Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Standards

January 5, 2015

14 of ’14: The Best 7″ Records of 2014

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As always, two quick disclaimers: “best”, in year-end list cases, is a shorthand term indicative of personal admiration which is in no way an attempt to be definitive and the first person restrictions will be lifted for this site’s year-end coverage. This list will be focusing on releases that came out in the 7″ format throughout the course of 2014. Some may fall under the EP umbrella (which will be the next list to run) but each and every title on this list wound up with my appreciation. A staggering amount of 7″ records were released this year and I had the privilege of listening to hundreds throughout the past 12 months. Below will be the 14 strongest 7″ records that I heard all year- the records that stuck with me or gnawed away at my memory. Just like the previous list, below those 14 selections will be a list of every 7″ released in 2014 that made a deep enough impact to be put into consideration for this list (or, rather, every release I came across that deserves to be heard by as many people possible). Enough exposition; onto the picks.

14. Communions – Cobblestones

Expertly blending new wave, post-punk, and something entirely undefinable, Communions’ Cobblestones was one of the year’s most immediately gripping releases. Cobblestones is the kind of release that teems with enough determination and conviction to convince anyone that Communions are in this for the long haul.

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13. Mikal Cronin – I Don’t Mind b/w Blue-Eyed Girl

Part of Polyviny’s four-track singles series, “I Don’t Mind” and “Blue-Eyed Girl” were both perfect demonstrations of Mikal Cronin’s penchant for winsome folk-oriented (and punk-informed) pop music. It’s a show of force as much as it is a reveal of Cronin’s most delicate sensibilities. Unfortunately, the A-side is no longer available for streaming but the compellingly plaintive B-side’s been included below.

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12. Girl Band – Lawman, De Bom Bom

Girl Band turned in a few of 2014’s most feral offerings. From the 25-second “The Cha Cha Cha” to the songs that give the Law Man and De Bom Bom 7″ releases their name. Serrated and cut-throat, Girl Band have been unleashing bruising post-punk that occasionally verges on hardcore and powerviolence at a steady rate. Watch out for whatever route they decide to take with their upcoming full-length.


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11. Dogs On Acid – Dogs On Acid

Taking cues from 90’s powerpop and injecting it with a ferocious energy (and no shortage of grit), Dogs on Acid have crafted something incredibly appealing with their self-titled 7″. Like early Ben Kweller with an added punk bite, both “Make It Easy” and “Waiting For You To Come Home” are ridiculously easy to leave on repeat and more than worth a heavy amount of investment.

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10. Jeff Rosenstock – Hey Allison! b/w I’m So Gross

After Bomb The Music Industry! halted operations, Jeff Rosenstock had quite a few roads open to him. He took full advantage in 2014 by not only releasing two outstanding EP’s in his collaborative project with Fake Problems’ Chris Farren as Antarctigo Vespucci and going straight for the throat with his strongest solo effort to date, the fierce Hey Allison! b/w I’m So Gross 7″. The stop/start rhythms in the chorus of “Hey Allison!” alone would have put this in contention for a spot on this list- luckily the rest of the release lives up to that moment.


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9. Kindling – Spike & Wave

Kindling’s Spike & Wave 7″ caught my attention immediately after its release. It’s another release heralding in a new era of shoegaze that refuses to back down from experimenting with the genre’s limitations. Subtly embracing elements of twee pop and basement punk, it’s a release that deserves to be in a whole lot of collections.

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8. Audacity – Counting the Days

When I started this site, I did it with a post about Audacity, whose Butter Knife was one of 2013’s strongest highlights. In 2014, the band provided another incredibly strong moment with “Counting the Days”- a 7″ headlined by a song that earned both a write-up and a Watch This entry spot. My feelings on that song haven’t changed but Counting the Days’ other song, “Mind Your Own Business”, pushes the whole package (which also features some incredible album art) way over the top.


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7. Ausmuteants – Felix Tried to Kill Himself, Stale White Boys Playing Stale Black Music, Fed Through A Tube

Ausmuteants had an absolutely monstrous 2014, releasing no fewer than five titles. Three of those were incendiary 7″ releases that would have easily made this list individually. Grouped together, they’re an absurdly powerful package than goes a long way in cementing Ausmuteants’ reputation as one of the most exciting things happening in music. Felix Tried to Kill Himself, Stale White Boys Playing Stale Black Music, and Fed Through A Tube are overflowing with a hyper-charged psych-tinted punk that’s completely electrifying.



