Throughout the course of 2015 I’ve been fortunate enough to attend upwards of 100 shows, festivals big and small, and spend approximately half a year living in a city that hosted a mind-boggling amount of quality shows on a nightly basis. To that end, it’s probably unsurprising that I wound up taking over 10,000 photos this year alone. Over the course of the next few days, this site will be running seven volumes of the shots that stood out as personal favorites, whether that was due to their composition, sentimental attachment, or an intangible emotional or intellectual response. It’s been an honor to be able to take even the smallest part in the ongoing sagas of the artists in the photographs below and an additional thanks is due to the venues that allowed me to shoot (as well as the people who encouraged me to keep shooting).
The preceding galleries can be accessed via these links:
Throughout the course of 2015 I’ve been fortunate enough to attend upwards of 100 shows, festivals big and small, and spend approximately half a year living in a city that hosted a mind-boggling amount of quality shows on a nightly basis. To that end, it’s probably unsurprising that I wound up taking over 10,000 photos this year alone. Over the course of the next few days, this site will be running seven volumes of the shots that stood out as personal favorites, whether that was due to their composition, sentimental attachment, or an intangible emotional or intellectual response. It’s been an honor to be able to take even the smallest part in the ongoing sagas of the artists in the photographs below and an additional thanks is due to the venues that allowed me to shoot (as well as the people who encouraged me to keep shooting).
Over the first course of the year, I’ve made several major life decisions with the largest being a move to Brooklyn. Saving up for that paired with a work schedule that at one point had me logging roughly 75 hours a week meant sacrificing a lot of the things I love. None of those things hurt more than the severely limited number of shows I was able to attend. However, it was likely that same scarcity that made the shows included in this piece so memorable. From conducting an artist profile on Johanna Warren for Consequence of Sound (where a few of these photographs were first printed and where you can also find auxiliary video of Warren performing) to finally seeing a few site favorites- like Saintseneca, Krill, and Vacation- for the first time after years of waiting.
While it may not be much, this is still a collection that has deeply personal value. It’s a reflection of a region I called home for the entirety of my life and it’s a place I will miss when I leave it in just over a week. I’ll always be grateful that I was provided the opportunities to attend the shows contained in the multimedia portion of this post- and for the friends I made who were connected to those shows in literally any way. Writers, bands, editors, promoters, venue owners, label execs, or even just fans, they helped make some of these places feel like home. So, take a trip below with shots (and some videos) of: NE-HI, Oozing Wound, Protomartyr, Perfect Pussy, TRITA, Disasteratti, Buildings, Adron, Johanna Warren, Mutts, Two Inch Astronaut, Krill, Speedy Ortiz, Fox Face, The Midwest Beat, Mexican Knives, Vacation, FIDLAR, METZ, Saintseneca, and Murder By Death. The regional focal post of Heartbreaking Bravery may be shifting drastically in the months to come but a large part of its heart will always be lodged in the Upper Midwest.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: First off, to get this out of the way at the top, there will be no Watch This today. It’s absence will be made up with a unique 50th post next Sunday.]
We recently hit another quarter mark in the year and this site just hit another fifty posts. A digital mixtape- Three Quarters Down– has been curated to celebrate both of these occasions. All 25 songs on display have managed to become favorites in the span of their (admittedly short) existence. It didn’t matter where they came from- splits, records, singles, exclusives- if it was a great song that came out over the course of the past three months, it wound up on the list. However, there are a handfulofothers that were excluded by virtue of not appearing in Soundcloud’s public library- those will likely get their due in December both here and elsewhere. In the meantime, revisit some of the best songs that led us straight into fall by listening to the mix below.
Beneath the 8tracks player is the original listing of the songs in this collection. Enjoy.
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1. Mitski – Townie
2. Two Inch Astronaut – Foulbrood
3. LVL UP – DBTS
4. Little Big League – Tropical Jinx
5. The History of Apple Pie – Jamais Vu
6. Menace Beach – Come On Give Up
7. Thalassocracy – Shimensoka
8. Cellphone – Human Rights
9. Ovlov – Ohmu Shell
10. Mumblr – Sober
11. Trust Fund – Reading The Wrappers
12. Girlpool – Jane
13. Night School – Casiotone
14. Happy Diving – Sad Planet
15. Dilly Dally – Green
16. Washer – Rot
17. Speedy Ortiz – Bigger Party
18. The Midwest Beat – Vortex Hole
19. Bass Drum of Death – For Blood
20. Mannequin Pussy – Sheet City
21. Pity Sex – Acid Reflex
22. Mogwai – Teenage Exorcists
23. Nothing – July The Fourth
24. Dark Blue – Here On My Street
25. Crimson Wave – Say
Today saw the continuance of the staggering amount of great new material that the past few weeks have been offering up. Normally, everything would get one huge recap in the introductory paragraph. However, there were just too many items that needed to be covered with greater emphasis to warrant just throwing them all in together. This was especially true for the music videos that came out today. From a kaleidoscopic video by Wisconsin favorites The Midwest Beat to a hazy, low-key effort in support of Mutual Benefit’s “Auburn Epitaphs“. Connections released a Hall & Oates-aping clip for their excellent “Aylia” and S unveiled the devastatingly intimate “Losers“, which very nearly earned today’s feature spot. It definitely would have had it not been for the lightly-damaged magic hour ruralism of Zulu Pearls‘ “Lightweight”.
