Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: Will Butler

March 7, 2015

First Quarter Songs, Pt. 1 (Mixtape)

Protomartyr XV

We’re a little more than three months into 2015 and the influx of great new material in the year’s first quarter has been astounding. It was a transitional time period for the site, with dozens of authors pitching in personal recollection pieces regarding the previous year. During that time, I also started a full-time position, disallowing a production rate as frequent as the one held throughout the entirety of 2014. However, during these opening months, I haven’t stopped listening, collecting, exploring, and thinking about every new release that I was fortunate enough to find. There are more than 250 songs, 90 full streams,  and 115 music videos to cover, so- while a few will be given full features- it only made sense to bring everything up to speed via long lists of the things worth mentioning. To begin, here are 25 great songs from 2015 that deserve to be heard. Don’t let the fact that there are no accompanying descriptions short-change the value of these songs; this is the first batch of what already looks like the strongest crop of new music we’ve had in years. The track list, and embedded player, is below. Listen to these songs, pay attention to these artists, buy these records, and go to their shows. Don’t make the mistake of letting any of them pass by unnoticed.

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1. The Juliana Hatfield Three – Wood
2. Swerverdriver – Autodidact
3. Gal Pals – Here’s to the Gals
4. Chastity Belt – Time to Go Home
5. Beech Creeps – Times Be Short
6. Will Butler – Take My Side
7. Dick Diver – Tearing The Posters Down
8. Shadow Age – A Portrait of A Young Man Dying
9. The Zoltars – Sincere
10. Robot Princess – Action Park
11. Colleen Green – TV
12. Alex G – Sarah
13. Sam Cook-Parrott & Allison Crutchfield – Something About What Happens
14. Chris Weisman – Don’t Be Slow
15. Dorthia Cottrell – Oak Grove
16. Cloud Castle Lake – Glacier
17. Simon Joyner – You Got Under My Skin
18. Eaves – Spin
29. Steady Lean – Atkins
20. Shilpa Ray – Pop Song For Euthanasia
21. Rye Pines – Pessimist
22. Moon Duo – Slow Down Low
23. DOE – Basement
24. Weed – Stay in the Summer
25. LVL UP – Somebody Kill Me Please 

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February 25, 2015

Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian At Best (Music Video)

Courtney Barnett I

Let’s just get this out of the way at the top: Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is one of the greatest record titles since Yo La Tengo’s classic I Am Not Afraid of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. It’s a slyly self-deprecating line and it immediately illustrates Courtney Barnett‘s penchant for the wryly downtrodden- something she exploits the absolute hell out of in both the clip for “Pedestrian At Best” and the actual song. Even though we’re not even a full two months into 2015, “Pedestrian At Best” already seems to be occupying space in an upper-upper-tier register that precious few others have reached (Will Butler’s absurdly likable clip for the equally likable “Anna” being a definite candidate). What immediately makes “Pedestrian At Best” stand out is that it’s the most cutting thing in Barnett’s increasingly enviable discography. As if the frighteningly sharp teeth of the music wasn’t enough, this is easily the most unleashed and verbose Barnett’s allowed herself to be lyrically as well, occasionally bringing to mind a Stage Names-era Will Sheff at his most fearlessly unhinged.

As genuinely great as “Pedestrian At Best” is on its own, it’s the clip that renders this a definitive entry for Barnett’s early career. Emphatically punctuating Barnett’s stylistic tendencies, it balances a tautly-drawn tightrope between an abysmally bleak worldview and entertainingly subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor that continuously keeps things balanced. In a surprisingly compelling performance as the “Clown of 2013” that seems to pull a lot of inspiration from silent film’s golden era, Barnett gets to unleash a clever commentary on the nature of the indie press hype cycle and never falls out of focus. It’s that same cleverness that elevated her to her current status as one of today’s more revered young songwriters, it’s just coming across as slightly more refined. The band Barnett’s surrounded by (often quasi-sardonically referred to as “The Barnetts”) sounds like their matching her stride for stride in terms of ascending sharpness. Importantly, “Pedestrian At Best” also suggests that Barnett’s growing more spirited and vibrant as her career progresses, which could yield towering dividends for her future. We’re lucky to have a songwriter- and band- like this to claim for our generation- “Pedestrian At Best”, if anything, is an exacting reminder of why.

Watch “Pedestrian At Best” below and pre-order Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit here.

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