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6. Terry & Louie – (I’m) Lookin’ For A Heart b/w She Loves Him

The Exploding Hearts have achieved a deserved status as powerpop legends. Since that band’s tragic ending, two of their members have been steadily releasing incredible music with various outfits. Terry Six and King Louie Bankston have once again teamed up for a new project, Terry & Louie, who now have one powerful career entry with (I’m) Lookin’ For A Heart b/w She Loves Him. The same infectious energy that turned Guitar Romantic into such a beloved classic is on full display here, with Six and Bankston’s pop sensibilities fully in tact. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last we’ve seen of this project.

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5. Cloakroom – Lossed Over b/w Dream Warden

At this point, I’m not sure any band’s been mentioned more times without receiving an outright feature spot than Cloakroom (with the exception of a Watch This). There’s a reason they keep showing up; they’re quietly crafting some extraordinary songs and sculpting what promises to be a celebrated career long after they’re gone. Both “Lossed Over” and “Dream Warden” are brooding powerhouses that are towering in scope and deeply nuanced in their dynamics. Cloakroom keep improving with every subsequent release and it’ll only be a matter of time before they get the levels of recognition they deserve.

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4. Sheer Mag – Sheer Mag

Sheer Mag exploded into just about everyone’s good graces with their self-titled 7″ release and it’s not difficult to see why; this hits an impressive number of sweet spots for people associated with DIY music. It’s scrappy, it’s lo-fi, it’s undeniably punk, it’s extraordinarily catchy, and it comes loaded with a staggering amount of conviction. These four songs have fought their way into regular rotation since they first came out, refusing to be pushed back and only growing stronger with time.

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3. Crimson Wave – Say

Say caught me completely off guard when I first heard it; I was completely entranced and blown away by Crimson Wave’s subtle, understated take on post-punk. Each of these three songs are as balanced as they are delicate as they are cutting. The 7″ is somewhat of an anomaly for the reliably great Accidental Guest Recordings who normally tend towards more noisy, aggressive, and blown-out fare. It’s the level of restraint in Say that helps make it stand out, something that’s accentuated by the cold production. Impossible to shake and easy to latch on to, Say is something that demands to be remembered.

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2. Dilly Dally – Candy Mountain, Next Gold

No band in 2014 made a bigger entrance with their 7″ releases than Dilly Dally. Both Candy Mountain and Next Gold feel like instant classics; releases informed by years of genre touch points and a deft sense of how they can all line up into something impossibly gripping. Taking cues from all of the right places and emerging with a fully-formed identity and a real sense of purpose, Dilly Dally offered a welcome jolt to the year’s proceedings. “Candy Mountain” was only the third song to be released in the band’s career and it already feels important; a defining moment not just for a band but their surrounding environment. The amount of weight thrown into these songs is unbelievable and showcase Dilly Dally as a band worth all the excitement in the world.


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1. Pile – Special Snowflakes b/w Mama’s Lipstick

It’s difficult to no where to start with a song as monumental as Pile’s earth-shattering career highlight “Special Snowflakes”. I was fortunate enough to witness this song in a live setting only a few months back and completely lost my sense of self. In that moment, everything that wasn’t “Special Snowflakes” faded from my care. Completely spellbound, the band tore through that one song and the audience in front of them reacted accordingly. That experience wasn’t too far removed from the first time I heard “Special Snowflakes“. For more than 7 minutes, I was pummeled into awed submission by what’s not only (easily) one of the best songs of this year but of this decade. “Mama’s Lipstick” provides a haze of smoke in the form of a (very) loose reprise- along with some other comparatively brief moments of brilliance (that piano figure!)- after the hurricane storm of the release’s A-side, assuring its status as one of the most important releases of 2014.

