Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Violence Creeps

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.

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September 22, 2016

Tony Molina – Hung Up on the Dream (Stream)

tony-molina

While Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday saw a period of relative inaction for this site, that didn’t prevent Real Numbers, Never Young, Luxury Death, The Dazies, Dark Mean, Active Bird Community, American Wrestlers, SLØTFACE, Hello Shark, House of Wolves, Peeling, Justin Peter Kinkel Schuster, Warpaint, Swampmeat, Jeff Rosenstock, The Nursery, Shamir, Mouse on the Keys, Tredici Bacci, The Tins, The Regrettes, Julia Ruzicka, Personal Space, Brain Tentacles, Birthday Club, White Laces, Primal Static, and Violence Creeps from releasing a small army of great songs that deserve as many attentive ears as possible. Another artist that added to the pile, Tony Molina, returns to the feature slot less than a week after the release of “See Me Fall“.

Like “See Me Fall”, “Hung Up on the Dream” — the second track to tease Molina’s forthcoming 7″, Confront the Truth — leans into an acoustic angle that grounds the songwriter in intriguing ways. Far removed from the exhilarating excess of Molina’s past work, “Hung Up on the Dream” manages to invoke and echo a formidable cast of influences. Traces of everyone from The Beatles to Cat Stevens to Weezer to Sparklehorse are evident throughout “Hung Up on the Dream”, without ever overwhelming Molina’s own identity.

Clocking in at under 90 seconds, Molina still manages to convey a frighteningly realistic sense of heartache and longing. The phrase that gives the title its track opens the set of lyrics, which eventually reveal themselves to be the most strikingly vivid of Molina’s storied songwriting career. There’s an unavoidable resignation that defines “Hung Up on the Dream” that winds up elevating the song to a quiet transcendence.

It’s another masterstroke from an engaging artist who may just be on the verge of releasing 2016’s best 7″. If the rest of the eight-song collection can live up to the precedent set by “See Me Fall” and “Hung Up on the Dream”, Molina’s name could be showing up in a lot more places in the year’s final stretch. No matter how things shake out, it’ll be a privilege to be present for the ride.

Listen to “Hung  Up on the Dream” below and order Confront the Truth from Slumberland here.

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