Oh, Rose

“The vocals have the quality of an exorcism, like the unnatural utterings of a twelve year old as some jaded man of faith flicks holy water at her forehead” – “we reviewed SEVEN, the excellent and vaguely supernatural new album by Oh, Rose”

Amelia Gray

“Reading these stories is like watching a fungus bloom across a wall, like watching a slow-motion video of yourself going up in flames” – we started up a new ‘Books’ section with a review of Amelia Gray’s short story collection, Gutshot.

The Wooden Sky

“[The] distinctive vocals… [are] not pristine or manufactured but rather a product of a feeling, making the protagonists alive and nuanced enough for us to care” – we bumped our review of The Wooden Sky’s Lets Be Ready as it was released worldwide on Nevado Records.

Sean Henry

“When confronting big, complicated things like love, imperfection and death in art, surely the most fruitful method is not to sugar-coat the message in high production values and carefully constructed narratives but instead try to replicate the messy, fractured nature of our lives and consciousness?” – we got deep when previewing Sean Henry’s new album with his first single, ‘The Crow’

O-FACE

“Whirring like a well-oiled machine of cogs and gears which achieves so much more than its composite parts suggest” – a belated review of O-FACE’s EP Mint, out on Father/Daughter and Miscreant Records.

Glen Hansard

“A perfect example of a folk song made pop, a smooth and sentimental tale of goodhearted promises that are impossible to keep” – Our thoughts on ‘Winning Streak’, the first single from Glen Hansard’s new album

June Roundup

Miss anything in June? We have you covered with a playlist featuring every artist we covered during the month.

The Wailin’ Smithers

“The album is packed with smash hits from an alternate dimension, an easygoing universe in which everybody gets along just fine” – The self-titled album from Bloomington rockers The Wailin’ Smithers.

Quick Before It Melts

The music blog celebrated Canada Day by releasing a compilation of Canadian Bands covering Canadian songs.

Alanna McArdle

“Why do women have to work so much harder: why does it always feel like I’m trying to pass a test to prove that I deserve to call myself a musician?” – Alanna McArdle’s essay for The Talkhouse on the perceived role of the frontwoman and why she hates being referred to as just “the singer”.

Ezra Furman

“I’ve embraced the liminal zone that so many of my heroes occupy. I’ve declared independence from categories that don’t work for me…We exist in a multivalent world filled with ambiguities, and I aim to move through it like Lou Reed: independent, continually transforming, free.” – Ezra Furman writes for The Guardian on how he found freedom by embracing ambiguity in both his music and persona.

Noisey / Owen Pallet & Warren Hildebrand

“I found out about the Les Mouches album some time in 2006 and got it from a private torrent site or something similar. It really blew me away when I heard it…It means a lot, being able to help put together a new release for an album that’s been so important to me for so long is so crazy and cool to me.” – Noisey spoke to Owen Pallet and Orchid Tapes’ Warren Hildebrand about the latter’s label reissuing an album from the former’s project Les Mouches.

Fog Lake / START-TRACK

“I would say to keep it as true-to-heart as possible. Stop thinking about what other’s want to hear and start thinking about what you wanna hear. Don’t worry about being technical. Don’t worry what your parents think. Give it your best shot.” – Aaron Powell, aka Fog Lake, has some good advice for creative types in this interview with the cool dudes over at START-TRACK.

Advance Base / Ben Weaver

Daytrotter, the undisputed kings of the live session, served up two gems this week with sets from Advance Base (who has an album on the way dontcha know?) and Ben Weaver (whose album we liked a lot).

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus released a music video / short film which features not one but six songs from their forthcoming album, The Most Lamentable Tragedy, which we will not stop plugging.

Gurr

The Le Sigh premièred a video from Berlin-based “sassy brat punk” band Gurr, featuring live recordings and vintage found footage.

And finally… the 8tracks playlist of the week:

This week’s playlist, from Music Means Family, is collection of songs from artists playing Eaux Claires music festival in Wisconsin. Features some of our favourites like Aero Flynn, S. Carey and Field Report.

The post Week in Review #8 (29th June – 3rd July) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

“Through summers long and winters cold,
may you always have someone good to hold
and make good fortune, win on every bet
and may your winning streak, may it never end”

You can watch it below via NPR Music First Watch:

Didn’t He Ramble is to be released on the 18th Sept by Anti- Records.

The post Glen Hansard announces new album appeared first on Various Small Flames.