Heartbreaking Bravery

@heartbreaking_bravery | heartbreakingbraveryllc@gmail.com | @hbreakbravery

Tag: Strange Relations

June 1, 2016

Hater – Radius (Stream)

hater

After a flurry of new material emerged yesterday, Wednesday was kind enough to keep the momentum going, producing new songs from Cross Wires, HSY, Sur Back, Kilo Tango, School ’94, Wymond Miles, Strange Relations, and JOYA. Additionally, there were outstanding clips from Margaret Glaspy, Middle Kids, Public Access TV, Angel Olsen, Icky Blossoms, and Brass Bed. Finally, the full streams were capped off with extremely strong releases from the following artists: Casket Girls, Moonface and Siinai, Cough, The Stargazer Lilies, Dream b/w Comfort, Kalispell, and a reissue of elvis depressedly‘s holo pleasures that comes packaged with a new slate of b-sides. As great as all of those releases were (and they were great), today’s feature spot was confidently claimed by emergent act Hater and their spry “Radius”.

“Radius” is yet another in a long list of successes for the astonishingly prolific — and remarkably consistent — PNKSLM label, who have specialized in curating an aesthetic firmly built around carefree basement pop. Hater fit into that mold with a graceful ease but inject the proceedings with a magisterial sweep that quickly establishes them as one of their roster’s most intriguing acts. Evoking Ty Segall as much as Alvvays, Hater finds a curious middle-ground between two genres that overlap far less frequently than they should (with “Radius” operating as startling proof).

As “Radius” sprints along, arms outstretched, Hater never loses its footing or determination, allowing the song to stay grounded and build momentum all at once. In under two and a half minutes, the band conjures up a beautiful piece of lovingly damaged powerpop, maintaining an irrepressible, hopeful smile throughout all the bruises. Guitars swell, the rhythm section rolls, and the vocals soar in a beautifully woven piece of art that never outstays its welcome. Everything on “Radius” is either perfect or nearing perfection, projecting as much identity as it does confidence. In one song, Hater manages to carve out a name for themselves and it’s a name worth saying; Hater’s a band that deserves all of the mentions that will inevitably come their way.

Stream “Radius” below and pick up the band’s forthcoming EP from PNKSLM here.

1 Comment
August 11, 2015

Strange Relations – Panther’s Conquest (Music Video Premiere)

strange rlations
Photograph by Kate Essick

Back in March, Strange Relations quietly released the excellent -CENTRISM, a collection of songs teeming with a variety of great influences (indie pop, post-punk, new wave, no wave, hardcore, etc.). It’s an album that deserved greater circulation than it initially received- but, like all great bands that have the tenacity to reach wider platforms- they’re staunchly refusing to be dissuaded by something as trivial as small reception. I’m honored to be hosting the premiere of the music video for the shortest, sharpest, and fiercest song on -CENTRISM, “Panther’s Conquest”.

On -CENTRISM the song feels even more vicious than it does as a standalone piece, thanks to the sequencing choice to have it follow the record’s most gentle moment. Freed of sequential boundaries, the Lewis Wilcox-directed clip is allowed both a freedom and a fierceness that feels intrinsically tied to the spirit of the song. Utilizing striking visuals, great framing, brilliant editing, and a strong turn from Isabel Hendrix in the video’s central role, it plays on an unnerving sense of pulp to great effect.

Intercutting performance footage, cleverly placed snippets of lyrics, an empty, foreboding chair in a parking garage, a photoshoot, and more, “Panther’s Conquest” ultimately comes off as an exploration of personal identity, rendering it an accurate presentation of one of -CENTRISM‘s largest overarching narrative themes. As everything rapidly builds to what feels like may be a horrifying climax, the clip subverts expectations and ends with a different kind of powerful statement. It’s an elegant and graceful punctuation mark that makes the sentiments preceding it even more intriguing. Provocative, thoughtful, and full of beautiful neo-noir touches, it’s not a video to be missed.

Watch “Panter’s Conquest” below and order -CENTRISM here.

2 Comments