“Genius Loci is partly an experiment to see how much of a set of songs can be unified by a concept or mood, partly an excuse for me to commission new work by some of my favorite songwriters, and partly an experiment in pushing people out of their comfort zones & giving them new creative avenues in their writing via obstacles.”

Volume One, the Summer 2015 edition, is titled Dreams Like Bark Peeled Off By Lightning. The inspiration is the poetry of Frank Stanford, the rule is that all lyrics must be written before any of the music, and the songwriters include WTD-fav Will Stratton, Jonah Furman (Krill), Felicia Douglass (Ava Luna) and Birnbaum himself.  Check out the full tracklisting below:

1. Felicia Douglass – Might
2. Renata Zeiguer – Neck of the Moon
3. Will Stratton – Lightning Dream Shuffle
4. David Lackner – Infants in the Wood
5. Cassandra Jenkins – The Girl With Black Hair
6. Nick Jost – I Am The Captain
7. Tiny Hazard – Thirsty Sponge
8. Jonah Furman – Meat
9. Gabriel Birnbaum – Bright Crimson
10. Katie Von Schleicher – My Body on Through
11. LAUDS – She Was a Fire of Pine Cones
12. Workman Song – Holy Holy Holy

You can pre-order the release digitally or on cassette right now from the Genius Loci Bandcamp page.

The post Genius Loci cassette compilation series appeared first on Various Small Flames.

15). Swans – To Be Kind

(Mute / Young God)

14). Mogwai – Rave Tapes

(Sub Pop)

13). Madlib / Freddie Gibb – Piñata

(Madlib Invazion)

12). Deerhoof – La Isla Bonita

(Polyvinyl)

11). Aphex Twin – Syro

(Warp)

10). FKA Twigs – LP1

(Young Turks)

9). Ava Luna – Electric Balloon

(Western Vinyl)

8). Inventions – Inventions

(Temporary Residence)

7). Small Wonder – Wendy

(Father / Daughter) [Review]

6). This Will Destroy You – Another Language

(Suicide Squeeze)

5). Mac Demarco – Salad Days

(Captured Tracks)

4). Strands of Oak – HEAL

(Dead Oceans) [Review]

3). Cloud Cult – Unplug

[Review]

2). Caribou – Our Love

(Merge / City Slang)

1). Field Report – Marigolden

(Partisan) [Review]

The post Wake The Deaf’s Top Albums of 2014 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Keep In Touch is a year long subscription series that re-imagines the bygone era of pen pals. Each month you’ll receive a 7” x 7” postcard with a record pressed directly into a full color image curated by that month’s artist.

Just to clarify- the postcard can be played on your turntable! If you’re as impressed with that as I am then you’ll be rushing off to sign up right now. There is already an impressive list of confirmed contributors – including:

The So So Glos
Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz
Ava Luna
Cloud Nothings
Ricky Eat Acid
Mutual Benefit
Big Ups
Into It. Over It.
TOPS
Girlpool

…and lots of more!

So if you know someone who likes really cool music, and you think that someone would like to receive said really cool music in the post every month (on a musical postcard!), then why not sign them up to Keep In Touch? They’ll have that Christmas-morning feeling once a month for a whole year!

Subscribe now on the KIT website. Do it before the 21st December to be in with the chance of winning a second subscription (you can keep TWO friends happy!)

The post Keep in Touch Vinyl Series appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklist:

1. Trying To Walk – Kissed Her Little Sister
2. Kickar Grus – Johan Hedberg
3. Harvey – Alex G
4. I Kept Your Teeth in a Jar By My Bed – Gorgeous Bully
5. Hypochondriac – Diveliner
6. Hallow – Cloud Boat
7. Hunting – Dearest
8. Rain, Windows – Sad Souls
9. Weeding Riverbanks (Excerpt) – The Volume Settings Folder & Tanner Garza
10. Side A (Excerpt) – Wes Tirey
11. Elevator Song – Keaton Henson
12. Y.O.Y.O. – Thom Byles
13. Accept That the Mark Will Outlast You – Old Earth
14. Dog – Jeremiah Nelson
15. PRPL – Ava Luna
16. Wire Frame Mattress – The Wytches
17. Post Holiday Dead Song – Tyrannosaurus Dead
18. Shut In – Strand Of Oaks
19. Pocket Knife – Liam Betson
20. Jean Moulin – VTCN RADIO
21. Temporary View (feat. Sampha) – SBTRKT
22. Yogyakarta – Derek Piotr
23. Can’t Do Without You – Caribou
24. Days With You (feat Sinead Harnett) – Snakehips

If you missed them, we have such mixes for January, February, March, April and May too.

June Mix from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post June 2014 Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The album is a sunny collection of folk-pop songs, more polished and accessible than In Ear Park, although not without emotional weight. The phrase ‘Golden Suits’ is taken from a short story by John Cheever (aka “the Chekov of the Suburbs”) in which a man’s life begins to unravel, which provides and intentional parallel with a period in Nicolaus’s own life, in which he lost an apartment to a rat infestation, went through a difficult breakup and traveled to Germany to learn about his grandfather’s death in the Second World War. Indeed it was a personal obsession with the work of Cheever that inspired many of the songs on the album.

But as I have already mentioned, the album mainly deals in charming pop songs, perhaps along the lines of a slightly left-field take on classics such as Paul Simon or the solo work of McCartney and Lennon. Listen to the lead single Swimming in ’99 below and try to resist tapping your feet.

You can buy the album now from Yep Roc Records or from all good record stores.

The post Golden Suits – Golden Suits appeared first on Various Small Flames.