Much has been said recently about how political turmoil and social instability will provide fertile conditions for great art, and whether or not you subscribe to this idea, we’re pretty sure that paying artists makes for even better soil in which to sow creative seeds. The title to this post says ‘free’ music because it’s snappier than ‘name your price’ music, but really that’s a convenient/attention-grabbing misnomer. Bandcamp provides pretty much the most direct way for us to connect directly with musicians and support their work from all over the world, so why don’t we utilise this tool and ensure that art perseveres in the face of everything else that’s going on?

Anyhow, here’s the first segment of the list, covering artists beginning with A – D. We don’t pretend to be in any way comprehensive, so let us know if we missed your favourite and maybe we’ll add it to the list.Albosel – Container
(RIYL: folk, dream pop, magic woods)

Alexandra Gordon – Rain Songs
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, Free Cake For Every Creature)

BB Cream – s/t
(RIYL: pop punk, bedroom pop, lo-fi, grrrl power)

Bedbug – if i got smaller grew wings and flew away for good
(RIYL: experimental, twee, sincerity)

Betty Becky – s/t / All the Boyfriends
(RIYL: bedroom pop, punk, lo-fi)

Blue Smiley – Return
(RIYL: garage rock, fuzz, dream pop)

Bois – Asleep with Songs of Longing
(RIYL: pop, soul, indie rock)

Boy Scouts – Homeroom Breakfast
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, self-reflection)

Cabbage/Oxblood – Split
(RIYL: bedroom pop, post-grunge, slacker rock)

Candy – Azure
(RIYL: jangle rock, dream pop, lo-fi)

猫 シ Corp. – News at 11
(RIYL: vapourwave, 90s TV, mass media)

Cayetana – Tired Eyes
(RIYL: indie rock, jangle pop, punk)

Cereal + Sounds & Z Tapes – FRY YR BRN
(RIYL: indie rock, covers, TV theme songs)

Coping Skills – Relatable Web Content
(RIYL: lo-fi, bedroom pop, Millennial angst)

Constant Companion – Curious Design
(RIYL: pop punk, lo-fi, indie rock)

Corvus B. – France, Later
(RIYL: poetry, spoken word, haunting banjo)

Crabapple – Further Out
(RIYL: indie pop, summer jams, lo-fi)

Daytime TV – DAYTIME TV 2
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, rock)

Deer Scout – Customs
(RIYL: folk, singer songwriter, Gregory and the Hawk)

Dogbreth – Second Home
(RIYL: pop punk, Cloud Nothings, Joyride!, rock ‘n roll fun)

Dowsing / Ratboys – Split
(RIYL: indie rock, pop punk, emo)

Dying Adolescence – Dear you, It can’t wait.
(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, teenage feelings)

The post Favourite Free Music of 2016: A – D appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

1. prairie creek redwoods state park, ca – bedbug
2. See the World – Kidsmoke
3. Motion | Sickness – Good Good Blood
4. Downtown – Gabriella Cohen
5. Automatic – Kyle Morton
6. Throwing Roses – Eva Foote
7. vildt+sødt – Eugenia
8. Dicktations Forever – Dicktations
9. Fallen Robin – Wild Leaves
10. Palms – Native Other
11. Not Your Prey – Squirrel Flower
12. Luna – Akira Kosemura
13. Made of Gold – Albert af Ekenstam
14. She Floats – Van-Anh Nguyen
15. Dead Radiance – Ego Death
16. Sponge State – Sløtface
17. Black Mass – Wooden Maria
18. Float – Silver Liz
19. glass machines discovering water – Corvus B.
20. Longshot – The Furious Season
21. The Same Chords – Tiger in My Tank
22. Let’s Go to the Beach – Sophie Longshaw
23. Blue Moon – Many Voices Speak
24. One Footed – MAH KEE OH
25. Country Room – Static Animal
26. The Ground Before Him – Drowning By Numbers
27. Refugee – Cameron James Henderson
28. down (kenny) – ever
29. Strange Tones – Youceff Kabal
30. Don’t Let Love Go By – Golden Suits
31. Sit and Stare – Tiny Dinosaurs
32. Settle Down – Dark Mean
33. telegraph ave. – Betty Becky
34. WEN – glider
35. Nicholas – Holiday Oscar
36. Lyse Striber – True Strength
37. Careless – Stationary Suns
38. Vulnerable – Mark Timmins
39. On & On – Reuben Hollebon
40. Recoiled – William Ryan Fritch
41. Lonely Girl – Praything
42. Drinking the Same Water – Katie Spencer
43. Get It Right – Magana
44. Cheer Up Free Your Mind – Jenny O.

