Telekinesis | Heartbreaking Bravery

October 13, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 96

It’s been quite some time since Watch This made an appearance due to a variety of extenuating circumstances. However, the series was still going through upkeep in its absence. This will be the first of four posts that collects and features the best live performance captures in that same amount of time, each in a chronological order. Going back four weeks, there were intriguing clips from Bear’s Den, Juan Wauters, Redthread, The Good Life (x2), Bertrand Belin, Laura Marling, Telekinesis, Beirut, Julia Holter, FIDLAR, Ride, and Donovan Wolfington. It was a suitably strong crop of clips but the five to earn featured spots here earner their respective positions for a reason. So, as always, lean in, focus up, and Watch This.

1. Cayetana – Serious Things Are Stupid (Little Elephant)

Cayetana have made a few appearances on this series before but their performance of “Serious Things Are Stupid” for Little Elephant is their best clip to date. The camerawork here’s intentionally loose and matches the band’s aesthetic in a thoughtful way while the performance is committed, tight-knit, and delivered with verve. It’s a short blast that winds up being remarkably effective.

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2. PWR BTTM (BreakThruRadio)

Anyone that’s clicked on this site anytime since summer rolled around has likely seen a mountain of praise directed towards PWR BTTM, who remain one of the most entertaining live bands on the circuit. With that being the case, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise anytime they make a Watch This appearance. Here, they deliver some typically fierce performances and provide their host with a transformative experience.

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3. Meat Wave – Cosmic Zoo (Audiotree)

There have been more than a few posts on this site discussing Meat Wave‘s fundamental importance to this site’s development and the trio keeps delivering at an exceptional level. 2015’s outstanding Delusion Moon has helped the band gain significant momentum and they’re capitalizing on that momentum at every conceivable level. Audiotree recently hosted the band for a session and they led their set off with the surging “Cosmic Zoo“, delivering the song with a bracing immediacy.

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4. Madalean Gauze – Accumulations of Life (WXPN)

This performance of “Accumulations of Life” was my introduction to the spiky guitar pop of Madalean Gauze, a band that comes across as immediately relatable and extremely well-versed. As a first piece, it’s a near-perfect blend of practiced and promising, solidifying theirs as a name to watch straight out of the gate. Vibrant and alive, “Accumulations of Life” is an incredibly enjoyable look at an intriguing emerging act.

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5. Glen Hansard – McCormack’s Wall (ANTI-)

Occasionally a clip surfaces and immediately registers as transcendental. I can vividly remembering having that thought upon first watches of a very small selection of the 500+ performances that have been featured on this series- yet, “McCormack’s Wall” manages to stand out even among those few. Deeply cinematic, characteristically heartfelt, thematically rich, tenderly shot, crisply edited, and beautifully presented, “McCormack’s Wall” occasionally comes across as a tone poem. Easily one of the most gorgeous clips to ever run in this series, “McCormack’s Wall” is a pinnacle of what can be achieved with the format. Share this one with family.

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August 27, 2015

Mike Krol – Turkey (Album Review, Stream)

With an incredibly strong Tuesday already transitioning to the rear view, it would have made sense to see a drop in content release but a lot of places seemed intent on following other plans leading to a Wednesday that was just as overflowing with great material. Shit Present unveiled a spiky EP debut of Salinas-brand pop-punk and The School revealed something resembling a low-key indie pop masterpiece in Wasting Away and Wondering. Hurry Up, Spray Paint, Julia Holter, Telekinesis, Moses Sumney, Heaters, Jono McCleery, Weyes Blood, Haybaby, and See Through Dresses all released excellent new songs while exemplary music videos got brought out by the likes of Girls Names, Vaadat Charigim, Shy Kids, Postcards From Jeff, Glen Hansard, Sporting Life, PILL, Wet Nurse, and Low Fat Getting High (whose director this time around, A Year’s Worth of Memories contributor Stephen Tringali, continues to do masterful work with desolate landscapes and imagery rooted in magic surrealism). Merge also surprised everyone with a stream of one of the year’s best records, Mike Krol’s Turkey.

After posting Krol’s ridiculously enjoyable video for “Neighborhood Watch” yesterday, the full album has finally arrived. Since a lot ground was already covered in the “Neighborhood Watch” write-up, I’ll forego some of that reviews focal points (the historical context of his long-standing Sleeping in the Aviary connection and his other past work) to focus on the material at hand. Before I get lost fawning over Sleeping in the Aviary- one of the most crushingly under-recognized bands of recent times- I’ll merely state that their impact can be felt all over Turkey (they’re essentially Krol’s backing band, after all) and Turkey seems to pick up right around where Sleeping in the Aviary’s 2011 swan song, You and Me, Ghost left off in terms of stylistic approach.

