Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Softer

September 1, 2016

Terry Malts – Seen Everything (Stream)

terry malts

Nearly a dozen streams comprised Wednesday’s enviable run of new material, including new tracks from Hypoluxo, Slow Hollows, Fresh Snow, Totally Slow, Cloud Cover, Tomaga, Almanac Mountain, Lisa/Liza, HEALTH, Anchoress, and Alcest. Whether soft and ambient or punishingly heavy, all of those songs contained flashes of an intangible something that propelled them to breathtaking heights. All of them are worth several listens but tonight’s feature falls to an old favorite: Terry Malts.

Ever since hearing the pulverizing, punk-damaged basement pop  triumph “No Big Deal” several years back, Terry Malts has been a name that’s stuck. For more than six years, this project’s been evolving in surprising ways and the first track to be released  from their forthcoming Lost at the Party, “Seen Everything”,  continues to demonstrate their dogged pursuit of artistic growth.

While the elements that made the band a standout in their early goings are still extremely evident, the band’s polished their well-informed pop sensibilities into the focal point of their music- or, at the very least, the focal point of “Seen Everything”. After a string of releases that were fully committed to emphasizing the band’s tenacious aggression, “Seen Everything” finds them easing up a little and coming away with exhilarating  results; this is the downhill coast after the uphill battle.

As is usually the case, there’s an abundance of memorable hooks and the band still has a keen knack for how to implement lo-fi aesthetics. The narrative deals with the struggle of acceptance in surprisingly acute ways, offering up brief, rapid-fire vignettes that tie together into a devastatingly complete picture. From every angle, “Seen Everything” is an impressive work and seems to be a statement release for Terry Malts, who are more than ready to transition into a more recognizable name.

“Seen Everything” is a refreshing piece of work from a band that’s still finding compelling ways to flourish without losing any of their ferocious bite. Fascinating, galvanizing, and incredibly immediate, Terry Malts have produced one of the more startling tracks of 2016, setting a very high bar for Lost at the Party. If the rest of the record doesn’t wind up being diminished by this sharp run of near-perfection, it’ll be a permanent staple in a whole lot of collections. Looking at the run the band’s put together so far, it’d be a safe move to clear out a space now.

Listen to “Seen Everything” below and pre-order Lost at the Party from Slumberland here.

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March 3, 2016

2016: The First Two Months (Full Streams)

Jawbreaker Reunion II

Now that the songs have, by and large, been brought up to the present release cycle, it only seemed fitting to turn the attention towards some of 2016’s strongest records. Since records are more time-consuming than individual songs, none of them will be featured individually in the next week. However, all of the records below are more than worthy of investment. A small handful of these even have a shot of being expanded on at the end of the year. For now, though, I’ll simply provide another list for exploration. Once again, there’s absolutely no way these can be listened to in one sitting so it may be best to just bookmark the page and return at will. From demo debuts of solo projects (Potty Mouth‘s Aberdeen Weems) to triumphant returns (Jawbreaker Reunion, photographed above) to fascinating splits (Great Thunder and Radiator Hospital) to outstanding compilations, there’s a lot to discover. Dive in below and find some new bands worth following.

Jawbreaker Reunion – Haha and then What 😉 || Margaret Glaspy – You and I b/w Somebody to Anybody || Purling Hiss – Something || Kal Marks – Life Is Alright, Everybody Dies || Two Inch Astronaut – Personal Life || Aberdeen – Blue Lemon Demos || ROMP – Departure From Venus || Lucy Dacus – No Burden || Swim Team – Swim Team || Rita Fishbone – Spilt Milk || Hothead – Hothead || Sioux Falls – Rot Forever || Past Life – EP I || Abi Reimold – Wriggling || Nice Try – Nice Try || Krafftmalerei Plagiat || Lawndry – EP || Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk – Burritos || Mal Devisa – Kiid || Kane Strang – Blue Cheese || Big Ups – Before A Million Universes || Årabrot – The Gospel || Michael Nau – Mowing || Looks Like Mountains – Quick, Before We’re All Dead! || High Waisted – On Ludlow || Sin Kitty – Softer || Rafter – A Sploded Battery || Candy – Azure || Baklaava – Dane On

Fake Boyfriend – Mercy || Axed Crown – Amnesty || Soda – Without A Head || Fucko – Dealing With the Weird || Opposites – Joon II and Got My Cough || Journalism – Faces || Sarah Neufeld – The Ridge || Great Deceivers – Ask Me About Your Strong Suits || Burnt Palms – Back On My Wall || Adult Books – Running From the Blows || Dead Stars – Bright Colors || Acid Dad – Let’s Plan A Robbery || yndi halda – Under Summer || Sheer Mag – III || Edgar Clinks – Bath w/ Frozen Cat || Tangerine – Sugar Teeth || Muncie Girls – From Caplan to Belsize || Risley – Risley || Great Thunder/Radiator Hospital – Wedding Album || Pinegrove – Cardinal || Acid Fast – Last Night on Earth || Making Fuck – Harrowing End || Nick Thorburn – Serial S2 || Fred Thomas – Minim || Dude York – Lose Control b/w Love Is || Self Defense Family – Superior || Jo Passed – Out || POP ETC – Souvenir

Pinkshinyultrablast – Grandfeathered || Nap Eyes – Thought Rock Fish Scale || Art Week 2016 || Crater – Talk To Me So I Can Fall Asleep || Tuff Love – Resort || The Castillians – You & Me || Sitcom – Gig Bag || Howardian – A Smurf at Land’s End || Mass Gothic/Ex-Amazed – Split || Step Sisters – Thick || Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place – You’re Doomed. Be Nice. || Washer – Here Comes Washer || Titus Andronicus/Craig Finn – No Faith/No Future/No Problem || Frameworks – Time Spent || I’m An Island – Bored Days, Old Years || Wussy – Forever Sounds || Nathaniel Bellows – The Old Illusions || Keeps – Brief Spirit || Serac – Songs for the Broken Hearted || This Heel – This Heel III || Cotton Ships – Cotton Ships || Truly – Henry || Acid Tongue – The Dead Man’s Cat Walk || Dying Adolescence – Dear You, It Can’t Wait. || Proud Parents – Sharon Is Karen || Cayetana – Tired Eyes

JOYA – Surround b/w Kitsilano || The Two Tens – Volume || Leggy – Dang || Cellar Doors – Frost b/w Prism || Celebration Guns – Quitter || Quarterly – Quarterly || Hollow Hand – Ancestral Lands || Sierpien – Stench Up to Heaven || Cherry – Gloom || Relick – Twin House || Sun Dummy – Bunny || Lionlimb – Shoo || Tiny Knives – Black Haze || Chives – Drip || Chris Storrow – The Ocean’s Door || Bombay Harabee – Goldmine || Swaying Wires – I Left A House Burning || The Spook School – Binary / David Bowie Songs || Tender Defender – Tender Defender || Mozes and the Firstborn – Power Ranger || DRÆMHOUSE – Only Friends || Molly Drag – Tethered Rendering || Black Thumb – Black Thumb

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