Black Sea Dahu – Thaw
Will Henriksen – Nothing Left Behind
Dehd – Letter
Hovvdy – Ruin (my ride)
Maya Lucia – preteen
They Are Gutting A Body of Water – french
Jason Calhoun – moving
Dilary Huff – Overused Sayings
Two Meters – The Nightmare
Dead Painters – Marigold
The Deer – Confetti To The Hurricane
Pastel – Moon Landing
Hit Like A Girl – No More Dysphoria
Basement Revolver – Master’s Degree
Bodies on the Beach – Ghost
Highnoon – Lens
Distant Reader – Marie
Drakes Island – 4 Days
Wet Dream – Worried
Best Mann – Must Be Wrong
The Funs – Trains Across The Sea
Ganser – Buio
Nothings – Favorite Shirt
Corinne Sharlet – Hail Mary
ahem – Halloween
Max and the Martians – Please Hold On
A.S. Wilson – Taken Apart
Béret – Book of Hera
Joel Jerome – There’s Nothing Here To Bother You Anymore
Carpet City – Little Longer
Hannah Cranton – Kite
Zachary Lucky – Didn’t Know That You’d Come Along
Wintersleep – Fading Out
Coral – find me wrong
Boo Baby – “Jazz?”
Margaux – Palm

Check out our previous Monthly Roundup playlists, and be sure to read our Reviews and Previews throughout the month.

The post October 2019 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Amidst all that action, the trio have somehow found the time to record and release a brand new single. Titled ‘Letter’, the song represents another evolution from a band who are nothing if not unpredictable. But thematically it will be familiar to anyone who enjoyed Water, following in that record’s footsteps in focusing on the relationship between joint vocalists Jason Balla and Emily Kempf. The band say it explores the “subtle lingering grief and the arc of healing that follows once love has lost and relationship dynamics have shifted.”

In true Dehd fashion, rather than fixate on the loss and grief of the breakup, ‘Letter’ chooses to take a more hopeful route. Kempf says it celebrates “the empowerment and strength found from non-sexual friendship, from creative pursuits, and from constant, unapologetic self care, self soothing, and acts of self love.” It exudes that feeling of self-confidence too musically too. In fact it feels like something of a throwback, beginning in stark, emotive synths before blooming into a dramatic, wide-screen pop song that almost feels like a lost 80s dancefloor hit. As always, the driving force is Eric McGrady’s drums, alternating between big deep kick drum and tempo-maintaining slaps.

You can get ‘Letter’ from the Dehd Bandcamp page. And about that UK tour… Check the dates below and get yourself along to a show!

18/10 – Leeds @ Brudenell Social Club *
19/10 – Oxford @ Ritual Union *
20/10 – Cardiff @ SWN Festival
22/10 – London @ Rough Trade East (In Store)
23/10 – Brighton @ The Prince Albert

* w/ Twin Peaks

The post Dehd – Letter appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Claire Cronin – What the Night is Thinking
Michael Cromier – Foghorn
Ylayali – little caterpillar graveyard
Forrest Moody & Jake Bellissimo – Selige Sehnsucht
Grotto Terrazza – Was Leben Will Muss Sterben
Trying – If I Don’t Get a Job
Giant in The Lighthouse – Sprinting
Soften – Iridescent
Champ Major – Abbeville
Grebes – Plum
Jack M. Senff – Old Days
Sam Lynch – Not My Body
Tyler Key – Change My Mind
Ē – Afraid of the Ocean
Dehd – Wild
Pancho and the Wizards – Rot
TV People – Healthier Days
Plastic Cactus – Mystery Boy
Bibi Club – Jean Rene
It’s Sunday – Comme Un Fool
Little Slugger – Impossible
runnner – fan on
Hostxess – Time
omes – wyd
Oliver Ray – Ol’ Coyote
Will Johnson – Cornelius
Merival – No Brakes
My Father’s Son – Dust to Rust
Jordan Klassen – Virtuous Circle
Ditty – Deathcab

Check out our previous Monthly Roundup playlists, and be sure to read or Reviews and Previews throughout the month.

