Stranger | Heartbreaking Bravery

October 13, 2016

A Two Week Toll: Full Streams

Bringing an end to the opening trio of posts to amend some of the time lost during the hiatus that followed this site’s 1,000th post, the following links will be dedicated to some of the finest full-length streams that appeared over the past two weeks. From site favorites to new names, there’s a wealth of material here that’s worthy of investment. A handful of these may even be legitimate Album of the Year contenders. Carve some time out to listen or just hit play and turn the volume up while working, either way, make sure not to miss some extraordinary records.

Terry Malts, The Exquisites, Lola Kirke, Fake Limbs, Halfsour, Lilac Daze, Kuroma, Violence Creeps, Computer Magic, Emily Yacina, Male Bonding, Jenny O, Wild Pink, MONO, Spellbinder, Clorox Girls, Infinity Crush, Ryan Allen and His Extra Arms, Fraternal Twin, Kestrels, Elephants, Hello Shark, Trash Gendar, (ghost), Shana Falana, Suburban Living, Trails and Ways, Lara Yuko, Batz, Goat, Peaer, Henry Jamison, Bad Noids, Bellows, The Fabulous Johnsons, Sleeping Lessons, Big Bill, Shelf Life, The Meltaways, Dog, Paper, Submarine, Balcanes, Warehouse, Kadhja Bonet, Axis: Sova, Funeral Blues, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Letters to Cleo, Mr. Martin & The Sensitive Guys, Panoptique Electrical, Exotica, Howardian, Bonzo, Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster, and the Punkinhead 2016 compilation.

August 25, 2016

Hazel English – I’m Fine (Lyric Video)

hazel english

Since Monday, outstanding full streams from Space Mountain, The Veils, Vomitface, Lifer, Midnight Faces, Zula, Worse, The Wounded Kings, Psychic Heat, Massage, Saint Clementine, and Twist have all surfaced. In that baker’s dozen of releases, there’s a demonstration of the impressive range of quality material that this month alone has been producing. We’re living in an astonishing time for music and while not all of it’s visible, it’s still easily accessible. For example: Hazel English may not currently be the biggest name in music but the project’s most recent single, “I’m Fine”, ranks among the best understated pop songs of the year.

Making the deal even sweeter, the project’s offered up a gorgeous lyric clip to accompany the release of “I’m Fine” that was meticulously crafted using cut-outs of vintage issues of Life magazine. In that approach, “I’m Fine” gets the benefit of having an appreciative sense of history, which, in turn, winds up enlivening the entire affair. The song itself is an eloquently composed slice of muted basement pop, anchored by a frighteningly relatable sense of human longing.

From the warm synth beds to the imagery placement, there’s not a false note or move to be found anywhere in “I’m Fine”, which has an emotional resonance that’s impossible to ignore. Even with all of the ostensible anguish that drives the song’s narrative — and the wistful nostalgia that fuels the clip — as soon as it’s over, the only thing that seems to make sense is to go straight back to the beginning and experience every inch of “I’m Fine” all over again.

Watch “I’m Fine” below and pre-order Never Going Home here.

2 Comments

March 8, 2015

First Quarter Clips, Pt. 1 (Video Mixtape)

As was laid out in yesterday’s mixtape, for the next few days this site will be in strict catch-up mode. Mixtapes of some of the best material to emerge in the first three months of 2015 will be running until everything’s brought up to the present-day release cycle. A few items here and there will be granted individual focus pieces but don’t let that distract from the importance of the songs and clips in all of the past and forthcoming lists (as well as the one on display here). It’s been a strong year for music videos across several genres, which is something this package of clips is intended to emphasize. From site favorites Mumblr‘s stroke of brilliance in incorporating actual live footage from their previous shows into “Got It” to the Bob’s Burgers tribute to Sleater-Kinney to the searing, soulful “Keep In Mind (Asshole)”, there’s a lot here to admire. Dive in below and explore a few of this year’s richest treasures.

COLLECTION I

–

1. Mumblr – Got It
2. Toro Y Moi – Empty Nesters
3. Heaters – Levitate Thigh
4. Menace Beach – Tastes Like Medicine
5. California X – Hadley, MA
6. Protomartyr – Want Remover
7. Destruction Unit – Final Flight
8. MOURN – Your Brain Is Made of Candy
9. Young Guv – Crushing Sensation
10. Cyberbully Mom Club – Bobby Pins
11. King Tuff – Headbanger
12. Sleater-Kinney – A New Wave
13. Cayetana – Scott Get the Van, I’m Moving
14. Ex Hex – Don’t Wanna Lose
15. Franky Flowers – Fell In Love
16. Gal Pals – Do You Ever?
17. Celestial Shore – Weekenders
18. Twerps – Stranger
19. Kuroma – Simon’s in the Jungle
20. Kool Stuff Katie – Cars
21. Fear of Men – America
22. This is the Kit – Bashed Out
23. Tori Vasquez – Keep In Mind (Asshole)
24. Only Real – Can’t Get Happy
25. The Dodos – Competition