Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs- fortunately, after running into Speedy Ortiz- we were redirected to Odonis Odonis’ set at The Garrison. Arriving mid-set meant the audience was already packed. The members of Speedy Ortiz, looking a touch exhausted, snagged a spot at the adjacent bar and advised us to go in to catch the band. Already being anxious to catch Odonis Odonis (who appeared on Heartbreaking Bravery’s First Quarter Finish mixtape), caused no hesitation in a move for the venue doors. Only a few songs were caught but it didn’t take long for Odonis Odonis to establish their connection to METZ: both bands have the same intense careening-all-over-the-place stage presence and love of ear-shattering volume levels. Their spastic synth-driven noise-punk freakouts managed to re-establish a new energy precedent for the evening and wound up being the best surprise set of the festival.
The Garrison was then left behind for the second consecutive night at Smiling Buddha (which would be visited again on nights 4 and 5) for late shows from The Yips and Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs. Both bands made the best use of a very small stage that they didn’t quite seem to fit on. All five members of The Yips kept grinning and bouncing off each other as if they were having the time of their lives- a trend that was continued by the six member lineup of Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs. Where The Yips played surf-friendly basement pop that hinted at some art-friendly trappings, Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs went the full blue-collar basement punk route. Both bands drew huge reactions from the crowd and there was more than one instance of crowd surfing. The Yips had people dancing. Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs incited mass crowd sing-a-longs. There was clear-cut camaraderie between the bands and their audience in a small-scale environment- which is what all of the best festivals strive to achieve. It was a genuinely incredible end to an extraordinary day of sets and sent expectation skyrocketing for Day 3.
Watch videos from Caddywhompus, Pissed Jeans, Shannon & the Clams, The Yips, and Sam Coffey & the Iron Lungs below (apologies for the slightly blown-out audio)- beneath those, the photo gallery containing each band mentioned n the review. Enjoy.
In the midst of the NXNE coverage that will continue to run, there are times where a look back will provide a sense of gratitude. Sometimes something as trivial as investing in a new camera to move away from the old one manages to open a few new doors. With that in mind, this week’s WatchThis, while a little late, is full of the gratitude mentioned above. It’s a unique entry in the series in the sense that a lot of it will serve as a preview for upcoming pieces. Each and every one of these was shot in Toronto- a few as part of the festival and a few outside of it. All of these shows were memorable for varying reasons and the last video included may very well wind up on the top of this site’s inevitable “Best Shows of the Year” list. So, sit back, select the HD option, pardon the sound, relax, and Watch This.
1. Spoon – Small Stakes (Live at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern)
There may have been some unnecessary behind-the-scenes drama happening with Spoon’s involvement as a “secret” headliner on NXNE’s best bill during it’s third day- but the band puts on a hell of a performance. Boasting one of the more consistent discographies of the past ten years, songs like Kill the Moonlight highlight “Small Stakes” still sound as vibrant as they did when they were first released. Seeing a band of this magnitude play a venue as small as The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern was a surreal experience- it’s just hard not to wish it was under better circumstances.
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2. Shannon & the Clams – Ozma (Live at Lee’s Palace)
In a short while, the Day 2 review will be going up on this site. A paragraph of this is dedicated to Shannon & the Clams’ near-perfect set at Lee’s Palace. “Ozma”, in particular, stood out- it’s one of those songs that deserves to be considered a classic generations down the line- and the band manages to do that statement more than a little justice in the below performance.
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3. Pleasure Leftists (Live at Smiling Buddha)
During their time in Toronto, Pleasure Leftists played two incredible shows and neither were an official part of NXNE. On the first night, they co-headlined the Summer Melt unofficial festival with actual secret headliners Perfect Pussy (video of their set occupies this week’s fifth slot) and the next day they tore up Smiling Buddha’s stage as an opener for a bill that included Holy Fuck and METZ. Despite not being NXNE official, Pleasure Leftists wound up delivering two of the best sets- and standing out as one of the best live bands- of the entire trip. Watch the video below for reassurance.
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4. Speedy Ortiz – No Below (Live at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern)
There are very few songs that hold as much emotion and contrast as Speedy Ortiz’s “No Below”. Here, they perform it with meaning and it resonates just as strongly as it ever has. When guitarist Devin McKnight jumps into that solo? Chills. It’s tough to illustrate how incredible this song and this performance is with something as simple as words- so stop reading and just watch the video.
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5. Perfect Pussy – Advance Upon the Real (Live at Soy Bomb)
When someone came into the bar next to The Great Hall and asked Meredith Graves if Perfect Pussy wanted to be added onto a late bill that Pleasure Leftists were playing, her face lit up. It was impossible not to be right there with her. More details emerged: it was at a half pipe, a slew of local bands were playing, it would run late into the night. It sounded perfect in theory but did it hold up to its promise? Yes. Absolutely. After Pleasure Leftists scorched the floor around them, Perfect Pussy set up and delivered one of their most blistering sets to date. It’s tough not to just write a full review of this right now but that would take up way too much space and a full post dedicated to this show specifically is a much more appropriate place for that to reside. In the meantime, use this as a sneak peek and catch this band live as soon as humanly possible.
Not too far removed from Reigning Sound on the very-particular-brand-of-timelessness is Shannon & the Clams, the doo-wop-leaning throwback outfit. Led by the powerhouse vocals of Shannon Shaw, the band’s earned their place on many specialists year-end lists over the past several years for their distinct take on the basement pop aesthetic, seamlessly blending in specific influences from the last 60 years into their core sound.
While last year’s Dreams in the Rat House wasn’t their best record, it was close to their best record. Maintaining a standard of excellence as high as they’ve been over the years isn’t an easy feat but it looks as if they’re barreling along anyway. The most recent piece of evidence working in their favor is “Mama” taking from an upcoming split 7″ with Portland punk rippers Guantanamo Baywatch (both acts share common ground via both Suicide Squeeze, the label releasing the split, and Burger). “Mama” comes off as breezy and effortless as the bulk of the band’s very best material. There’s an elusive looseness as well as a hint of perfectionism running through “Mama”, making it a somewhat paradoxical and completely enthralling listen.
If Guantanamo Baywatch’s side proves to be even half as good as this, then 2014 will have one of its first contenders for split of the year. Listen to “Mama” below and pick up the split when it comes out on April 29.
Heartbreaking Bravery 