Braids

Braids at 529, October 2015

Montreal's Braids is one of my favorite bands.  After seeing them open for Purity Ring at the Buckhead Theater in May 2015, I wrote, "We weren't prepared for how great Braids were.  Front-woman Raphaelle Standell-Preston's vocals soared at times, startled at others, and had my complete attention throughout.   They have a new album, Deep In The Iris. out but even the outstanding cuts from the record don't match the immediacy and range of Raphaelle's live vocals.  By all means, if you have a chance to catch this band, do."

High praise indeed.  I was similarly impressed when they opened for Wye Oak at Terminal West in May 2014, the very first time I had either heard or seen them, and when they headlined at 529 in October 2015.  The show at the tiny 529 club was particularly memorable, as I was standing barely ten feet from Standell-Preston and her personality really lit up and filled the room.

After a 5-year gap, Braids are finally back with a new album, Shadow Offering, to be released April 24 and produced by Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie.  The band has released a new single, Young Buck, as well as an accompanying video.

In a statement, Standell-Preston spoke about the intention behind the track:

“We wrote this song to capture the nervous anticipation of desire, the delicate chase of seduction, the highs and lows of obsession, and the humor in between. To want to possess someone, make them desire you, fall for you, only to learn that to lust is not to love.”

The accompanying music video contains choreographed dances moves like so many pop music videos, as well as imaginative sequences and suggestive writhing, and many male and female bodies. At first, this felt like a departure for Braids, especially with Standell-Preston's new look.  But then we remembered the NSFW video they released for Deep In the Iris cut Taste, which featured naked bodies of all shapes, sizes, and ages, and the confrontational lyrics of their song Miniskirt.

Young Buck explores desire from the feminine viewpoint ("Young buck, 22 year old who treats me badly, The blaring example of what I am drawn towards and should strongly move away from") and the video inverts convention by objectifying male instead of female bodies.  This band has long explored the intersections of desire, feminism and sensuality - that's their turf - and Young Buck and its video are merely the latest expression of that exploration.