TV On The Radio | Heartbreaking Bravery

April 9, 2015

White Reaper – Make Me Wanna Die (Stream)

2015 already seems like its building towards a tidal wave of great releases that will consume everything in its path and today’s another one offering some formidable contributions. Since there weren’t too many full streams worth noting, it seems like that’d be an ideal starting point. While the medium may not have had the most impressive numerical outing, Big Moth more than filled the void with the self-titled EP. Hints of basement pop, basement punk, and the golden age of emo/post-hardcore resonate throughout the release (in a manner not too dissimilar from Attendant’s Freaking Out), securing it a spot as one of 2015’s finest debuts to date. For music videos, there was an inspired trio of clips: the infectiously joyous “East Coast Cities” (a giddy highlight off of Crabapple’s excellent Is It You), clipping.’s brilliant, striking “Intro“, and TV On the Radio’s soulful, delicate “Trouble“.

Unsurprisingly, single streams- once again- came out swinging. Which is as good a place as any to point out that the decisions for which item to headline have been nightmarish mental bloodbaths (in the best way possible). Roughly half of what’s linked to in this post that isn’t directly embedded below put up a fight to earn this piece’s central focus. From Pupppy‘s droll mid-tempo masterpiece “Or Maybe We’re Not” to The Midwestern Charm‘s re-release of fiery Growing Pains highlight “General Drag” (a live video of which exists in our archives), there were almost too many great songs to consider. Joining their ranks were Birds of Night’s compellingly moody “Asleep in the Pine”, The Dead Ships’ dark, frenetic “Floorboards“, and the retro-psych of Fauna Shade’s ridiculously enjoyable “Marzipan“. Completing the batch were Mac DeMarco’s touring band’s band (Walter TV) and their “Surf Metal“, Day Wave’s typically introspective “Drag“, and the unnervingly hypnotic ambient folk of Wilsen’s “Garden“.

As difficult as it was, a decision had to be made and White Reaper wound up outsprinting everyone else with the frantic, frenzied assault of their debut full-length’s lead-off single “Make Me Wanna Die”. After last year’s outstanding self-titled EP and a handful of mentions on this site, expectations for their first LP were raised. Add in the fact that the band signed to Polyvinyl (joining a slew of site favorites in the process), and the anticipation heightens. “Make Me Wanna Die” both justifies those high levels of anticipation and delivers a devastating gut-punch to any doubts surrounding the record’s early expectations. Fuzzed-out, punchy, and more manic than ever, the band also somehow found a way to refine their pop sensibilities, creating something that easily ranks among the year’s best. From the jaunty synth hook to the blistering pace, White Reaper appear to not only be in complete control of their craft but at the current height of their powers. Catchy as hell and packed with meaning, “Make Me Wanna Die” is a monstrous first look at what could be one of the surprise albums of 2015. After the drums kick in cloaked in a wall of noise and the count-off hits, it’s nothing but a whirlwind of surging lo-fi heat that strikes the perfect balance between scuzz-punk and powerpop. If the rest of the amusingly-titled White Reaper Does It Again lives up to what the band achieves here, it’ll be one hell of a thrill ride.

Listen to “Make Me Wanna Die” below and pre-order White Reaper Does It Again from Polyvinyl ahead of its July 17 release date here.

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December 20, 2014

Male Bonding – A Kick to the Face (Stream)

In the last batch of posts, there were recaps built around some of last week’s finest musical moments. There was a brief delay in regularly-scheduled content that necessitated an outpouring of material to keep this site’s regular coverage humming along. Similarly, this post will concentrate on the music moments worth celebrating to have emerged from the Monday-Thursday range. Following this post will be two more entries dedicated to some of the stronger musical content that emerged on Friday. With all of that out of the way, it’s time to dive on into the three major categories: single streams, full streams, and music videos.

As is wont to happen over a period of time, there were some fairly extraordinary songs that surfaced in this week’s first stretch. Some of the more favorable ones included the following: Gal Pals’ zippy throwback basement pop stomper “Ex-Marionette“, Evans The Death’s absolutely monumental “Don’t Laugh At My Angry Face” (a legitimate song of the year candidate), Los Angeles Police Dept.’s severely bummed out holiday tune “Oh Lonely Night“, Menace Beach‘s latest stunning Ratworld teaser “Tastes Like Medicine“, No Monster Club’s defiantly vibrant (and tantalizingly weird) bedroom pop earworm “Arms Across America“, The Julie Ruin’s mesmerizing “Blueberry Island“, Kind of Like Spitting’s revitalizing “Bullied By A Bee“, the best remix from Perfect Pussy’s Shaun Sutkus to date (this time of Rubblebucket’s “Carousel Ride”), and an absolute monster cover of Wipers’ “Mystery” from site favorites Meat Wave.