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7″ records from 2014 that deserve to be heard: Vanishing Life – People Running | Wildhoney – Seventeen Forever | Pain Dimension – Brainwash | Primitive Parts – TV Wheel b/w The Bench | Palehound – Kitchen | Audacity – Japan | Modern Pets – B.I.Y.S. | No Coast – Don’t Be A Gramps b/w Kick Out The Hamm’s | The Yolks – Two Dollars Out the Door | Kevin Morby – My Name | Friends of Cesar Romero – The Hold b/w Teisco Telstar Stomp | The Ar-Kaics – Make It Mine b/w Movin’ On, Sick and Tired b/w Cut Me Down, Why Should I b/w Slave to Her Lies | Los Pepes – Tonight | The Mandates – Suspicion b/w Wastin’ Time | The Memories – American Summer | Broncho – It’s On | Useless Eaters – Desperate Living | Los Dos Hermanos – Alienor/Paye Ty Chatte | Dime Runner – Can’t Express | Balcanes – Plataforma/Autopista | Chit Chat – Never Know | The Achtungs – Total Punk | Dasher – Go Rambo | Nots – Fix b/w Modern | Cold Institution – Cold Institution | Tashaki Miyaki – Cool Runings | Bleached – For The Feel | A Million Billion Dying Suns – Strawberry Later 23 b/w Secret Tree | Pretty Pretty – Leather Weather | Video – Cult of Video | Fax Holiday – Brang In Blood | Places to Hide – Wild N Soft | The Newtown Neurotics – Hypocrite b/w You Said No | Molybden – Woman Who Left Behind | The Gotobeds – New York’s Alright (If You Like Phones & Sex) | Michael Rault – Nothing Means Nothing | Ex-Breathers – EXBX | Marvelous Mark – Bite Me | The Bilders – The Utopians | Frau – Punk Is My Boyfriend | Arrest – La Poli Bastarda | Glue – Glue | Seahaven – Silhouette | Basement – Further Sky | Cancers – Dig | Two Houses – Disappointer | The Grave Walks – She’s A Suicide | GAMES – Little Elise | Cherry Glazerr – Had Ten Dollaz | The Renegades of Punk – Espelho Negro | Sex Crime – I Am An Observer | Wimps – Party at the Wrong Time | The Band In Heaven – The Boys of Summer of Sam | The Mantles – Memory | Standards – Kid | Communions – So Long Sun | Energy Slime – New Dimensional | Mea Culpa – Dislocation | The Parrots – Loving You Is Hard, Dee Dee Dangerous | The Gaggers – Sharp Lies/Hostage

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October 29, 2014

Filmstrip – Don’t You Know (Stream)

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A lot of great material came crawling out of the woodwork today on all three major fronts. On the music video side of things, two more woods-set music videos continued this week’s increasingly eerie visuals, courtesy of The Afghan Whigs’ “Lost in the Woods” and Greylag’s “Yours to Shake“. Over in the territory occupied by full streams, there was Smack The Brick, a characteristically insane new EP from fearless art-punkers Guerilla Toss, a gloriously punishing psych-indebted punk stomper from Aj Davila Y Terror Amor called Beibi, and Farewell Foolish Objects a sprawling post-punk masterpiece from The Gary which very nearly took today’s feature spot- and may very well see more coverage here in the near future. For single streams there was a fascinating collaboration between PC Worship and Parquet Courts, a new tune for the deluxe version of one of this year’s best records- Burn Your Fire for No Witness– carrying the tongue-in-cheek title of “May As Well“, and “Kid“- a heart-on-sleeve blue collar punk anthem from Standards. Additionally, there was a typically spiky new demo to surface from another one of the year’s best efforts- Lost Boy ?’s Canned– called “Boring Jr” and Communions’ giddy indie-pop grandeur came to light in the form of “Love Stands Still“.

One of the strongest songs to come to light, though, was one that avoided detection when it first came into being a few months back: Filmstrip‘s “Don’t You Know”. Taking cues from bands that pioneered the merging of noise, post-punk, and early emo (a la Sunny Day Real Estate, Shellac, and The Wrens) and bringing in a fair bit of early 90’s slacker revivalism (along with a few nods to Canadian powerpop), Filmstrip have managed to craft an identity that feels as familiar as it does unique. As aggressive as the song feels, it’s also surprisingly accessible and will play well to the sensibilities of genre specialists across a very wide spread. There’s a real sense of both history and craftsmanship that accompanies “Don’t You Know”, rendering it a compulsively fascinating listen. Well-informed, well-tailored, and brimming with a raucous energy, it’s a very tantalizing first look at the band’s upcoming record- Moments of Matter- which is due out via Exit Stencil Recordings next week. Tightly-knit and aggressively kinetic, “Don’t You Know” cements Filmstrip’s status as a band that’s not worth overlooking.

Listen to “Don’t You Know” below and pre-order Moments of Matter here.

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August 2, 2014

The Frankl Project – Day at the Races (Stream)

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Pop-punk has always been a deeply problematic genre. More than just about any other style of music that gained significant attention throughout the last decade and a half, pop-punk seemed to get too hung up on its own hallmarks. Elongated vowels, clichéd lyrics about love and heartbreak, a certain amount of bombast, and a total unwillingness to say- or attempt- something new. If anyone broke from the tried-and-true mold, they stuck out like a sore thumb- and became all the more interesting for it. Enter: The Frankl Project. Their most recent full-length, 2013’s excellent Standards, was one of that year’s best surprises thanks to an emphasis on grit and humility unheard elsewhere. All of the songs on that record were backed up by intelligence and conviction- and an ample amount of instrumental chops. It was an inward look at very specific types of collapse that never became overwrought or overstepped its bounds. By the time its dozen songs had played themselves out, it was fairly evident that it deserved to be embraced as either a genre classic or a very welcome step forward for a style that’d become so redundant.

