closure deals with loss, love, trust and trying to staying afloat in a confused world. An ode to standing out on a cliff and looking out over, thinking about the rocks below but turning around and going back home and putting your demons to bed.

The album kicks off with ‘I’ll Be True’, a track reassuringly familiar for those of us who’ve grown fond of gorgeous bully over the years—the lo-fi guitar and slapped drums supporting Crang’s signature vocals. But if there is a change it’s in the lyrics, which are wide-eyed and hopeful, a pledge to a loved one. “I’ll be true,” Crang sings, “I’ll be kind,” and despite how he still sounds burned out, it’s hard not to believe him.

There’s a glimmering jangle to ‘Gum’, although that doesn’t alleviate the sense of weariness that pervades the track. The crunchy guitar that opens ‘Patience’ is like a metaphor for the whole album, a balance between the positive and not, catchy but with shades of something else. The rest of the song follows suit, a stomping indie rocker that tries to blow away the cobwebs of anxiety and doubt in just under three minutes. It’s a song about being stuck in a difficult place, about fighting day-to-day in the hope of improvement. About, ultimately, patience.

gorgeous bully have always approached things with a kind of self-defeating resignation, what we’ve described previously as “music that doesn’t shy away from the pains and banalities of 21st century living, existing on the self-deprecating and misanthropic end of the spectrum. But somehow things remain catchy and fun.” closure is no dramatic departure from this, although there are definitely softer moments that shine through, the album maintaining a careful balance between lead-limbed ennui and a slow-burning sense that things are actually pretty okay.

‘Tripping’ is a good example, a song whose air of careful hope is tempered by a sense of self-sabotage, as Crang apes Oasis, singing “maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me, but I keep tripping up myself.” And although the title of ‘Infinite Sadness’ feels like false advertising as soon as it sweeps you up in its manic energy, it still contains lines like “it’s a long time waiting to die when you’re at home,” a sure sign that gorgeous bully aren’t giving up on bummed-out pop songs just yet.

As its name suggests, ‘Can’t Give You Up’ is a song about struggling to let go of a relationship, while closer ‘Without You’ is perhaps the most sincere song gorgeous bully has ever written, an earnest declaration of dependence.

As daft as it seems, you are everything
and I could not sleep
unless you are next to me
and I couldn’t live without you now

closure is out now on Breakfast Records, and you can get it via them or the gorgeous bully Bandcamp page.

The post gorgeous bully – closure appeared first on Various Small Flames.

However, as always, we want to point out that ‘free’ does not have to mean pay nothing in this context. Indeed, the title of the post says ‘free’ music because it’s snappier than ‘name your price’ music, but really that’s a convenient/attention-grabbing misnomer. Last year we spoke about how paying artists makes for the best soil in which to sow creative seeds, and things are no different now. Indeed, with the dawn of Spotify and the all-powerful algorithms, it is more important than ever to support independent artists and labels, and in reality there are already enough free ways to consume music that we don’t need to encourage another.

So please delve into the below list, curated entirely by humans, and spend whatever is left of your Christmas money when you stumble across something you like. We can vouch for the quality of everything here, so don’t be afraid to judge a record by its cover to begin with.

Here’s a handy mix featuring one song from each of the free / ‘name your price’ albums featured:

The post Favourite Free Music of 2017 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

Twelve Gardens – maria
Gorgeous Bully – oh why
Girl K – Neighbours
Kintsugi San – Time
Brunch – The Goose
Young Jesus – Feeling (Half Stop Session)
Wych Elm – School Shooter
Steve Maloney – Exits
Haley Heynderickx – Oom Sha La La
M.A.G.S. – Mexico
Iris Jupiter – Buzz Cut
Ylayali – Cherry Tomatoes
Anamon – Stubborn Comfort
Micah Vaultz – endless rain, for limitless pain
Pavey Ark – Leaf By Leaf
Henry Jamison – The Last Time I Saw Adrianne
Shamir – 90s Kids
SALES – Talk a Lot
Nassau – Ain’t It Time
Long Neck – Cavity
Pastel – Silhouette
Old Earth – Pit Dynamics

You can find all of of monthly mixes here, plus an assortment of other playlists and song collections. Stayed tuned for October!

The post September 2017 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

‘i can see’ throws us straight into gorgeous bully’s signature lo-fi pop. It’s catchy and fuzzy and reassuringly DIY, the perfect introduction to a band that’s been consistently making home-recorded pop gems for a while now. The chorus is the first of many which expresses discontent (“I can see a thousand places I would rather be”), buts it’s somehow heartening rather than miserable, an endearing trait that’s present across the entire album.

Lots of the songs are short and sharp, shots of a super-sweet mixture of punk sloppiness and pop sensibility. Take for example ‘in my defence’, a sub-two minute blast of slapped drums and catchy vocal lines, or ‘i can’t make it right’, a bummed out pop song that’s infectious despite its pessimistic tendencies, the wordless ooh’d chorus adding a dash of sunny garage pop.

“Days are such a drag
enough is all you have
I sit up all night
i can’t make it right”

‘Time’ is all surfy guitars that defy the sleep-encrusted lyrics, while ‘oh why’ is an anthem for the lonely kids, the stupidly catchy chorus of “oh why am I alone again? Oh why am I alone?” guaranteed to be in your head hours later. This is followed by the title track, which signals a change to Washboard Abs-style acoustic bedroom pop songs, the first of a few that presumably were to make up the great blue EP. The gloomy atmosphere takes over on these final tracks, gentle guitar gathering like dark rainclouds, the vocals soft and subdued. The vibe shows another side to gorgeous bully, stripping back the sardonic punk and the fun pop to uncover the disarmingly tender core, something perhaps most apparent in final track ‘in my life’:

“Always been a joke, never stayed afloat
in my life, and when I go you will be there
yeah you will be there waiting for me”

gorgeous bully make music that doesn’t shy away from the pains and banalities of 21st century living, existing on the self-deprecating and misanthropic end of the spectrum. But somehow things remain catchy and fun. They’re a band who understand the power of a catchy tune beneath lo-fi fuzz, who are able to make the weird kids feel great and dance around, at least for a little while.