The post June 2019 Roundup Mix appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Dehd have a defining characteristic that’s hard to describe, something Balla captures best in an interview with Pond when he says, “It’s gotta have that wiggle.” From the first seconds of opener ‘Wild’ it’s clear that Dehd don’t intend to hold anything back. Balla screeches the title in your ear as though popping up at your bedside at 3AM, and before you’re know it you’re wrapped up in raucous surfy vibes and bundled away with the band’s energy.

“Lucky to have people in my life with the power to break my heart,” Kempf sings at the start of ‘Lucky’, a song that works through the disintegration of the romantic relationship between Balla and Kempf. “When you have a breakup, you want to isolate yourself and cut yourself off from one another,” Balla says. But Dehd took a different approach, creating music together as a way of moving on. As Kempf says “we processed our breakup through the scope of the band.”

In the context of that story, much of the album takes on a new dimension. ‘Baby’ for example becomes a riff on the same theme, with its pretty direct chorus of “well I lost your love, my baby, yeah I got it back again.” It’s a testament not only to the break-up but also what came next, a relationship no longer romantic but equally meaningful.

The art pop vibes come to the fore on ‘Wait’, a song that sounds like Nap Eyes if they had a few extra cups of coffee, while ‘Push the Crowd’ skips along to McGrady’s perky percussion and fun little knots of noodly guitar, a great illustration of Dehd’s signature blend of sweet and gritty. There’s a Dear Nora vibe on ‘Lake’, a patient pop song that hits little eddies of melody as Kempf sings “love is a great big lake, love is heavy and deep, I am not afraid.”

But perhaps Water‘s most cathartic moment is ‘On My Side,’ a track that confronts things with raw emotion, Balla singing the verses while Kempf wails the chorus with real intensity. It’s the one song where all the swaying pop and the “wiggle” is dialed back, leaving only the distilled essence of the album’s circumstances, pain and support in equal measure.

Time is on my side
I will be alright

Dehd make music that’s a strangely congruent combination of hazy surf and lovelorn cowboy gloom, with the added bubblegum snap of 60s pop and the stale beer smell of shadowy dive bars. The fact Kempf and Balla kept the band together to make this album is an achievement in itself, but to make one without an ounce of melodrama is pretty remarkable. Yes, Water was born in difficult circumstances, but listening to those melodies, to McGrady’s drums, you’d never guess it.

Water is out now on Fire Talk Records and you can get it from the Dehd Bandcamp page.

The post Dehd – Water appeared first on Various Small Flames.

