Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: The Hairs

August 25, 2016

IAN SWEET – #23 (Music Video)

ian sweet

Over the past several days, there have been excellent music videos to surface from Caspian, DJ Shadow, The Hairs, Clipping., Pleistocene, WL, Pop & Obachan, Donovan Wolfington, Chromatics, Matt Kivel, Dogbreth, Hiss Golden Messenger, Joyce Manor, The Cradle, The Avalanches, Barren Womb, and Walker Lukens. A few of those will undoubtedly be appearing on some year-end lists but that doesn’t mean that the rest should be ignored. All of those titles are worthy endeavors that deserve a certain amount of investment.

As good as all of those clips wound up being, this post’s feature was secured by IAN SWEET‘s endearing, Michael Jordan-influenced “#23”. Tenderly shot and directed by Eleanor Petry, “#23” imbues the subdued tone of the song into a clip that jumps, seamlessly, back and forth from a pick-up game in a park to a varied romp through Coney Island. There’s a lyrical poetry to the imagery that winds up complementing the best song of IAN SWEET’s emergent career.

In four minutes, IAN SWEET (and Petry) conjure up a narrative that feels alternately introspective and fearlessly outgoing, demonstrating a range of humanity that should serve the band well down the line. There’s a keen awareness to the entire affair that’s infused with a heavy amount of empathy, allowing “#23” to radiate a kind of warmth that’s been increasingly rare in the landscape of the punk-tinged basement pop genre. Should the rest of their forthcoming Shapeshifter live up to this precedent, we may very well be looking at — and listening to — one of the finest records of 2016.

Watch “#23” below and pre-order Shapeshifter from Hardly Art here.

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May 18, 2016

Petite League – Zookeeper (Stream)

petite league

While the efforts to keep this site up to date on the very latest releases allows for an influx of under-the-radar material, occasionally a few things fall to the wayside. The best of those are ultimately picked up somewhere along the line and — if they’re close to their release date — plugged into coverage. The latest from Petite League, “Zookeeper”, premiered yesterday and was strong enough to secure a feature spot. A string of other recently-released tracks made strong impressions along the way, including songs from: Okkervil River (whose lyricist, Will Sheff, ranks among the greatest to have ever lived), The Gotobeds (who almost snagged a feature spot of their own), Steady Holiday, Jambinai, The Hairs, Nomad Sounds, and Brenda’s Frend.

“Zookeeper”, a riff-happy basement pop stomper, just proved too irresistible to relegate to a link. It shows Petite League operating at the peak of their powers, turning in a hook-heavy number that never stifles its considerable momentum, even when it unexpectedly allows everything to drop out. By utilizing the stop/start dynamic and exploiting it’s power for all its worth, the band comes across as being successively more galvanized following each kick back into action.

It’s a fiery number that has a formidable punk bite tethered to its undeniable pop sensibilities. The lo-fi aesthetics provide “Zookeeper” with an additional layer of charm amidst its grit, lending a very real sense of determination to the proceedings. The world-weary lyrics are just as strong as the guitar work, with both playing off of each other to ascend towards something legitimately memorable. By the end of “Zookeeper” the band have made their mark, scorching the earth around them with no regard for anything other than their own substantial energy. It’s an exhilarating thrill ride that all but begs to be kept on repeat.

Listen to “Zookeeper” below and keep an eye on Manimal for the single’s Friday release.

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