Turkey is a different beast than its string of predecessors from either the man at the center of the project or the band he’s continued to incorporate into his project. Nearly every track of the formidable blitz that is Turkey seems wild-eyed and feral, largely eschewing grace in favor of brute force. In more than a few ways it recalls Lost Boy ? at their most ferocious, precariously balancing a delirious mental state with a bevvy of seemingly unchecked aggression. The difference maker here is the brevity, which is wielded like a weapon and utilized to frightening perfection.

Only one song on Turkey eclipses the two and a half minute mark, effectively rendering Turkey a barrage of quick hits. A normal detractor in this case is that in a flurry of blows, some of the shots can lose their power- a pitfall that Turkey overcomes with ease. Likely due to the fact that Krol’s boiled his peculiar model of songwriting down to an art form (Merge did sign him, after all), it’s an extremely impressive achievement nonetheless. With the exception of the gorgeous but ultimately irreverent closing track (“Piano Shit” is as apt as a title as any I’ve seen this year), every song on Turkey could work as a standalone single or cut through a crowded mixtape with ease.

When “This Is The News” was originally unveiled last month, expectations for Turkey skyrocketed but still allowed for a host of variables to diminish the extreme impact of its lead-off single. Looking back and taking into consideration Krol’s enviable long-term consistency and career track, the suggestion that Turkey would be anything other than a powerhouse release seems ridiculous. Now that it’s actually here, though, it’s unlikely that anyone could have fathomed the extent of how high-impact this record would wind up being. While it’s likely still too early to call it a genre masterpiece, the temptation’s already starting to build. Arriving at the precise intersection of basement pop and basement punk, allowing for a host of outlying genre influences (doo-wop and soul play key parts in the band’s atomic chemistry).

Nine songs of pure cathartic release, this easily ranks among the very best of 2015. Played with feeling, fearlessness, and an excessive amount of verve, Turkey is a new career benchmark for one of the sharpest talents to emerge out of the upper Midwest (between this, Tenement’s Predatory Headlights, and a small handful of other notable releases, the region’s composing a powerful run). Already nearly a dozen listens in since receiving new of the stream yesterday, I can personally attest to the fact that it’s addictive, it rewards investment, and retains enough punch to ensure it an unlikely level of longevity. Smart, catchy, and a blinding entry into a genre intersection that isn’t always afforded the luxury of national attention (something Turkey has a decent shot at, thanks to Merge’s involvement), this is a record worth purchasing several times over. Lay it all on the line and dive into this thing headfirst, the fall in will be worth it every time.

Listen to Turkey below and pre-order a copy from Merge ahead of its Friday release here.

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June 8, 2015

Watch This: Vol. 77

Over the course of the past few weeks, the influx of outstanding live videos has been staggering. Last week the series was put on a brief hold due to other personal obligations but even then, there was the threat of multiple installments for that particular Sunday. Amassing those with the live clips that followed in the subsequent week brings us to this point: there’s simply too much great material to feature to justify relegating anything exceeding the limit of five to the introductory paragraph(s). With this being the case, there will be seven- yes, seven- installments of Watch This to go live throughout the day (and possibly night).

To that end, this very introduction will be running prior to volumes 74-80 to reduce the levels of overall exposition to provide an emphasis on the material at hand. Site favorites Girlpool and Waxahatchee were seemingly everywhere this week, securing multiple entries throughout this run while Faits Divers spread-out documentation of a set from Ought (another site favorite) managed to do the same. As always, each video featured is an exemplary showcase for both artist and host, covering a wide range of sounds and styles. So, as always, sit back, adjust the volume to your preferred settings, sit up straight, lean in (or back), and Watch This.

1. Telekinesis (KEXP)

It takes a rare kind of personality to make a completely solo set utterly captivating and Michael Benjamin Lerner has always been one of the people capable of delivering on those levels. That fact’s clearly evidenced in this outdoor set for KEXP, where there’s a clear love for his craft. All of it translates into a vibrant, effortless showcase for his Telekinesis project, including an absolutely mesmerizing cover of Wire’s “Outdoor Miner” to get things moving.

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2. Algiers – Blood (WFUV)

Few emerging bands have given more reason for excitement than the boundary-pushing Algiers. Infusing a vast array of influences into something that feels wholly original, the band’s ascent has been rapid and- more importantly- justified. With the political bent of their music on complete display in the intro of “Blood” furthering the cause for excitement not just on a career level but inciting a deeper fascination on the performance level as well, the cards are lining up for Algiers’ future. Bringing everything to a haunting, weathered realization is the bulk of the performance itself- a jaw-dropping display of raw, innate talent.

