Anyway, Saintseneca are back with a new full-length, Such Things, which is very much worth your time. Combining rock, pop, folk and punk with strong writing and clever word play, the band make catchy yet surprisingly deep songs which seem equally suited to live parties and solo headphones sessions. From the up-tempo celebration of ‘River’, which brings to mind Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Neutral Milk Hotel-inspired title track and the choral, almost acapella singalong of ‘House Divided’, Such Things is a nuanced collection of indie rock songs which will provoke a fair bit of existential thinking. ‘How Many Blankets Are In The World?’ provides a nice summation of the band’s philosophy and message:

“Life is long
long enough to be mean
Life is short
short enough to mean something
To those who long
those who long for longer”

Such Things is an album which confronts the mysteries of life in a celebratory and/or fulfilling way, favouring finding interest and comfort in the unknowable instead of the nihilism many turn to when thinking of, well… such things.

You can buy Such Things now from the Saintseneca Bandcamp page, or on vinyl from ANTI-.

The post Flash Review: Saintseneca – Such Things appeared first on Various Small Flames.

There is no oar, and probably no Bobby. Rather, Bobby’s Oar is Greg Hughes and friends from Orlando, Florida. Hughes has now moved to Seattle, but before leaving he managed to record his début album The Weeds in Your Garden which came out this month. Coincidentally, Hughes is also in the band Among Giants, who we reviewed back in 2012 saying:

“There is some shouting, some emotion  and some sounds that would fit nicely on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk 2. In other words, all the things you could want in an album”

While Bobby’s Oar is a change of direction, the above points still apply, which has to go down as a win. You could describe The Weeds In Your Garden as Americana or punk or indie-folk but a mixture of all three gets a little closer to reality. This is clear from opener ‘Into the Woods’, a slow-burner which explodes into an exuberant chorus of ‘oohhs!’ or ‘whoas!’ mid-way through, showing that the emo melancholy is more than balanced by a genuine joy. ‘Highway 95’ is more restrained, showing that the melancholy is more than real too:

“Because its nights like these when I’m alone,
that make me wish I had more time,
to spend alone.
And there’s a point with your friends,
when they don’t seem like friends.
So I head out and take a deep breath.
It’s just this city, I say”

‘Turtle Bay’ soon ramps things up again though, a boisterous clatter of instruments and triumphant trombone supporting Hughes’ gruff vocals. ‘Heart’ comes off as a half-frenzied unloading of thoughts, especially the part “so watch me as my world comes crashing down”, (you’ll know when you hear it), a half-glorious sweaty sing-a-long, you can just imagine an entire room proclaiming “but I didn’t mean to break your heart!” Other standouts include ‘Shoestrings’, a frenetic Americana song with some finger-shredding guitar, ‘Flatlands’, which starts off wistful before growing into something defiant a la Paul Baribeau, and ‘Worn-Out Fretboard’, the closing song which teeters on the edge of hardcore with its screamy/shouty vocals.

You can get The Weeds In Your Garden now on a handmade CD or a pay-what-you-can basis via the Bobby’s Oar Bandcamp page. You also get it on cassette via Ronald Records!

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Acres – Acres

(RIYL – Post-Hardcore, Ambient, Post-Rock, The Devil Sold His Soul, Rinoa)

The Act Of Estimating As Worthless – Amongst These Splintered Minds//Leaden Thoughts Sing Softly

(RIYL: A Weather, The Microphones, Trouble Books)

A Dark Horse – A Dark Horse

(RIYL: Electric President/Radical Face, Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse)

Among Giants – Truth Hurts

(RIYL – Punk, Folk, Nana Grizol, Tony Hawk 2)

And The Giraffe – Creature Collector

(RIYL – Folk, Indie Rock, Iron & Wine)

Arrange – New Memory

(RIYL – Bedroom Pop, Ambient, M83, Bright Eyes)

August Nicky Golden – Demos

(RIYL – Folk, Punk, Lo-Fi)

Balto – Monuments

(RIYL – Americana, The Head And The Heart, The Lumineers, Tyler Lyle)

Black Atlass –The Black Atlass EP

(RIYL – Electronic, R&B, The Weeknd, James Blake, Holy Other)

Blacks& – A Ghost That Follows Me

(RIYL – Dance Pop, Chill, Tropical)

Broken Fences – Broken Fences

(RIYL – Acoustic, Harmonies, The Civil Wars, Stars)

The Caretaker – Extra Patience (After Sebald)

(RIYL – Experimental, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker, Franz Schubert, WG Sebald)

Chad Serhal – Golden

(RIYL – Acoustic, Singer Songwriter, She Does Is Magic)

Damn You Laurie – Songs So Far

(RIYL – Indie Pop, Folk, Sing-a-longs, The Evening Chorus)

Daniel & The Lion – Free Love (Single)

(RIYL – Sappy songs, Dolorean, Donovan Woods, Noah Gundersen)

Darwin Raymond – Night

(RIYL – Ambient, Instrumental, Emotive)

Dose – So This Is Where We Are

(RIYL – Electronic, Instrumental, Hip Hop, Chillwave)

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It’s worth noting that a lot of these releases are available on a pay what you want basis, meaning that if you like a particular record you’re able to make a donation of your choice. I can’t stress highly enough how important it is to support these artists in any way you can. Buy their music or go see them live or buy a t-shirt or whatever, it really is the least we (as music fans) can do.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2012 (A – D) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

This isn’t to say that the album is sloppy or thrown together, it’s quite the contrary. Over a year in the making, Truth Hurts is a well put together album of admirable variety. There is some shouting (‘There is a Ghost’), some emotion (‘A Letter’) and some sounds that would fit nicely on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk 2 (‘The Pond’). In other words, all the things you could want in an album.

Truth Hurts is available on a pay-what-you-want basis over at the Among Giants Bandcamp page. I’m sure a small donation would be very much appreciated.

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