Tracklisting:

Restorations – Nonbeliever
Goshen Electric Co. – The Grey Tower
Horse Culture – Follow
Yowler – Where Is My Light?
Desert Liminal – Gauze Cave
Anamon – In 3
Adeline Hotel – Lightning
Lea Thomas – Upstream
Scott Orr – No Phone
Advance Base – Christmas in Nightmare City
Blue Wilson – Golden Eyes
The Sofas – Nothing Major
Lazy Legs – Nosebleed
All Boy/All Girl – Bomb
Strange Ranger – New Hair
Elly Swope – Idea
Dweller – Running
Will Henriksen – Halo
Knuckle Pups – Bottom Baby
Ian Wayne – Guessing
Massage – Crying Out Loud
Recluse Raccoon – Mother America
Interbellum – Ink
Marc Ferrino – Like a Spark
Katie Kuffel – As the Crow Flies
Emily Brown – Sometimes
KASHKA – Holding Steady
Philippe Bronchtein – Me and the Moon
Spencer Segelov – Sacred Songs
Annie Dressner – Fades Away
Belaver – Grave Robber
Of The Valley – Ride Alone
Hour – Give thanks in a special way

The post October 2018 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Today we’re thrilled to share their follow-up record, Purple, Green, and Yellow, a few days before its release on the 5th October. Thematically, the band are certainly on the same course, detailing the trouble and strife of dealing with other human beings, especially those who seem hell bent on breaking your heart. However, the album sees an evolution of the Anamon sound, reaching far beyond the country and western-inspired indie rock to borrow from genres as diverse as punk, psych and a handful of rocks—hard, classic, garage, math—as well as a more traditional folk.

Which isn’t to says the western vibes are lost. Anamon are still ostensibly a country rock band, with songs such as ‘Outsider’ feeling like direct links to Stubborn Comfort. Even the more divergent tracks feel rooted in the outsider experience that marks the genre, the sensation of being somehow cut off from the regular human experience, separated by will or design or pure bad luck, and doubling down within the role as an act of resistance.

What binds the indie pop momentum of ‘No Friends’, the angry swagger of ‘Iron Bill’ and runaway energy of ‘In Three’ is a determination to fight for the privilege of being oneself, even if that self is reserved or shy or anxious in a world that views such traits with utter contempt. Indeed, Anamon challenge exactly what these features entail, banishing the notion that reserved people have nothing to say, that shy people have no spirit or belief. Therefore, what at first seems something of a contradiction in the Anamon sound—introverted discomfort communicated with sometimes sloppy, sometimes sleazy abandon—is revealed to be no contradiction at all.

Key to all of this is the direction Anamon choose to focus the beam of this revelation. The classic counterculture mode places all focus on the individual, coolness as a complete retreat into the idiosyncrasies of the self, though Monaco appears to reject such self-indulgence. Despite possessing a wry tone, Purple, Green, and Yellow wants more than hip denunciation and cynicism. It wants to help build a community of nonconformists, people intent not on burning the world down, but building a beacon around which others might gather. As Saby Reyes-Kulkarni puts it:

In a time when social civility appears to be falling into ruin, we need more from the punk-rock attitude than just individual angst expressed as a middle finger to the world. No surprise, a band of friends who live together, dine together, and have played together in various guises since their teens gets across a sense of grappling with being in the world rather than against it. Monaco certainly has her middle finger ready throughout Purple, Green & Yellow, but there’s a palpable sense of inclusion and welcoming in her refusal to flinch from uncomfortable truths.

We’re thrilled to be able to share the album a few days before its release, so be sure to take advantage and listen below:

Photo by Clay Patrick McBride

The post Anamon – Purple, Green, and Yellow appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Various Small Flames’