Music videos fared just as well, with a few very resonant clips. There was Small Houses’ engaging visual journey for “Staggers and Rise“, Cave People’s wearily homespun “Brace“, and Literature’s woozily kaleidoscopic “New Jacket“. Additionally, there was Anti Pony’s seductively colorful “I Go Places“, WRAY’s effortlessly propulsive “Bad Heart“, Laura Marling’s autumnal and slow-galloping “Short Movie“. Rounding things out were Breakfast In Fur’s jaunty graphics experiment “Shape“, Erase Errata’s near-static stunner “My Life In Shadows“, and a resoundingly powerful reminder that TV On the Radio got where they were by virtue of making excellent decisions; “Lazerray” is yet another towering culmination of several wise moves.

Full streams were, comparatively, a little shorter in supply- but there were still a few gems that were unearthed and brought to life. Lazy threw caution and fear out of the window with their Soft Sheets 7″, Trauma Harness unveiled a severely damaged basement punk triumph with their discography-spanning Advent Calendar, and TIT (a collaborative effort between Digital Leather and The Hussy) offered up a stream of their psych-drenched self-titled 12″. Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle provided a quietly intense and arresting live recording of one of his extremely intimate house shows (and appropriately titled the recording House Show). There was also a very personal release from Jarad Charles Lee Francis Olson that tethers a wide-reaching array of genre influences into something unwaveringly hypnotic and, ultimately, tragic (while still managing to subtly incorporate a devious streak of dark humor) in the My Cats Are My Dogs EP.

Even with all of that to consider, today’s feature fell to an anomaly of a track- Male Bonding’s standalone single, “A Kick to the Face”. The title’s an immediate eyebrow-raiser and the accompanying title track lives up to its promise. All scorched-earth and fury, it’s an exploration of an abusive relationship that simultaneously rails against the fact that they’re a common occurrence and empathizes with the abused. Structurally, it’s constantly shifting and punctuated by brief bursts of searing intensity before sharply settling back into its normal pace, providing a near-perfect reflection of the song’s central topic. It’s a brave track that suggests Male Bonding’s ambitions may be higher than they initially let on- and it’s one hell of an appetizer for whatever the band’s cooking up next.

Listen to “A Kick to the Face” below and keep an eye on this site for any notable future items from the band.

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November 23, 2014

Watch This: Vol. 56

Part two of today’s three-part Watch This marathon once again returns to a few familiar faces and two new ones that should have been featured all along. It’s another installment that covers the acoustic single take session to full electric set gamut and contains one of the most unique KEXP sessions to have come out of 2014. A few big names and a few emerging ones provide a pretty balanced spread- and all of them provide great performances. These are five clips from the past two weeks that are worth time investment. So, as always, grab a snack, crack a drink, sit back, turn the volume up, and Watch This.

1. TV On The Radio – Happy Idiot (KCRW)

TV On The Radio delivered one of the all-time great late night performances on Letterman years back with a positively fierce version of “Wolf Like Me” that put them on the map. Ever since then, the band’s been subject to extraordinarily high expectations and has rarely disappointed. This year’s Seeds was an undeniably intriguing release, with lead-off single “Happy Idiot” serving as a strong highlight. Live, the song takes on new life and becomes a reminder of some of the things that make TV On The Radio one of this generation’s more fascinating acts. Bonus points for Kyp Malone’s beard, always-incredible falsetto, and Thurston Moore signature jazzmaster.

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2. Sorority Noise – Blonde Hair, Black Lungs (Space Jam Sessions)

A few bands quietly emerged over the course of the past eleven months and Sorority Noise were certainly among that group. With a great album and a great split under their belt, a lot of people have started granting them the attention they deserve. Here, they deliver an engaging acoustic performance of the lilting “Blonde Hair, Black Lungs” for Space Jam Sessions that more than lives up to their growing acclaim.

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3. Restorations – Wales (Little Elephant)

Every once in a while Little Elephant will deliver on consistently great sessions from incredible live bands and Restorations are currently in the middle of one of their gradual session roll-outs. Having already earned a previous Watch This feature spot, they return with a vengeance. “Wales” is a menacing slow-builder that showcases the band’s penchant for dynamics and tension. For “Wales”, Restorations’ claws come out and dig into every tendon they can find. It’s a ferocious performance from a band that excels in a live setting, making this unmissable.

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4. Shilpa Ray – Johnny Thunders’ Fantasy Space Camp (TCGS)

It’s been a while since a performance from The Chris Gethard Show has made an appearance in this feature- and who better to revive it than former Grinderman touring partner Shilpa Ray. Laying waste to a harmonium and a microphone, Ray leads her band through the driving “Johnny Thunders’ Fantasy Space Camp”. The band puts seemingly everything they’ve got on the line and the audience responds in kind. It’s a strong enough performance to make converts out of anyone who wasn’t previously familiar with Shilpa Ray- and it’s more than strong enough to earn a spot in this installment of Watch This.

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5. Courtney Barnett (KEXP)

It’s unlikely that there’s been an artist to have more full set Watch This appearances than Courtney Barnett. There’s a reason Barnett and her band keep cracking their way into these lists; there’s a palpable vibrancy and sense of pure enjoyment to their live show that’s more clear-cut than just about anyone else currently playing music. That said, they’ve never been more entertaining than they are here- appropriately decked out and fully costumed for a Halloween performance that doubles as one of the most memorable sessions the reliably excellent KEXP’s hosted all year.