Zulu Pearls, for their part, recall a more restrained, Southern-tinged version of Gap Dream and seem to share that band’s penchant for videos that feature stunning imagery. “Lightweight” finds the band taking a trip to Sweden to spend some time on the road, making friends with a collective that’s fascinated by retro American-built cars. Vehicles are driven, destroyed, and- importantly- gorgeously lensed by cinematographer Kiel Miligan. While that emphasis does provide “Lightweight” with its main draw, it’s the transitional shots of Zulu Pearls taking some time to appreciate their surroundings and take a few beats to have a laugh with each other that pushes the clip towards something really memorable. It’s an extraordinary teaser for Zulu Pearls’ upcoming EP, Singles Deluxe, and functions perfectly as a single. As a music video, it’s incredibly eye-opening and naturalistic, providing Zulu Pearls a platform tantalizing enough to have the potential to bring them the attention they deserve.
Watch “Lightweight” below and keep an eye out for Singles Deluxe‘s October 28 release.
Part two of this week’s recap (there really was an absurd amount of great material to go through), this installment of Watch This features videos that emerged during the past few days. Between a handful of full sets, a few videos from places that have become series staples, and, above all else, great performances. Everything on display here is worth taking some time to enjoy and a handful of them will likely warrant return visits. All in all, this set seems like a very fitting way to cap off what’s been one of the strongest weeks for new content that we’ve had this year. So, sit back, open the blinds, turn the volume all the way up, focus, and Watch This.
1. The Midwest Beat – Vortex Hole (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
“Vortex Hole” was recently featured here as a stream in support of The Midwest Beat’s excellent new full-length, Free of Being. In the video below, the Milwaukee-via-Madison band gets invited to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel studio to tear through the live version. They tear through it with an enviable amount of verve and a peculiar madcap glee that somehow transforms the performance into something endlessly fascinating. It’s one hell of a rendition.
[Due to a temporary embed issue, this video can currently only be seen here]
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2. Cloakroom – Asymmetrical (unARTigNYC)
“Asymmetrical” is a characteristically slow-burning song from Cloakroom, who seem to be exploring the middle ground between shoegaze and post-hardcore with a frightening amount of precision and clarity. Easily one of the most fascinating bands to have begun a steady emergence over the past handful of months, Cloakroom still retains a sense of mystery- something that factors directly into their music. This is an astonishing performance from a band that’s worth getting to know.
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3. The New Pornographers (NPR)
It’d be easy to argue that, at this point, The New Pornographers are an institution. Between their own releases and their various members solo releases, they’ve put out some of the most highly acclaimed music of this young century. It’s a formidable body of work and the fact that their most recent effort, Brill Bruisers, both lives up to and earns its spot among their long list of triumphs is fairly astonishing. This full, lovingly shot, NPR performance spans their discography and showcases one arguably indisputable fact: they deserve their acclaim and status.
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4. Beverly – Not Ours (BreakThruRadio)
Beverly, the duo made up of Frankie Rose and Drew Citron, released one of the definitive records of the summer with Careers. Ever since that release, footage of the band’s tight-knit live show’s been popping up with an alarming frequency. While Rose is taking some time off to focus on her own solo project, there are still old sessions coming out of the woodwork. Here’s a lighthearted stunner from the always-excellent BreakThruRadio.
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5. Cloud Nothings (Pitchfork)
There aren’t many moments in life that are better than watching a great band with extraordinary people on a perfect day. Cloud Nothings were an easy highlight of Pitchfork’s second day and now their whole set can be relived in full. Culling mostly from their 2014 highlight Here and Nowhere Else, their set went a long way in re-establishing the fact that they’re now a power trio (a term that they fully live up to). Not a lot of bands can lose a member and immediately re-define themselves without losing their personality but it’s evident that Cloud Nothings haven’t lost a step.
The Midwest Beat are a Wisconsin institution. They’ve been a band for nearly a decade and have been one of this state’s more celebrated acts (especially among the in-state bands) for nearly as long. Members have come and gone but the band’s sound has subtly progressed while remaining relatively close to the sugary punk-tinged powerpop of their earliest stages. Sure, there’s an alt-Americana bent that intrudes every so often but this is still, quite clearly, The Midwest Beat.
Free of Being is the band’s 10th release and “Vortex Hole”, the band’s most recent glimpse at the record, plays with a confidence that lives up to those numbers. It doesn’t even hit the 90 second mark but it leaves a considerable mark despite its micro nature. All of the hooks land and the chorus is a hum-worthy earworm that’s another great example of the band’s best side. Topping everything off are some tasteful backing vocals and a brief guitar solo that brings Mike Bloomfield to mind. It’s another characteristically triumphant track from a band that has a seemingly endless supply of them at their disposal. If the rest of Free of Being isn’t overshadowed by this, they just might have made one of their best records.
Listen to “Vortex Hole” below and pick up Free of Being from Dusty Medical Records when it gets released next month.
Heartbreaking Bravery 