Songs of 2017

Anamon – Kneel Old
Android Automatic – Dark Roads*
Angie McMahon – Slow Mover
Basement Revolver – Johnny Pt. 2
Baxter Roy Long – Paribanou
Bea Troxel – Let Them Know
Big Thief – Mary
Black Belt Eagle Scout – Soft Stud
Bully – Running
Cayetana – Mesa
Charly Bliss – Percolator
Chastity Belt – Different Now
CHUCK – Happy Birthday
The County Liners – Maria
The Courtneys – Tour
Craig Finn – God in Chicago
Crumb – Locket
Crushing – Emery Board
Cut Worms – Like Going Down Sideways
David Bazan – Care
Distant Reader – First Try
Emperor X – God Save Coastal Dorset
Fits – Ice Cream on a Nice Day
German Error Message – 2017*
Gleemer – Soothe Me
Great Grandpa – Favorite Show
Haley Heynderickx – Oom Sha Lala
Hiccup – Teasin’
Horse Culture – Texaco
Illuminati Hotties – ‘(You’re Better) Than Ever’
Japandroids – No Known Drink or Drug
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – If We Were Vampires
Jay Som – The Bus Song
Jeremy Squires – Night Cars
Katie Ellen – Drawing Room
Lizzie No – Monuments
Lomelda – Bam Sha Klam
Mike Pace and the Child Actors – Audits & Surveys
Meursault – The Mill
Mount Eerie – Crow
Nice Legs – Mighty Three
Oceanator – Nowhere Nothing
Ohyeahsumi – Daisy
Old Earth – Pit Dynamics
PASTEL – Stammer
Peter Silberman – New York
Phoebe Bridgers – Motion Sickness
Pope – Talk Me Out of It
Protomartyr – Windsor Hum
Rainwater – Place
Ratboys – Elvis is in the Freezer
Rick Rude – Bald & Fat in Houston, TX
Roadkill Ghost Choir – Classics (Die Young)
Rose Dorn – Dirt
See Through Dresses – Lucy’s Arm
Shannen Moser – A Funeral, A Friend, My Sanity
Sinai Vessel – Died On My Birthday
Slaughter Beach, Dog – Phoenix
SOAR – Fort Funston
Soft Fangs – Jordan // Jackson Elementary
Spartan Jet-Plex – We Believe
Strange Ranger – House Show
Strawberry Runners – Garden Hose
Timid, The Brave – Alice
Us and Only Us – Bored of Black
Vagabon – Cold Apartment
Viewfinder – Instant Moonlight
The Washboard Abs – Veil
Waxahatchee – Never Been Wrong
Wild Pink – Albert Ross
William Ryan Fritch – In Our Blood
The Wooden Sky – Swimming in Strange Waters
Ylayali – Cherry Tomatoes

*Strictly released in 2016, but barely, and we covered it in Jan. 2017.

If you missed it, you can see our Favourite Albums of 2017 list here. Also, the curious can find such lists from previous years here.

The post Favourite Songs of 2017 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

Friendship – If You See My Beloved
Rainwater – Ordinary Pain
Vivian Fantasy – Florist
Anamon – Kneel Old
Human Kitten – Stuck Neverlasting
American Poetry Club – You Don’t Have To vs. Anyone
Merce Lemon – Johnny When He’s Sweet and John For All The Rest
Beverly Tender – Whose Taxidermy Horse?
Big Thief – Shark Smile
Pleasure Systems – Crumbs
CIVIC – Down & Distant

We’re winding down for the holiday season right now, so the posts will be even more sporadic through December. We plan to use the time to check off a few gems that we missed through the year. Sometime near the end of the month, we’ll be putting up the requisite Favourite Albums/Songs of the Year lists, plus our annual round-up of the best Name-Your-Price releases on Bandcamp.

The post November 2017 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The Anamon sound draws from a range of influences, rich country, dusty Americana and ragged punk coming together in a manner that sounds at once warm and intense, powerful and infectious. Recorded in a single night on an 8-track tape recorder (with some help from Sam Snyder), Stubborn Comfort is wonderfully unfussy and immediate, unfurling into something surprisingly raw and personal, what the band describe as “poignant vignettes of heartbreaks and dreamscapes that draw on… personal experiences over the last several years.”

We’re delighted to share the album in full a few days before release, and the band have kindly provided a track-by-track listening guide, so that you can really dig into the the songs and their themes. Have a listen and read below:

Words from Anamon

All but one of these songs were written by Ana Emily Monaco over a few years punctuated by deep depressions, set off by heartache and confusion. As a human in their mid to late twenties is oft to experience. The content throughout the album can mostly be characterized as either about heartaches, or inspired from dreams. It sounds pretty heavy, but you’ll find little quirks and quips to bring some levity, and a knowing that in the grand scheme of things, we can always step back and smile about it. Most of the song forms were already written as a solo performance. Aaron and Benton added drums and bass, respectively, when Ana decided to start a band, and really knew just what to do. It came together quickly and seamlessly as an ensemble. The style of the music was already dripping and thick, and it was almost a feeling of knowing the “right thing” to play was there all along.

‘Kneel Old’ – This is one of those dream tracks. It fell out of me. I vividly remember water falling into my throat and still being able to breathe, and even to speak clearly. I felt helpless at the time, punching air and never getting there. There are some cryptic astrological aspects to this song that I really enjoy. This song felt classic like a Neil Young song, so we called it Kneel Old. This is a theme for songs we’ve put together that had no title. In practice someone will say “This song sounds like _____” and we come up with a childish play on words. Then it just sticks. Because really, who cares what the song is called.