You can get great blue now as a name-your-price download from the gorgeous bully Bandcamp page, or on a nicely designed cassette via Z Tapes.

The post Gorgeous Bully – Great Blue appeared first on Various Small Flames.

And, of course, being comprehensive is impossible these days, so let us know if we missed your favourite and maybe we’ll add it to the collection.

Emily Yacina – Nice Try
(RIYL: bedroom pop)

Evening River Band – EP5
(RIYL: country, folk, psych rock)

Ever – But I Am
(RIYL: bedroom pop, dark rooms)

Exam Season – Mostly Homely
(RIYL: indie rock, emo, Trust Fund)

Family Video – Places To Sleep
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, longing)

Field Medic – that beer called becks reminds me of a haiku i wrote
(RIYL: lo-fi, indie pop, modern folk)

Fish Food – For Shadow Hurts
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, weird lyrics)

Folktale Records – Folktale Sampler (COMPILATION)
(RIYL: experimental, folk, indie pop)

Fossil Jane – will you?/you will.
(RIYL: bedroom pop, singer songwriter, )

Free Space – Ahead of Myself
(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, Trace Mountains)

Generifus – Peace Sign Rising
(RIYL: indie pop, indie rock)

Georgia Maq – Brain Studio Session
(RIYL: acoustic, bedroom pop, Camp Cope)

Ghost Camp – Great Lakes
(RIYL: indie rock, psych pop)

Glider – Demos
(RIYL: lo-fi, psych pop)

GoldFlakePaint – Too Far From Town To Learn
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, Gold Flake Paint)

Good Good Blood – O Belong / Motion Sickness
(RIYL: ambient, dream pop, folk)

Gorgeous Bully – Better Demons
(RIYL: lo-fi, indie rock, fuzz)

Govier – Predator
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, “alien folk”)

High Sunn – i will never learn
(RIYL: chillwave, lo-fi, dream pop)

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

Get better demons on a name-your-price download via the Gorgeous Bully Bandcamp page.

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The post Wake The Deaf’s Favourite Songs of 2015 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

January was a bit of a scrappy month in terms of regular posts, but we still managed to cover some excellent artists. Why not catch up with any you missed with this tailor-made mixtape? Click the artist names in the tracklist to be whisked off to the review.

Tracklist:

1. Jesus in the 70s – Siskiyou
2. 2 Broke 2 Old – Gorgeous Bully
3. Another Way To Go – Adeline Hotel
4. Scene Sick – Diet Cig
5. Dog Burial Theme – Dicktations
6. Up the Academy – Mike Pace and the Child Actors
7. Con/ A Sewer/A Cat – Amateur Love
8. The End is a Vicious Thing – Puzzlecuts
9. Manic Pixie Dream Girl – Furnsss
10. Party Girls – Gleemer
11. Soft Reputation – Unlikely Friends
12. Passing Through – Harley Alexander
13. Coward’s Luck – Hip Hatchet
14. Memphis – The Wandering Lake
15. How a Resurrection Really Feels – The Hold Steady
16. Fire in My Eyes – Yours Are The Only Ears
17. Traffic is Okay – Sitcom
18. Gold & Rose – Dear Sister

Also make sure you check out our mammoth collection of our Favourite ‘Free’ Music of 2014. Finally, if you enjoy long, rambling pieces that try and draw connections between my favourite music and my favourite books, check out this piece on The Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday (Craig Finn said he enjoyed it, so it carries his stamp of approval).

January 2015 Roundup from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post January 2015 Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Manchester’s Gorgeous Bully have been in touch a few times recently to share some new songs. The first, ‘2 Broke 2 Old’, is a short but moreish reverb-heavy offering in the vein of Slowdive that could be played in a continuous loop while you sleep.

Next up is a cover of Wholewheat’s ‘Tragic Death’, which replaces the minimal approach of the original with an ominous drone of which The Twilight Sad would be proud. If you aren’t familiar with the song, it consists of a deadpan and decidedly creepy individual pondering ways to die (“I want a tragic death, some rookie cop to see my last breath. Car crash wouldn’t hurt, just get me in the dirt real quick”) and describing his fascination with the person next door (“I think I broke your fence watching you undress last night”).  

Finally we have ‘Dumb Ideals’, a comparatively stripped-back affair that swims in a wistful melancholy. The song is the title track of a new LP that will be out sometime in February so I suggest you keep your eyes peeled and ear to the ground for more information.

In the meantime, check out Gorgeous Bully’s Bandcamp page to hear the previous releases.

The post New Songs From Gorgeous Bully appeared first on Various Small Flames.

We’re winding down a bit for Christmas so I thought I’d use December to post some bits and bobs and maybe catch up on a few albums we missed.

This new song from Gorgeous Bully falls into the bits and bobs category, too short to properly ‘review’ but too good not to share. The vocals take a back seat, just audible above the melancholic strum and gaining conviction as the song progresses. The effect is that of a person speaking to themselves, tentative at first but getting caught up in the words so that they no longer notice or care.

The song is a free download over at Bandcamp so fill your boots.

P.S. If you missed our review of Gorgeous Bully’s Smiling, Laughing then what are you waiting for?

The post Gorgeous Bully – Love Song For Someone Else appeared first on Various Small Flames.