2nd Grade – Favorite Song
Adeline Hotel – Lightning
Adrianne Lenker – Cradle
Allison’s Gate – Traces
Anna McClellan – Heart of Hearts
Advance Base – Christmas in Nightmare City
Badlands – Slow it Down
Bambara – José Tries to Leave
The Beths – Whatever
Bodega – Jack in Titanic
boygenius – Me & My Dog
Camp Cope – UFO Lighter
Campdogzzz – Sorceress
Cave People – I Shall Believe
Damien Jurado – Percy Faith
Dead Painters – Fool on Fire
Dear Nora – Simulation Feels
Dehd – Dying For
Devon Welsh – Vampires
Diva Sweetly – Detox Island
Doe – Heated
Dusted – Outline of a Wolf
Field Report – Every Time
Frankie Valet – Something to do with a mouth
Gia Margaret – Birthday
Goodbye Max – Old Photos
Good Good Blood – Cannot Be Yours Forever
Gorgeous Bully – Patience
Great Health – Lazarus
Hop Along – How Simple
Hour – At the bar where you literally saved me from fatal heartbreak 
Houses – Fast Talk
Hovvdy – Brave
Hypoluxo – Kentucky Smooth
IAN SWEET – Hiding
Kal Marks – Today I Walked Down To The Tree, Read A Book, And When I Was Done, I Went Back Inside
Katy Kirby – Juniper
Kevin Morby & Waxahatchee – Dark Don’t Hide It
Kississippi – Easier to Love
Kraków Loves Adana – The Day the Internet Died
Lala Lala – Destroyer
Lisa/Liza – Tea Kettle
lowly loverboi – Graveyards in Space
Lucy Dacus – Yours & Mine
Mike Pace & the Child Actors – Escape the Noise
Miranda Winters – The Futuristic District
Mitski – Nobody
Moonface – Minotaur Forgiving Pasiphae
Moon Racer – Friendly Ghost
Nap Eyes – Every Time the Feeling
Nice Try – Micah
Nicole Dollanganger – Uncle
No Age – Drippy
Oceanator – Mistakes
Of The Valley – Ride Alone
Pale Kids – St. Theresa
Pat Moon – I Belong
Pema – Depend
Petal – I’m Sorry
Pink Navel – born-100.dev
Pizza Girl – Body Part
Protomartyr – Wheel of Fortune
Remember Sports – Dripping
Restorations – Nonbeliever
Rivulets – Everything Goes
Ryan Von Gonten – Fabrique
Sabriel’s Orb – Holding
Saccharine – Pumpkin Guts
Sam Moss – Snap
Sara Renberg – Take the Summer Off
Sobs – Sundae
Spartan Jet-Plex – Sweet
Strange Ranger – The Wires
Sun June – Slow Rise II
Swearin’ – Dogpile
Talk, Tired Thanatoid – Everything’s Cool
Tomberlin – Any Other Way
Trace Mountains – Salty Sweet
Trust Fall – Wild Fire/Flowers
TVU – All For Nothing
Weakened Friends – Blue Again
Whitney Baleen – Rainer
Why Bonnie – Stereo
Wild Pink – The Seance on St. Augustine Street
wished bone – reasons
Yellowfront – Cool Breeze
Young Jesus – For Nana
Young Statues – Somebody Else
Yowler – Where Is My Light?

If you missed it, we have also posted our favourite albums list, so check that out too.

The post Favourite Songs of 2018 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Michelle Blades – Kiss Me on the Mouth

Michelle Blades is a Mexican-Panamanian songwriter currently based in Paris. The latest taste of forthcoming full-length, Visitor, her new single ‘Kiss Me on the Mouth’ sees Blades occupy the grey area between upbeat and melancholy, pop underpinned by a high-strung tension. The result is something strange and compelling, the facade of innocence hiding something altogether more weird or dangerous. But Blades never allows the mask to slip too far, presenting a simmering intrigue in place of any sure answers.

The track comes complete with a video directed by arts collective Fuerza Basicas, which you can see below:

Visitor is set for release on the 29th March via Midnight Special Records.

Dehd – Dying For

Hailing from Chicago, Dehd is Jason Balla, Eric McGrady and Emily Kempf (who got a mention in our piece on Desert Liminal). Following 2017’s Fire of Love, part of Infinity Cat‘s subscription series, the trio are back with ‘Dying For,’ a brand new single on Fire Talk Records. The song sees Dehd smooth out their angular side in favour of a more relaxed style, leading to a laid back indie rock that’s coloured by the wild west—like cowboy music for the digital age. The result is a song that finds comfort in the isolation and escape of wide open spaces, the conviction of one’s eternal loneliness countered by the promises of the open road.

“Is a dream worth dying for
when you’re six feet under ground?
And what are you lying for,
aren’t you tired out?

Hussy – Forever

Hussy is the recording moniker of South London multi-instrumentalist Sophie Nicole Ellison. While her sound might be most accurately described as dream pop, new single ‘Forever’ shows that Ellison does not limit herself to the blissful and soft. Rather, the track feels caught between an otherworldly lightness and a great, raw weight that seeks to drag anything and everything down into the void, producing an ominous and dark atmosphere from which you will struggle to wake.