‘Fast Car’ – This was one written in the middle of disarray towards the end of a relationship. It didn’t take, and we got back together. And I’m still dumbfounded by that. Again: “The beginning sounds like that Tracy Chapman song.” And there you have it.

‘SMASH’ – “Smash” was inspired by a friend who thinks the earth is flat, but that only goes so far. This was the first fully collaborative song we wrote as a band. Ana just had the opening riff (“That sounds like it could be Smash Mouth”) and the rest of the song just fell out. Just think for yourself. Also, Danzig.

‘The Magician’ – Another one inspired by a dream. Pretty straight forward. I wrote this with the help of my dear friend and cousin, Matthew McGarry. Matthew, Aaron and I played in a band called The Loogies many years ago. We played this at a show in the abandoned subway system underneath downtown Rochester and it was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever played.

‘FOOL’ – My good friend Olga and I wrote this one when we were in a band called Big Brain & The Drug Cartel back in 2012 (?). It was inspired by little boys who were reckless and unknowingly oblivious… not much has changed. Be transparent.

‘Queen’ – I loved them, they never loved me. It was a lesson. We love playing this one. Who doesn’t love a good shuffle.

‘Bird’ – I was having fun and it felt good. A lighter song compared to some others. It is very simple, but sometimes it sneaks up on us and becomes one of our favorite songs to play live.

‘Stubborn Comfort’ – As a Taurus, I’m highly aware of my stubbornness. It’s comfortable, it keeps me tucked in. Like a glass of SOCO. This could be a conversation with myself, but it’s still applicable to a lot of my life. It was inspired by someone who told me I’m hard to be friends with. I disagree with her. I was in turmoil though because I’m SO sensitive and didn’t understand how someone could say this. It came to me in a dream.

‘Country Classic’ – I can be whoever you need me to be, as long as I agree to it. Another unrequited love song. This song started off as just a tongue-in-cheek nod to classic country and western music, but it’s truly one of my favorites.

Stubborn Comfort is out on the 10th November and you can grab it from Bandcamp.

The post Album Premiere: Anamon – Stubborn Comfort appeared first on Various Small Flames.

A new volume will be posted every few weeks and will offer a collection of really great songs that we’re determined not to let slip past our radar.

Girl K – Neighbors

Girl K is the recording project of Kathy Patino from Chicago, and ‘Neighbors’ is the first single from the forthcoming album, SUNFLOWER COURT. Starting slow and hesitant, the track unfurls like a flower at dawn, growing into a retro-flavoured indie pop number with skippy drums and sugary vocals. Detailing doubt and the self-sacrifice required to give to others, the song ends with a contagious sense of momentum, so that when Patino sings that she doesn’t care, we certainly believe her.

“It’s only me and you in this house for the neighbors.
Will they tell us the truth or continue to leave us?
Cause I don’t care, and I don’t care.”

The single is available now from the Girl K Bandcamp page, which is also the place to keep an eye on for news about SUNFLOWER COURT.

Pavey Ark – Leaf by Leaf

Pavey Ark are a folk five-piece from Hull who utilise finger-picked guitars, crooned vocals and two violins to weave their atmospheric sound. This spring the band put out their debut EP, Leaf By Leaf, and the title track, which happens to be the latest single, is the perfect introduction. Rising out of the warm, autumnal strings, the vocals emerge with a fluid calm, creating a song which is equal parts welcoming and wisftul, like a past time remembered fondly. Check out the the nice video from Patrick Mateer below:

The ‘Leaf By Leaf’ single is out on the 29th September, and the EP is available now from the Pavey Ark Bandcamp page.

Anamon – Stubborn Comfort

Ahead of an album of the same name, Rochester’s Anamon has recently unveiled a single, ‘Stubborn Comfort’. The new songwriting project of Ana Emily Monaco, Anamon uses what the press release describes as “poignant vignettes of heartbreaks and dreamscapes,” a hybrid of folk and rock infused with an empty house ennui and pressing immediacy. The result is a raw and intimate sound that plays like the airing of grievances in private, perhaps a rehearsal or else some cathartic release.

Stubborn Comfort will be released on the 10th November and you can pre-order it via Bandcamp.

