I Am Planet – Silene stenophylla

(RIYL: piano, soundtrack, minimalist)

Indian Bummer – bummer wars

(RIYL: bedroom pop, indie pop, DIY)

i tried to run away when i was six (but got too scared to cross the street) – Garbage / It’s So Nice

(RIYL: singer-songwriter, indie rock, lo-fi, sad)

Ikea Graveyard – Stray

(RIYL: acoustic, bedroom pop, a lo-fi Cold Specks)

Jacob Faurholt – Corners

(RIYL: indie rock, alternative, BOAT)

Japanese Breakfast – American Sound

(RIYL: bedroom pop, dream pop, Little Big League)

Jim Lawrie – Just Like Normal / Midnight Run

(RIYL: indie rock, country, The Rosebuds)

John Galm – Sky of No Stars

(RIYL: bleak folk, Low, a slow motion Mountain Goats)

Kerry – Away

(RIYL: electronic)

Kissed Her Little Sister – Mbube

(RIYL: indie pop, experimental, hip hop, reggae)

Kissing Fractures – Lost Self (you have to email to get this free)

(RIYL: acoustic, bedroom pop, poetry)

Kississippi – I Can Feel You In My Hair Still

(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, sad)

Klondike – AFRICA to MIDI

(RIYL: electronic, experimental, hi-tech tribal rythms)

KOOL A.D. – WORD O.K.

(RIYL: jazz, hip hop, Das Racist)

Laurence – It’s Real

(RIYL: dream pop, ambient, Youth Lagoon)

Lesjovka & Freund – Mold on Canvas

(RIYL: ambient, classical, sad movie soundtracks, Trouble Books)

Ligaments / Squanto – Split

(RIYL: electronic, drone, ambient)

Lost Film – Demo

(RIYL: dream pop, jangle, Orca Orca, The Smiths)

Mallory – To The Hollow Night (the band ask for donations to the people of Gaza)

(RIYL: folk, Spencer Krug, Wake Owl)

Mark Barrage – Surplus Behaviour

(RIYL: electronic, experimental, samples)

Matthew Lee Cothran and Delaney Mills – Failure II

(RIYL: bedroom pop, electronic folk, Coma Cinema)

The Meanest Creature Ever Known – You, Having Fun

(RIYL: slowcore, quiet, sad, Scottish, Meursault)

Mermaidens – O

(RIYL: dream pop, indie rock, psych)

Missing Organs – Undiscovered

(RIYL: experimental, drone, dreams)

Molly Dancer – Ripstick Can’t Jump

(RIYL: bedroom pop, odd power pop, lo-fi)

mooncreatures – Gaslamps / Sand Maps

(RIYL: shoegaze, lo-fi, ambient, cinematic soundscapes)

Movies – Horror Movies

(RIYL: bedroom pop, experimental, Los Campesinos, Arrange)

Favourite Free Music of 2014 (I-M) from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2014 (I-M) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)

“It’s heartening to know that a band who have been toiling away at their craft for years can go from relative obscurity to flavour of the month with one astounding T.V performance. It’s also heartening to know that within the loose circles of pop music, there’s still an appetite for the surprising and the unusual. When I first saw Samuel T. Herring’s chest beating, lateral chicken dancing and unexpected bellowing during Future Island’s performance of Seasons on Letterman, I was bowled over—it violated every expectation I might have had of a synth pop band within the first thirty seconds and left me wondering what the hell I’d just watched by the end. It’s catchy, it’s refreshingly different, and Herring’s performance absolutely demands your attention in a way that few other songs have this year.” Dave 

Field Report – Pale Rider

“Every year I seem to fall for an album that demands to be played front to back (see: Hospice, Spectral Dusk, White Lighter) and 2014 was no different. It’s difficult to settle on a single song from Marigolden but I’ve plumped for ‘Pale Rider’, a track which exemplifies what Field Report are all about. The song deals with the pressure of meaning so much to another person, a blend of sadness and regret illuminated with sparks of intense emotion and a fierce hope. I’ll leave you with my favourite lyrics of the year: ‘now you’re cantering crooked and screaming at the wind / and shooting off flare guns in memory of the kid / his birthday was yesterday; he would have been six / oh my god, I am so sorry.’” Jon

Strand of Oaks  – JM

JM is Tim Showalter’s tribute to the late Jason Molina, and more generally to the consoling and healing power of music. The lyrics are comprised of a (presumably autobiographical) list of struggles and difficult times – “And I hated all my friends, I wouldn’t let them in”, “I was sitting in the bath, cleaning off the ash” – followed repeatedly by the caveat “but I had your sweet tunes to play”. Describing how Showalter (and every single one of us) finds solace in songs, the track smoulders in a flickering twilight before igniting in a storm of wailing guitars and thundering drums, ending with: “I won’t let these dark times win, we got your sweet tunes to play”. It’s big and triumphant and sincere and it’s my favourite song released this year. Thanks for the sweet tunes, Tim.“ Liam

Photay – Reconstruct (Feat. Seafloor)

I have a theory that Photay must have stumbled on the formulae for the perfect song. Reconstruct has absolutely everything. After battering in your ears with a raw as hell bass riff, it journeys successively through a dreamily singalong chorus, a ponderous breakdown and a jazzy jam-ending. I haven’t stopped listening to it for months.” Matt

Flying Lotus – Never Catch Me (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

“Never Catch Me sees two of the finest bring out the best in each other. FlyLo’s rhythm and grooves are matched every inch of the way by Kendrick Lamar’s flawless delivery. As songs about death go, it’s as upbeat as possible. Lines like “Looking down on my soul now, tell me I’m in control now, Tell me I can live long and I can live wrong and I can live right,
And I can sing songs and I can unite with you that I love, you that I like,
Look at my life and tell me I fight,” focus on our desire to affirm our time as worthwhile, the fear of wasting it and eventually being forgotten. Matched with a charming video, it’s been on regular rotation for a fair few months now.“ Will

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