Never Betters – Alone

In April, we wrote about a split release from Ontario bands Grievances and Never Betters, describing how their spiky energy and cathartic release powered succinct, attitude-driven songs that might be labelled ‘post-pop-punk’. Now, Never Betters are back with a brand new single, ‘Alone’, and though the track doesn’t quite reach the tumultuous crescendos of the previous release, the spirit remains. Opening with jagged pop-punk guitars that soon race into sweeping rhythm, the track finds April Romano maintaining a cooler, more considered vibe—her repeated insistence of “I am alone” neither wry nor melodramatic, rather a mere reportage of simple facts.

Deanna Petcoff – Stress

The music of Toronto’s Deanna Petcoff exists at the intersection of beautiful and playful, finding depths of emotion connected to yearning and loss while maintaining a sense of joviality in the face of such things. Latest single ‘Stress’ makes this style clear, detailing impatience and loneliness as a fact of life, and telling it with a sense of amused perspective. “‘Stress’ is about frustration, loss of hope and acceptance of a situation that will never be fixed,” Petcoff explains. “The unbearable weight of not feeling good enough for the person you want and thinking they might want you too.”

Check out the video, directed, edited and produced by Brittany Farhat, below:

Find Deanna Petcoff on Soundcloud and Facebook.

Sen Wisher – Feather Tongue

Based in Eugene, Oregon, Sen Wisher is the experimental project of Ben Swisher. Far from being a solo effort, Swisher enlists the help of an array of musicians, including Sophie Blair (of Nymph), Stuart Wheeler (Quiet House) and Stephen Cope (Officer Jenny), to form a vivid sound capable of portraying the wonder and complexity of the natural world. Take single and opening track ‘Feather Tongue’ as the case in point, existing somewhere between soft emotion and experimental inventiveness—sincere simplicity which rises into a dizzying crescendo.

Bird Languages is out now via Song Club Records and you can get it from the Sen Wisher Bandcamp page.

Bels Lontano – That moment when you die and you think of everyone you ever knew in slow motion and it’s incredible

Bels Lontano is the recording project of composer and producer Bret Bohman. Drawing upon a range of electronic genres and influences, not to mention non-musical inspiration too, Bohman works to explore “concepts of liminal spaces, natural beauty, therapy and personal growth.” The resulting music takes the form of “rich sonic tapestries” that owe as much to IDM and hip hop as they do to neo-classical and ambient styles.

Taken from a forthcoming EP, Kind Decade, the succinctly titled ‘That moment when you die and you think of everyone you ever knew in slow motion and it’s incredible’ leans more toward the ambient end of things, though shows off such a diverse palette of influences through it’s sheer warmth and lightness.

Kind Decade is set for release soon, so keep an eye on the Bels Lontano Bandcamp page for further details.

Press Club – Headwreck

Working out of Brunswick, Australia, Press Club make a raucous yet celebratory brand of indie rock that races with a sense of abandon that rivals the likes of Japandroids. After winning acclaim down under, the band have signed with Hassle Records to spread their full-length Late Teens further afield early next year, and earned shows with Cloud Nothings, Iron Chic, Dream Wife and Joyce Manor in the process.

‘Headwreck’ is the perfect example of their sound, channelling a relentless intensity into something both tight and raw, lead Natalie Foster growling and shouting with throaty emotion to seal the sense of urgency and authenticity.

Late Teens is set for release on the 25th January via Hassle Records and you can pre-order it now.

Frederick The Younger – Everyone’s Changing

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Frederick The Younger is duo Jenni Cochran and Aaron Craker, with the addition of Shelley Anderson (bass) and Taylor Powell (drums). Following up from 2017’s Human Child, the band have recently put out a new single, ‘Everyone’s Changing’, a song which continues their distinctive combination of western folk and retro psych pop. Still, there’s a newfound tenderness to here, some of the swagger stripped back in favour of slow-burn sincerity.