Wych Elm – School Shooter

Described in their bio as a “modern, lethargically menacing take on classic lo-fi indie rock”, Bristol’s Wych Elm make music that creeps up and over you, the half-paced vibe holding a kind of ominous energy that invariably spikes and spills over in a clatter of guitars and feedback. Their new EP, a two-song release via Quit Yr Job records, is therefore equal parts spooky and hypnotic, the disaffected drawl of lead Caitlin Elliman worming it’s way beneath your skin in a manner both charming and creepy.

The EP is out now via Quit Yr Job Records and you can get it from Bandcamp

M.A.G.S. – Mexico

Hailing from Buffalo, M.A.G.S. is the recording project of multi-instrumentalist Elliott Douglas. His self-titled sophomore album was released earlier this month, consolidating his beguiling blend of noisy rock and radio-friendly pop into something riotous and relentlessly energetic. Lead single ‘Mexico’ serves as a great starting point for those unfamiliar, dealing with themes of growing up and taking on adult responsibilities, though through a prism of bouncy garage rock that suggests leaving childhood might not be the dour experience you thought it to be.

The self-titled album is out now via Admirable Traits Records and available from the M.A.G.S. Bandcamp page.

Kintsugi San – Time

Based in London, Kintsugi San makes a lo-fi brand of pop based on electronic instrumentation that relies as much on the spaces between notes and beats and words as the sounds themselves. ‘Time’, their latest single, is a song that sounds at once intimate and detached, like those odd occasions where you become mindful of the world around you, an almost heightened state where you grow suddenly conscious of how brilliant everything looks, when ordinary, quiet rooms becoming wonderful and strange. Such sensations are invariably inexplicable and short-lived and all the better for it, small pockets where you pull free from the way of things. Kintsugi San’s music is somewhere between celebrating and recreating this feeling, and begging for its return.

“What it was
I just can’t say
I just listen
And feel the whole
Of what it was
Give me a year
And a day
Give me all time”

You can grab the single now from the Kintsugi San Bandcamp page.

Shamir – 90s Kids

The lead single from a new album, Revelations, ’90s Kids’ shows how the sound of Shamir Bailey has morphed since his major label pop smash debut, Ratchet. Swapping out the good time shine of his dancey previous work, the track finds Shamir writing more personal, intimate lyrics with a cutting edge, wrapped in a semi-ironic sound reminiscent of CHUCK. ” Check out the meme-filled video below:

Revelations is out on the 3rd November via Father/Daughter Records and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.

Henry Jamison – The Last Time I Saw Adrianne

In preview of his debut album, The Wilds, New England’s Henry Jamison has given us a glimpse of his delicate folk sound and nuanced lyrics with single, ‘The Last Time I Saw Adrianne’. The song shows Jamison’s songwriting style as one rooted in storytelling. The track came into being after Jamison played a show with Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief, her “incredibly healing and enviably good” songs striking a chord with his lonely headspace, and the opening lines essentially form a tribute to Lenker. The narrative eventually meanders off into other areas, though all the while retaining a poignant, half-heartbroken mood.

“And I knew her singing signalled spring
and where in my heart pounds
for all the want and doubt are now upon me
and I hear it in the sounds
of all the rain in all the baseball games
but it rains out”

The Wilds is to be released on Akira Records on the 3rd November.

Iris Jupiter / Fk Mt. – Split

California’s Iris Jupiter have teamed up with South Carolina stoner band Fk Mt. to put out a split 7″ through Open Door and Bad Break Records. The lead single, Iris Jupiter’s ‘Buzz Cut’, gives us something of an idea as to what to expect from therecord, the frenetic guitars kicking in from the opening seconds and the tumble of vocals descending into communal shouts in the boisterous refrain. Still, beneath the frenzied sound lies something more considered, the lyrics containing a degree of introspection at odds with the outward nature of their delivery.

The split will be released on the 20th October via Open Door Records and Bad Break Records and you can pre-order it now.

SALES – Talk a Lot

Their first fresh music since 2016’s self-titled album, Orlando duo SALES are back with shiny new single, ‘Talk a Lot’. Fans of Lauren Morgan and Jordan Shih will be pleased to find their distinctive sound remains, toeing the line between the lo-fi DIY aesthetic and something a little more refined and minimal to create a dreamy, languid soundscape. As such, the track drips and trickles, the easy-going energy softening all edges and inviting you into its insulated beat.

“Your friends they seem to talk a lot.
You know i’m not that type.
Just pull-up in your shopping cart—
Just throw it all in there, it’s fine.

[Trust the moment]
You’re making it look easy.”

‘Talk a Lot’ is out now and available from… where else? Bandcamp.

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