sophomore effort | Heartbreaking Bravery

September 13, 2014

Bass Drum of Death – For Blood (Stream)

Next month Bass Drum of Death will release Rip This (which was produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait), their follow-up to last year’s scuzzy self-titled effort. “For Blood”, the most recent look at Rip This finds the band upping the ante, sounding confident and more powerful than ever. While the formula’s still very recognizably their own, they’ve managed to inject more immediacy and adrenaline into the most engaging aspects of their music; booming drums, wiry guitar riffs and catchy melodies delivered as brashly as possible. Throw in a few plinked-out piano notes, the most powerful chorus section the band’s ever produced, and a touch more conviction than usual and “For Blood” very easily becomes their career-best. If the rest of Rip This winds up sounding this good, it won’t be long before Bass Drum of Death starts popping up more in regular conversation.

Stream “For Blood” below and pre-order the record from Innovative Leisure ahead of its October 7 release.

June 25, 2014

The Midwestern Charm – Growing Pains (Trailer)

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Apologies for what’s been the longest content delay since the site started. Heartbreaking Bravery’s forthcoming NXNE content should both explain my absence and- hopefully- make up for the lost time.]

The Midwestern Charm have officially made the move from Oshkosh to Milwaukee and are preparing to release their new record, Growing Pains, which is an absolute scorcher of a follow-up to their much softer debut. In celebration of this fact, they’ve put together a trailer that includes tour dates, a few snippets of standout “Bloodbath”, and the same humor and spirit that was so prominent in The Sleepwalkers’ (their brother band) video for “Come Around“. Having heard an advance and been privy to the development of Growing Pains, it’s an honor to run this short teaser here. It’s a monstrous record that mixes a perfect selection of genre tendencies (powerpop, basement punk, noise, etc.) and something that’s entirely their own. The whole thing is a monumental stride forward for the band and deserves to be celebrated.

While the video may be willfully modest and intentionally goofy, Growing Pains is a masterfully produced and surprisingly mature record that will likely wind up as a personal selection for one of 2014’s very best. Watch the video (keep an eye out for the perfect full-room smash cut) below and bandleader Connor S. LaMue playing stripped-down version of Growing Pains‘ two lead-off tracks for the always-reliable Third Coast Digest here.

Pay close to attention to those tour dates and catch them live at all costs.

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May 16, 2014

Naomi Punk – Television Man (Stream)

There are a few labels that get a lot of love around these parts- Burger, Exploding in Sound, Don Giovanni, and Old Flame Records all have a pretty strong foothold by continuing to operate with the kinds of bands who make music that caters to exactly what this site was built to celebrate. Captured Tracks can officially be added to that list. The label’s the home of the band that’s earned the most features here as well as a tantalizing spread of others (Mac DeMarco, Craft Spells, Medicine, etc.) and has been on an impressive run lately. Enter: Naomi Punk. A band built on weirdly frenetic post-punk tension and the kind of instrumental interplay that would make Spoon proud, they’re bound to be one of the year’s bigger discoveries. Yesterday they revealed a lot of details about their home-recorded sophomore effort, Television Man, and offered up the title track for streaming. “Television Man” is a jaunty run through a maze of stop-start rhythms and twisted riffs that somehow manage to subtly recall various miniature aspects of the 90’s underground punk scenes while sounding distinctly modern. It’s one hell of an introduction to the record (which is due out August 5th) and will likely have a lot of people salivating while begging for more.

Listen to “Television Man” below and give in to its relentlessness.

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April 18, 2014

Gold-Bears – For You (Stream)

Gold-bears have been striking all the right notes as of late, with each tease of their upcoming Dalliance drawing more and more attention from all the right places. For good reason, too, as evidenced by “For You” this band has tapped into something worth celebrating. Existing in some sort of intersection between the gone-too-soon Four Eyes and the institution that is Radiator Hospital, “For You” is an all-out blitz of scuzzed-out modern influence. The song at it’s most basic finds the band reverting to one chord and managing to turn that into a punishing progression as they absolutely annihilate it with riff-heavy freakouts before reverting back to basics. When the bells kick in at the end, it transforms into something genuinely exhilarating.

“For You”, on its own, warranted an exploration of the band’s debut Are You Falling in Love?,which certainly had its moments, but Dalliance looks to be an incredible improvement on that still relatively strong record. If the rest of the record can stack up to “For You”, then the band will have handily avoided the sophomore slump by crafting what may actually wind up being a surprise Album of the Year contender. One thing’s for sure, all early indications are pointing to Dalliance (which will be out June 3 via Slumberland) being a record that’s worth holding onto for a very, very long time.

Listen to “For You” below and make sure it helps soundtrack at least one road trip.

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Tag: sophomore effort