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3. Ought – Pleasant Heart (Faits Divers)

Ought’s More Than Any Other Day was one of this site’s picks for the best albums of 2014 and the album hasn’t lost a step since its release. As great as that record was (and it was great), the band’s always excelled more as a live act, thanks to their kinetic motion. All of the best live bands recognize that the greatest advantage of playing the songs is the freedom to warp, subvert, and bend their own art rather than keeping it static. Ought’s never backed away from experimenting with the space they’re given in that setting and Faits Divers has provided exhilarating proof with an inspired take of “Pleasant Heart”.

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4. Waxahatchee – Stale By Noon (Wichita)

A lot of Katie Crutchfield’s most inspired songs, from “Noccalula” to “Singer’s No Star“, have been piano-based. “Stale By Noon” is one of the most recent entries into that repertoire, providing Ivy Tripp with one of its most arresting moments. Allison Crutchfield’s presence somehow makes this particular rendition feel even more intensely personal. Lit by candles and aided by nothing but each other, their instruments, and an adoring audience, this intimate performance of “Stale by Noon” is a powerful testament of both Crutchfield’s unwavering magnetism.

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5. Fred Thomas – Bad Blood (BreakThruRadio)

All Are Saved was my all-too-late introduction to Fred Thomas and it’s also holding firm as one of my favorite releases of 2015. It’s unflinchingly earnest and utterly sincere, grounded in a damaged humanism that makes it easily relatable. Close to every song on the record contains a moment of breathtaking clarity that deals heavily with some of life’s more conventionally unappealing minutiae. “Bad Blood” is a sustained series of those moments, captured here by BreakThruRadio in a clip that manages to secure an emphasis in all of the right places, doing its part to secure Thomas’ spot as one of the strongest songwriters operating today.

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November 20, 2014

Iceage – Against The Moon (Music Video)

Another day’s come and gone, leaving another arsenal of treasures in its wake. Telekinesis teased an upcoming Polyvinyl 4 Track Singles Series 7″ with the vibrant “Can’t See Stars“, Prawn gave the world a glimpse at an EP appendix for last year’s Kingfisher via the stunning “Built For“, and both The Bug and Earth showcased their mastery of sprawling tension on the collaborative “Cold” off of their upcoming Record Store Day 7″. Grooms advanced their psych-damaged and decidedly askew take on pop with the excellent, punk-leaning “Doctor M“. Rounding out the single streams was a fiery Delta Five cover from Audacity and an extraordinarily promising two-song preview of the upcoming split between Joyce Manor and Toys That Kill.

Nano Kino made their enticing self-titled EP (the band’s debut effort) available for streaming (and purchase) over at bandcamp, which was more than enough to cover today’s full streams. Music vidoes had another impressive showing, with solid turn-in’s like Kim Deal’s dryly comedic “Biker Gone“, the unbridled ferocity of Robot Death Kites‘ “Sleep Deprived“, L.A. Witch’s quietly hypnotic “Heart of Darkness“, and “Madora“- yet another ingenious clip from Beverly (the band continues to do absolutely wonderful things with the visual medium). Even with all of those managing to become easy standouts, it was the relentlessly devastating video for Iceage‘s “Against The Moon” (a song that this site already emphatically praised) that hit with the hardest impact.

Directed by the formidable team of Marten Masai Andersen and Kim Thue and starring the inimitable Dan van Husen (best known for his work in Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu The Vampyre and Federico Fellini’s Casanova), “Against The Moon” is shot in striking black-and white and accentuates the song’s inherent sadness. Missa Blue and Louis Backhouse round out the cast in deeply tragic turns that allow them to bare their characters scars. Implicit violence permeates nearly every frame of “Against The Moon”- much of it lensed in a style that comes off as a hybrid between classic noir, western, and horror- with van Husen’s nameless character incessantly leering at the prostitutes played by Blue and Backhouse; his face often a sick portrait of twisted satisfaction.

In the press copy, it states that the video’s intended to double the dichotomy between affirmation and repentance that’s present in Elias Bender Rønnenfelt lyric set. While aspects of that do come through (with a vengeance), it’s the ambiguity that winds up taking centerstage; nearly all of “Against The Moon” is composed of effortlessly arresting one-shots, refusing to let its characters intertwine on an explicit or definitive level. Every moment of staging is rooted more in suggestion than cause or consequence, forcing the viewer to face an array of uncomfortable questions and grapple with things as essential as empathy. It’s a revolving door of character study, presenting each subject with equal care, unafraid to focus in on what appear to be their lowest moments. It’s a psychological nightmare. It’s a brutally meticulous examination of standards. It’s a an unfailingly harsh reminder of life’s darkest corners. It’s beyond important; it’s necessary- and, most of all, it’s a masterpiece.

Watch “Against The Moon” below and order Plowing Into The Field Of Love here.

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Tag: Telekinesis