That was October 2016, and if you like what you see/hear, why not check out the other months too?

The post October 2016 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

all the boyfriends is the darker, punk-influenced EP. Its fuzz and reverb carry a menacing aggression, a sort of lo-fi threat behind the lyrics which guarantees that every word is meant. ‘telegraph ave.’ opens the release with a perfect example, the twisting, ominous baseline standing on the shoulders of the vocals like some older, meaner sibling just waiting for you to question the lyrics.

“you wanna project emptiness inside of me like
i don’t have the universe inside of me like
i’m not reflecting on these layers of intersubjectivity like
you’re not just looking at me”

The songs are conversational yet scathing, employing Girlpool-esque dual vocals with a sort of high-school twang, finally letting all those boys know that their attention is rarely wanted, and that they’ll be told on the rare occasion that it is. With that in mind, ‘i’m not fuxing you’ and ‘don’t call me’ are pretty self-explanatory, while ‘all the bfs’ is equally clear in its assertions that males are not required, flipping the traditional gender roles so that woolly, patronising excuses are now pointed firmly in his direction. As if to rub it in, closer ‘short bangs’ serves as remaindered as to what he is missing:

“short bangs
lady gangs
big plaid
hella rad
dyed tips
poppy trips
high waist
resting bitch face
masking tape to fix all of my problems
just enough to fend off boredom”

The self-titled album is a collection of lovably fuzzy indie pop songs which again deal with the constant affront of male vexation, though this time in a reactive way. ‘getting high (i can’t stop)’ deals with problems of motivation and self-esteem, or perhaps lack thereof, the narrator content to idle away time in a chemically-induced haze. ‘static’ has a similar vibe, finding the narrator struggling to free herself from beneath a suffocating lover.

“maybe when i feel like shit
you feel like a man
when i can’t get outta bed
you’re so masculine”

‘educate yrselves’ is something of a return to all the boyfriends‘ unsparing critique of man’s annoying habits, this time their habit of asking for explanations of even the simplest of things, as though the responsibly for their ignorance lies with those they are offending. Again, the conversational tone works well, a sort-of-sarcastic-but-sort-of-not flow which drives home the ridiculousness of the situation (“you don’t have to be asking us, it’s not even that hard, it’s pretty easy you carry around this like thing in your pocket all day that like tells you everything you need to know via this thing called the internet?”).

The gentle verses of ‘anti social’ deal with anxiety and our lies to cover it, the plethora of make-to-break promises to friends about meeting up and hanging out, while ‘watered down’ charts a relationship more attractive when the couple are apart, the idea of the pairing much more enthralling that the reality. Closer ‘hardly summer’ is the bummed out jam such an album requires, again the underwhelming reality of the situation tearing up whatever hopes or visions the narrator might have held.

“overcast and 50 degrees
you are states away from me
i’m drinking alone watching too much tv
it’s the middle of summer
it’s been cloudy for weeks
nobody’s home & my friends are all busy
i don’t wanna get outta bed anyway
this is hardly summer”

Betty Becky and All The Boyfriends are out now and you can buy them both on a name-your-price from the Betty Becky Bandcamp page.

The post Betty Becky – Self-Titled / All The Boyfriends appeared first on Various Small Flames.