The album opens with Tomorrow’s Tulips, who provide a slice of effortless Californian uber-cool, a catchy rock song with a loveable slacker vibe and lines like “check me out as I walk down the street / Life’s a drag so I drag my feet / I just stay here, I just drink beer / And check me out the door”. The second track, from Ohio’s Eternally Dizzy, sets a trend of frantic indie rock instrumentation paired with (semi) nonchalant vocals, before Ringo Deathstarr (who’s ‘Big Bopper’ sounds like shoegaze fed through a crunchy alt-rock filter), Dan the Human (who covers sad lyrcis with a veneer of bright and breezy indie rock) and Harley Alexander (no not Rizzle Kicks – who apparently shares the name – but a much cooler guy from Canada who has this smooth soulful swagger and sounds like he keeps his shades on when serenading his audience inside dark and smokey clubs) take to the stage.

Oh there’s also oddball pop from Blessin’, yelpy goodtime rock n’ roll from Joe Bordenaro and a DIY (unrequited) love song from Boy Spit. There’s Kachi Ebiringah with his Eddie Argos-esque (Argosian?) sing-shout, Jake Rollins’ erratic guitar and the ominous deadbeat disinterest of Furnsss. There’s a windows-down summer gem from Dude York, sundrenched surf-rock from Hot Flash Heat Wave, hilarious energy-drink-fuelled teenage rebellion from White Fang and, finally, a restrained, wistful bedroom pop strum-along with DRGN King.

Phew. Deep breaths, that’s it! I’m sure you get the idea. This is compilation jam-packed with goodness (as long as you class DIY indie rock music as goodness – which you should). It’s a testament to the hordes of talented people who are making music any way they can, a celebration of those writing and singing and smashing drums because they feel like it and it’s fun and perhaps makes them and their listeners just that little bit happier. All-American Edition is what music is all about.

You can get it right on a nice-looking casette via the 80N7 bandcamp page.

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ACAB Rocky / Kneedlez (split) – ACAB Rocky // Kneedlez

(RIYL: punk rock, lo fi, bedroom pop)

Ahava – Steal, Kill, Destroy EP

(RIYL: folk, acoustic, ambient, Julianna Barwick)

Alexia Avina – Kind Forest EP

(RIYL: dream pop, folk, intimate)

Ant’lrd – Biblioteca Nod Out

(RIYL: experimental, ambient, fuzz)

Arrange – Their Bodies in a Fog

(RIYL: bedroom pop, ambient, Orchid Tapes)

Art Contest – Math Major

(RIYL: math rock, punk, Cap’n Jazz, Dananananaykroyd, Abe Vigoda)

Astroskeleton – you are not alone

(RIYL: Nintendo, 8-bit, chiptune, power pop, Space Boyfriend)

Aunt Sis – 9 Tracks

(RIYL: indie, folktronica, Broken Social Scene)

Baby Mollusk – Baby Mollusk and the Big Babies

(RIYL: bedroom pop, indie rock, lo-fi)

Balacade – From Memory

(RIYL: indie pop, Cataldo, Grandaddy, Sparklehorse)

The Bank Trail / Lake Michigan – A Split EP

(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, ambient, covers)

Bellows – Blue Breath

(RIYL: bedroom pop, Small Wonder, Why?)

Blush Response – Dead Air

(RIYL: shoegaze, dream pop, indie rock, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart)

Bois – Blank (out) EP

(RIYL: dream pop, soul, Bon Iver, Praything)

Boosegumps – Leave Me Alone EP

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

Born Standing Up – Born Standing Up

(RIYL: country, folk, The Wooden Sky, The Head and The Heart)

Boy Spit – Everyone Is Cool

(RIYL: lo-fi, garage rock, Quilt, Cloud Nothings)

Broke For Free – Petal

(RIYL: chillwave, glitch, trip hop, summertime)

Camping In Alaska – Bathe

(RIYL: punk, indie rock, post-hardcore, At the Drive In)

Captive Portal – Somethign Abbadat EP

(RIYL: electronic, experimental, collages of chopped up sounds)

Cellulist – Holocene

(RIYL: ambient, drone, experimental)

Chips Calipso – I Walked Outside and Felt the Sun 

(RIYL: dream pop, surfy vibes, pysch, Evangelicals)

Cold Foamers – All Cold Everything

(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, Built To Spill)

Contron – Before I Hated Things

(RIYL: lo-fi, acoustic, weird old-timey folk)

DAILON – Transitions

(RIYL: electronic, beats, “future soul”)

Dead Folk – It Won’t Take Long

(RIYL: grunge, shoegaze, the 90s)

Dear – Dear EP

(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, acoustic)

We have selected our favourite tracks and made a mix for your listening pleasure. Check out the player below and be sure to tune in tomorrow for the next installment.

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

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