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.

“A collection of weird lo-fi bedroom pop, equal parts sweet, smooth, spiky and strange, as distinct as the great cover artwork”

We’re delighted then, to share with you a video for the lead track, ‘Candy’. Directed by Joseph’s brother Max F. Sims, the film elevates the song from what we originally described as “lazy shambling and sweet” into something far more mysterious, extending the sugary imagery into all sorts of new metaphorical directions. Sims takes us on a tour of town, from carefree sprints through green fields to late-night loitering amongst vehicles at a parking lot, all the while wrapped in a silky pink sheet like some curious bubblegum ghost. The effect is one of ambiguity, the salmon shawl holding some meaning outside of our grasp, a significance which begins to worm its way into the equally strange lyrics:

“And you don’t want to play games no more
got lots of people to blame, ya lifes a chore
and you look like the kind of person who spits
but I bet if you cleaned up your act a little bit
you could keep your wheels just long enough
to watch them spin right off and admit that its rough.

But there is candy waiting underneath your shoe
and if you wait long enough it’ll stick like super glue”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF7GRIh7pmU

For Shadow Hurts is available now from the Fish Food Bandcamp page.

The post Video Premiere: Fish Food – ‘Candy’ appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

1. Fire – Mal Devisa
2. wild fire/flowers – Trust Fall
3. Home Alone – Max Gardener
4. Your Love – Jeremy Squires
5. Veins – Camp Howard
6. How To Dance – Mount Moriah
7. Good Evening – Adeem the Artist
8. Shallow – Candy
9. Francie Cool – Francie Cool
10. Bad Vibes – Zebrafi
11. Piece of Ivy – Jake Bellissimo
12. Snow Day – Julia Brown
13. Alive – Dear Tracks
14. Ted the Radical Westy – Ravetank
15. ft1 – naps
16. We Have The Perimeter Surrounded – Hallelujah the Hills
17. Bullet in a Broken Gun – Oscar Lush
18. Color Peels – The Wandering Lake
19. Nowhere Nothing – Oceanator
20. Suagr Skull – The Washboard Abs
21. Of Wandering – Littler
22. bicycle – Twelve Gardens
23. Ya Ya Ya – You Won’t
24. Find You – Family Video
25. Jack Campbell (Quick Jammer) – Dingus.
26. Candy – Fish Food
27. It May Very Well Do – 100 Watt Horse
28. Life – Whim
29. Meg – Hovvdy
30. Piano Player – The Hotelier
31. Calvary – Chris Bathgate
32. Postman – Sam Moss

The post March 2016 Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Opener ‘Chapel Street’ is fresh and crisp and sprinkled with shimmering synths, a great introduction to the album’s marriage of bright & breezy indie pop and introspective lyrics. Follow-up ‘So Close’ brings to mind angular and danceable indie pop acts such as Foals, while ‘Wasting You’ is smart and heartsick jangly indie pop that sounds part Bandcamp-era bedroom pop and part 90s indie pop.

The rest of the album follows in a similar vein, catchy and melodic indie songs that (at least to my ears) could all-so-easily be getting national radio play and gracing the front page of the NME. ‘Shallow’ is about falling in love with Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State, an example of the stock (and mythical) “manic pixie dream girl” character, while ‘Fremdshämen’ is a slick song about a concentrated period of self-improvement to rescue a relationship, “One day one day I’ll get a job I might even buy a car / no more eating home brand we could even go organic / I’ll get a gym membership I’ll go once a week / your parents will love me they’ll want me to be part of the family”. ‘Street Lights’ is a lean synth pop track with slapped drums and lullaby xylophone, while the closing title track has acoustic guitar and soft and tender vocals.

Azure is everything we’ve come to expect from our Z Tapes release. As far as lonely sad-kid DIY releases go, Candy has made one of the most bright and bubbly I’ve heard for a while, a fusion of alternative pop music from the 60s, 80s and 90s. The sunny, catchy tunes feel sharp and honed and possess a hidden layer of depth, particularly once you start taking real notice of the lyrics. You can get it as a free download via the Candy Bandcamp page, or on cassette via Z Tapes.

The post Candy – Azure appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Well now that has all changed. The band have created their debut album, The Private World of Paradise, which will be unleashed on the world in March. The album was produced by Richard Swift, who most notably produced the last two Damien Jurado albums. The sonic expansion in Jurado’s output as a result of this collaboration is also evident here with Wake Owl. It sounds like the band are experimenting and growing as musicians and that can only be a good thing.

The first single, ‘Candy’, was premiered over at The Music Ninja earlier this month and can be streamed in the player below:

The Private World of Paradise is out on the 4th of March via Vagrant. More details (presumably including pre-order options) will be announced soon.

The post Advent Calendar [20th]: Wake Owl – Candy appeared first on Various Small Flames.