Last month, during this site’s festival coverage period, the Cincinatti trio quietly released Little Wrecking Ball, an online-only two-song effort. While the title track works well as a lead-off (and on its own), it’s the second song of the pair that steals the show. Everything that made Standards so great has been pinpointed and emphasized, leaving no doubt that the band should be heading places. Furthering this theory is the fact that “Day at the Races” was recently hand-picked by Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace to  lead off the unsigned side of Xtra Mile Recordings fascinating (and absolutely vital) Smokin’ (Signed vs.  Unsigned) compilation. It’s easy to see what Grace finds so appealing here; the guitar tones are incendiary, the song structure is intelligent, the instrumental sections are uniformly excellent, the down-trodden lyrics are clever but contained, and the drop to half-time that closes everything out at the end is a thing of perfection. Moreover, when guitarist/vocalist Jacob Tippey sings, and this is key, it’s difficult not to believe everything he says. Tippey’s delivery is as purposeful as the music itself and pairing the two together makes for an explosive combination. Underneath his impassioned delivery, a menacing bassline (courtesy of Paul Schroder, who took the extraordinary shot that serves as the release’s cover) is joined by Joseph Frankl’s always-impressive drumming and Tippey’s inventive, meldoy-heavy guitarwork. All of those elements together make for a molotov cocktail of a tune that proves pop-punk can still be something worth listening to.

Listen to “Day at the Races” below and make sure to catch these guys next time they hit the road- their live act’s not one worth missing.

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December 29, 2013

Watch This: Vol. 6

Another year comes to a close and offers up a luxury; a chance to go back for looks at videos this site never got to cover because it came into existence far too late. In this week’s addition of Watch This, all of the videos featured are standout takes from earlier on in the year that deserved a spotlight they weren’t able to receive the first time around. So, take a break between football games this Sunday and give these a watch; they’re all worth it. Regularly-scheduled time-sensitive posts will resume on Watch This next Sunday. Until then, enjoy some of the best live videos that 2013’s first stretch had to offer. 

1. Savages – Husbands (KEXP Session)

Savages landed in the US with a considerable amount of fanfare, a lot of which can be attributed to stunning live performances like this take on Silence Yourself standout “Husbands” for KEXP. The decision to release the clip in black-and-white only furthered the band’s sense of mystery (and aggression). There may not have been a better KEXP session all year.


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2. The Frankl Project – Dissatisfaction at its Finest (Blue Recipe Radio Session)

One of the year’s most pleasant surprises came from a small Cincinatti power trio that were once considered to be more ska than anything else. The Frankl Project’s Standards is a testament to DIY ethics and self-reliance. Additionally, it happens to be one of the better records of 2013 and possibly the best the pop-punk genre had to offer. This Blue Recipe Radio Session included two other standouts (“My Hands” and “Alive on the Road”), so be sure to give all three a watch- it’s passionate, exhilarating material.


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3. Amanda Shires – Bulletproof (Rhythm N’ Blooms)

A wildcard among this deck, Amanda Shires’ “Bulletproof” earns its spot on the strength of the second verse alone. What starts off as an ostensibly twee tune about a good-luck charm suddenly turns dark and examines humanities darkest tendencies; a desire for exploitation, violence, and empowerment. When Shires (now officially Amanda Isbell) hits the line “bring out the switchblades”, after a brief pause, it’s delivered with such a frightening amount of verve that it’s hard not to be completely taken. Definitely a talent to watch.


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4. Mozes and the Firstborn – Time’s A Headache (Live at Biscuit Studios)

There may not have been a better live video that Heartbreaking Bravery encountered all year. It’s not much more than the band playing a standout cut from their self-titled debut effort in a basement but holy hell, do they ever play that song. The young Antwerp hell-raisers lay into “Time’s A Headache” with everything they’ve got to the delight of the crowd gathered around them in the basement where this was shot. There were a myriad of discoveries to make in 2013 but Mozes and the Firstborn (and this video) were among the very best of the “hidden gems” category.


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5. Midnight Reruns – Grand Slam / Basement Guy (TCD’s Take One Session)

This marks the third time Midnight Reruns have appeared on a Watch This and it’s very unlikely it’ll be the last. This band simply isn’t getting the recognition it deserves and anything this site can do to further their exposure, it will do. ThirdCoastDigest started a video series earlier on this year called Take One where local area WI bands play an acoustic version of a song or two for their cameras; despite outstanding efforts from the likes of Midwestern Charm and Vic & Gab, the most intoxicating session belong to Milwaukee’s Midnight Reruns. “Basement Guy” and “Grand Slam” both take on noticeably different forms from their LP versions and are just as strong, if not stronger, for it. Get a jump on the inevitable and stop sleeping on these guys- they’re a band worthy talking about as early as possible.

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