The release will be available via Western Vinyl both digital and on vinyl, including a limited deluxe edition which includes liner notes by 2024 National Book Award winner Jason De León (Soldiers and Kings) and poetry from National Book Critics Circle Award Winner Ross Gay (Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude). Both editions of the vinyl include photography from Pulitzer Foundation Grant Awardee Greg Constantine and cover art by Reena Saini Kallat, which is taken from the series Ruled Paper (red, blue, white) which depicts contested geographies around the world. All proceeds will be shared between two Texas-based organisations, American Gateways and Casa Marianella, who provide all manner of support for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, including food, shelter, access to health care, legal services and other essential things. Plus, on the 4th December, Tim Heidecker will host a live variety show and raffle/auction on his call-in show Office Hours to further support the two organisations.

In preview of the December release, the offerings of Alan Sparhawk and Benjamin Booker have been made available to stream. Both offered statements to explain the context behind the tracks. “Here is a song that came from the struggle to know what to say to someone who is having a hard time,” Sparhawk explains of his song ‘No More Darkness’. “There are real things that we can do to lift each other out of suffering—sometimes it is tangible charity, like this compilation to raise funds and awareness for the plight of immigrants and those who have been displaced. Sometimes it is words of encouragement. It can also just be time spent with someone who needs help getting through the moment. Let’s do our best to turn up the light.”

Fittingly for the compilation’s themes, Booker’s track ‘A Place for Us’ is warm, welcoming and nakedly emotive. Lucid whispered truths over gentle but stark guitar. “The human struggle is a family struggle,” he explains of its ethos. “We rise together and we suffer together. There are so many things out of our control, but we can always open our hearts to love and understanding. May you find light in the darkness.”

Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers will be released on the 5th December via Western Vinyl and you can pre-order it now.

The post Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The point that I immediately noticed was, despite being labelled with tags such as minimal and slowcore, there is actually some pretty electrifying rock music on display. A good example is opener ‘Reinforced/Delicate’, which starts with some sparse guitar, but eventually blossoms into a fully-fledged rock song. Amundsen and backing singer Margo May offer the repeated refrain of “Are you ready now?” as some kind of plea and guitars swirl around everywhere and big drums come crashing in as the track hits a crescendo around the 2:35 mark. It sounds “big”, almost like the loudest moments of Hospice-era Antlers, or something Strand of Oaks would have shredded his way through before aiming at more conventional indie rock.

Another great track is ‘Ride On, Molina’, presumably a tribute to the great man which is primarily a really good rock song, seven and a half minutes of catharsis. The second half is almost devoid of vocals, an entirely instrumental guitar jam. But despite these louder, rock leanings, the song never strays from what Amundsen has carved out so far in his career. There is a sense of patience and of space, and this is perhaps a testament to the confidence of a musician who knows exactly what he is trying to do in his music. Imagine one of Molina’s Magnolia Electric Co. tracks beamed through the prism of the whole minimal/slowcore canon, and you come close to describing it.

‘My Favourite Drug is Sleep’ is a hibernation anthem for the oncoming winter, in which Amundsen sings, “Now that night is getting cold enough, to go to bed with all the windows shut, under blankets I can burrow deep, and be reminded that my favourite drug is sleep.“ And this goes some way to describing Amundsen’s work as a whole. I Remember Everything always maintains that wistful air of sadness, but often in a glorious, life-affirming way. It’s melancholy as comfort, be it through kinship or catharsis or both. It’s an album that you could play to tap your feet and silently rock out on the train, but also one to listen to when your soul is hurting and you just want to stare out of a window to make things seems okay. This is a difficult combination to achieve and one which signals a very, very good album.

You can buy I Remember Everything from the Rivulets Bandcamp page, either as a digital download or on limited edition 12” vinyl. Europeans can get it via Jellyfant Records.

The post Rivulets – I Remember Everything appeared first on Various Small Flames.