Von K | Heartbreaking Bravery

May 25, 2018

Big Ups – Two Parts Together (Album Review, Stream, Live Videos)

From the end of last week to the start of this one there was a smattering of outstanding records with many displaying the sheen of a genuine Album of the Year contender, a group that included new titles from Courtney Barnett, The Sidekicks, Colour Me Wednesday, GRLWood, Deeper, Soccer Cousins, Macho Boys, Von K, and Feel Alright. Another one of those records came by way of what may wind up standing as Big Ups’ masterpiece, Two Parts Together.

Riding a string of acclaim for their previous few releases and their scintillating live show, Big Ups have managed to craft something masterful, challenging, and explosive, opting for more of a statement on their relentless pursuit of new highs instead of merely settling for a victory lap. This is as fearless and unhinged as the band has ever sounded, completely embracing their own distinct identity and molding it into something unexpected and deeply rewarding.

Every second of Two Parts Together feels thoughtful, even in the moments where it succumbs into chaos; there’s a calculation to Big Ups’ madness that keeps things from veering towards the unsustainable. Whether they’re indulging their most straightforward sensibilities (“Fear“, “PPP“), ambient interludes (“Tenmile”), verging into sections that betray a Rage Against The Machine influence (“Tell Them”), veer directly into avant garde breakdowns (“Trying To Love”), or delivering the most jaw-dropping song of their career (“Imaginary Dog Walker“), they’re delivering each moment with an astounding amount of conviction.

From wire to wire, Two Parts Together is Big Ups’ most complete and engaging work, a series of high points strung together and then defiantly tightroped. Easily one of the best records of the year, Two Parts Together also cements the band’s status as one of today’s more important bands. They’re on a streak that’s nearly unparalleled within the confines of their genre and they’re doing it in an extremely distinct way, delivering record after record that couldn’t possibly bear any other band’s name.

A new genre classic, Two Parts Together is the sound of a band whose confident that if they hurl themselves into the stratosphere, they’ll stick the landing. As much of a warning as a promise, Big Ups make no bones about this being their time. We should all count ourselves lucky that we’re around to watch, listen, and learn.

Listen to Two Parts Together below and pick it up from Exploding In Sound here. Beneath the record, watch the band rip through five tracks at a recent Madison, WI stop.

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May 13, 2018

Adrian Teacher and The Subs – Pop Medicine (Stream)

Continuing on with the recap of the past week, it feels important to touch on some excellent songs from the likes of Gladie, Von K, Spiritual Cramp, Language, LUMP, Accü, Dude York, William Carlos Whitten, Richard Nuclear, and Jon Hassell before getting to this post’s featured event: Adrian Teacher and The Subs’ inspired “Pop Medicine”, a career highlight for a band that’s thrived in the shadows.

Clocking in at under 100 seconds, “Pop Medicine” is one of Adrian Teacher and The Subs’ shorter songs but it seems destined to linger in listener’s memories for much, much longer. Opening with a riff that immediately brings to mind Joanna Gruesome‘s “Secret Surprise“, “Pop Medicine” goes on to reveal another distinct similarity with that song in that it might strike some as saccharine at first blush before revealing a much darker identity.

In this case, the narrative of the song — which is as bright and energetic as anything in the Adrian Teacher and The Subs’ discography — takes an absolutely heartbreaking dive into the narrator’s struggle with watching the progression of a friend’s descent into cancer before realizing that they may have to accept a tragic inevitability. Tracing the process from getting high, establishing a carefree outset, to a devastating confrontation with an incredibly painful reality in the song’s final verse, “Pop Medicine” packs an emotional gut-punch that’s enough to leave anyone reeling.

It’s the addictive sugar-rush nature of the music that makes “Pop Medicine” both bleaker and more understandable, acting as a counterweight that outlines the protagonist’s strides towards resiliency in the face of the unthinkable. A tragedy in multiple parts, “Pop Medicine”, asides from being an incredible (and highly addictive) composition, is a potent reminder that even when things are at their absolute bleakest, there is still life that surrounds us and wills us forward. Not a lot of songs can live up to a testament as lofty as that one but “Pop Medicine” does it with an empathetic smile.

Listen to “Pop Medicine” below and pick up Anxious Love here.

March 12, 2018

2018: A Long Look, A Longer Listen (The First Two Months)

A persistent and all-consuming myth among people that refuse to commit a shred of investment to any sort of search is that “good music just doesn’t exist anymore.” It’s the same sort of thinking present in the cavalcade of thoughtless attempts to shift any sort of blame for societal ills to a younger generation based solely on an outlook that was defined by a vastly different era. Fortunately, there are a host of artists to emphatically disprove brand of thinking and act as a counter to what could be construed as a subtle, insidious form of ageism. Below there are literally hundreds of links providing access to various songs, music videos, and records.

All of them are worth a shot and a good many of them are vastly different from their surrounding links. Each of those items came out in 2018 and there’s an entire world more of them waiting to be discovered by the people willing to put in the work. So use these as a starter pack of sorts or just scroll through and see what today’s musicians can offer. It’s a boundless scope and when its allowed to not just exist but thrive, there are a multitude of reasons to celebrate. Enjoy.

SONGS

Okkervil River, Hop Along, Ought, Frøkedal, Connections, Noble Son, Mount Eerie, Rich Girls, Dusk, Therese Litner, Soccer Mommy, Hinds, Eric Benoit, JACK (x2), The Radio Dept., Parker Longbough, Rat Kid Cool, Why Bonnie (x2), Holy Now (x2), High Sunn (x2), Odina, Spielbergs, The Breeders, Shark Toys, Jouska (x2), Yazan, Johanna Warren, No Thank You, Drive Me Home Please, Your Old Droog, Charly Bliss, Liza Anne, Father John Misty, Rolling Blackouts C.F., Chemtrails, Katie Von Schleicher, Wavves & Culture Abuse, VALES, Sharaya Summers, Katie Dey, War On Women, The Goldberg Sisters (x2), Busdriver (x2), Queen of Jeans (x2), Shell of A Shell (x2), Soccer Mommy (x2)