Find more at the Frederick the Younger Bandcamp page.

Great Health – Lazarus

Now the solo project of Virginia’s Tyler James, Great Health saw members of its band quit ahead of a planned tour and recording session. ‘Lazarus’ is something of a reaction to James’s experience, a cathartic slice of emo-rock that serves as both an attack on the vapidity of the music scene and an ode to following your dreams of making art. So, while possessing all of the heart-on-the-sleeve emotion of the genre, Great Health maintains a wryness that helps lift them beyond melodrama and into an area that’s far more interesting and emotive.

“To sold out circle jerk crowds
To sold out overplayed bands
On their hands and knees
Play the same song again

As Lazarus lay out longing for scraps
We’ll help ourselves to seconds before going back
But step by step we’ll take your hand
Step by step by step we’ll book your band again”

Sasha Cay – Washing Dishes

Sasha Cay is a songwriter from Montreal who this November put out a brand new EP, Sink Your Teeth. Pitched halfway between relaxed and melancholic, the album brings to mind the likes of Sun June in its ability to craft nuanced feelings from understated instrumentation. Single ‘Washing Dishes’ demonstrates Sasha Cay’s captivating rhythms and alluring vocals, where simmering emotion burns bright beneath the gentle surface, undercurrents of bright white feeling that are sure to drag you under.

Pretty Matty – Kicked Out

Led by Matty Morand with a revolving cast of bandmates, Pretty Matty formed in Montreal and now exists in Toronto. “Pretty Matty is my experiment in writing music that makes me feel good,” Morand explains, “inspired by bands that I love like The Breeders and Paramore.” Still, after a self-titled debut EP that came out in March, it’s fair to say that the act has moved beyond mere experiment, something that plans of tours and full albums will attest.

In preparation for the forthcoming album, Pretty Matty have released a new single, ‘Kicked Out.’ Complete with a video by Jono Hunter, the track shows off the band’s blend of pop and punk aesthetics, managing to pour carefree energy into the disaffection of youth.

You can find Pretty Matty on Bandcamp.

Ladada – Float Away

Based in Virginia Beach, Ladada started out as the solo project of Josiah Schlater, though soon evolved into a full band. Building upon Schlater’s surf rock sensibilities, new EP Heaven on the Rocks draws upon shoegaze and punk to produce a sound that’s rich and dreamy though always propelled by a keen sense of energy. Which is the perfect description of single ‘Float Away’, a song that opens with lush swells of guitar and vocals but kicks into an engaging momentum soon enough, guitars, drums and vocals all pressing to cut through the gauzy texture.

Heaven On The Rocks is set for release on the 15th February via Gold Robot Records and you can pre-order it now.

Weston Smith – Paranoia

Weston Smith makes “mind bending songs harking back to the past,” utilising synths to their full range in support of his casual vocal delivery that fans of The Washboard Abs will appreciate. Taken from his latest album, Introspective, ‘Paranoia’ serves as a great place for those unfamiliar with Weston to jump in to his strange world. Beneath the near-conversational vocals, subtle synths threaten to swell into some great climax but never quite follow through, leading to a curious, twitchy sound that lives up to its paranoid name.

Introspective is out now via Feels So Reel Music and you can get it from the Weston Smith Bandcamp page.

Human Girlfriend – Opposite People

Formed by George Matsuo and Thomas Paparella as Les Tigres, Human Girlfriend came into existence after the addition of Jared Shaw and Thomas Miritello saw the band adopt a more fully realised sound. ‘Opposite People’ is as good a place as any to get acquainted with the Human Girlfriend aesthetic—a sparkling, nostalgia-filled indie pop that’s as laidback as it is heartbroken.

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