Today marks the fifth anniversary of Fox Food Records, and to celebrate James Smith has gathered a large number of the label’s artists for a special compilation, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What. Essentially a who’s who of the Fox Food roster, the release represents a celebration of what truly independent labels can offer—a diverse group of people from all over the world linked not by a specific sound and style but rather the spirit within.

Opening with an acoustic version of Oh Rose‘s ‘Prom’, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What features a whole host of our favourites. Nice Legs stop by with another slice of delightfully warm fuzz pop, Spartan Jet-Plex provides an alternate take on single ‘Meant’ and Monarch Mtn returns with his characteristically intimate and melancholic whisper-folk.

Dana Gavanski joins Kaiya Cade on the haunting ‘Garden’, Fazed on a Pony serves up a dose of wonky nostalgia and Goodbye Max welcomes us back into his wistful warmth with the modest wonder of ‘Search Party.’ Then there’s the icy pop of Bloodhype, the whimsical momentum of Plant Food, not to mention the playful hush of Lewtrakimou and cool swagger of Saint Charles. Mixing things up, Henoheno and Fair Mothers offer different takes on patient, sprawling music—the ethereal gloom of the former matched in mood and scope by the foreboding creep of the latter.

Elsewhere, Unisex offer a carefree sway with ‘Let the Tide Take You’, Fairy Godmother a garage rock washed with dreamy haze and the likes of Ratbath, Hairpins, Suzy Jivotovski (of GRNDMS) and Deer Scout all provide stellar examples of intimate bedroom folk. Then, in a fitting finale, Smith’s own Good Good Blood teams up with Astral Social Club for mammoth closer ‘Heathen Astronaut’.

With ambient textures and electronic beeps and glimpses of sincere emotion peeking through the fog, the track acts as a kind of summary of the compilation and therefore the Fox Food Record’s mission as a whole. Heartfelt, experimental, bound not by expectation or convention but rather some gut-level intuition. Together, the elements coalesce into an intangible yet sustained sense of spirit, something far more powerful and lasting than anything done alone. This might not be something than can be adequately put into words, but that it exists is a testament to Smith’s judgement and effort. Because something is there, even if you’re not sure what.

The post Fox Food Records – Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What appeared first on Various Small Flames.

His latest EP, Motion | Sickness, is something of a collaborative effort, enlisting the talents of fellow Fox Food alumni Nancy Kells (whose latest album as Spartan Jet-Plex we loved) and Catherine DeGennaro and Suzy Jivotovski (AKA GRNDMS, who put out the excellent Capitol Mill last year). The result is possibly Good Good Blood’s most daring, nuanced release to date, utilising a variety of electronics to create soundscapes around the tracks, worlds in which they take root and grow. ‘Distant | Air’ begins opens with a remote ambient flutter, as delicate and removed as a far-flung snowfield, before opening into a warmer, more acoustic sound complete with Smith’s recognisable vocals. The dichotomy between the two parts is marked, bringing into relief the importance of the vertical bar in the song titles and thus prompting the listener to consider the links and differences between the opposing words and sounds.

A plaintive horn heralds the start of ‘We | Become’, a stretched, even tone which continues as various clicks and drums and vocals enter the fray. As such the track has a dawn quality, the drone rising and warming the earth below into life, before eventually fading out of focus as the song kicks into gentle life. As we’ve come to expect, Smith’s songwriting is a compelling blend of abstract and intimacy, mostly comprising of curt declarations or questions which cut to the heart of some unspoken matter, the wider context reduced to immediate feelings and emotion.

“When I lost my youth
I needed you
when I lost my way
you didn’t stay”

The pattern of difference continues on the epic ‘Dream | Devotion’, with ambience and plucked guitar forming out of silence like the sounds of some unmanned landscape before morphing into a more complete folk song. Again, as with all of Good Good Blood’s music, themes of memory and love and loss haunt the track, internal thoughts cut free from reality and allowed to bloom into beauty.

‘Motion | Sickness’ begins with frenetic strumming which, coupled with wordless voices and near sci-fi synths, forms an almost overwhelming noise worthy of the track’s title. However this passes to a glassy calm, an aftermath which leaves Smith asking a series of questions, be it aloud or within his head, or perhaps his heart and chest:

Will I hold you in my arms?
Will I understand what it is to be loved?
What it is to be had?

Can I hold you in my arms for the last time?
Will you cower and die?
Or will you come alive?

The post Album Premiere: Good Good Blood – Motion | Sickness appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Daytime TV – S/T (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, 80N7)

Debaser – MOOD RING
(RIYL: mixtapes, lo-fi, weird)

Derek – Rookie of the Year
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi)

Devon Mello – Constance All Grown Up (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, bedroom pop)

Dicktations – Words Don’t Love You (REVIEW)
(RIYL: garage rock, Weezer, Black Lips)

Diners – It’s All True
(RIYL: indie pop, Telekinesis)

Diocese – S/T 
(RIYL: garage rock, Krill)

Eerie Summer – The Way I Don’t Understand Anything Anymore (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, shoegaze, jangle, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart)

EP – Ashland (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi)

Fairweather Currents – Things Get Better (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, acoustic Nana Grizol)

Fanpage – L Y A (REVIEW)
(RIYL: noise pop, shoegaze, Jenny Hval)

Faux Discx – Where We Were (COMPILATION)
(RIYL: indie rock, post-punk, shoegaze)

Fazed on a Pony – Hunch
(RIYL: lo-fi, indie rock)

Field Medic – Light is Gone (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, lo-fi, J. Tillman)

Fog Lake – Victoria Park (REVIEW)
(RIYL: experimental, atmospheric pop, solitude)

Fox Academy – Elsie (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, summer nostalgia, golden oldies)

Fraternal Twin – s m a l l  w i n d  p o w e r (REVIEW)
(RIYL: gentle acoustics, natural glitches, intimate songwriting)

Free Cake For Every Creature – Moving Songs (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, post-collegiate blues [or, overcoming them])

Furnsss – New Moves (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, deadbeat disinterest, Abe Vigoda, Hallelujah The Hills)

Gay Angel – Floral (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, weird, early CFTPA)

Gleemer – No Goobyes (REVIEW) / Moving Away (REVIEW)
(RIYL: pop punk, grunge, Pains of Being Pure at Heart)

GoldFlakePaint – The Human Noise We Sat There Making https://goldflakepaint.bandcamp.com/album/the-human-noise-we-sat-there-making
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, compilations, all the cool stuff GFP write about)

Good, Good Blood – S/T (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, atmospheric folk)

The Grey Estates Vs Gold Flake Paint – The Pale Light Between (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, lo-fi, compilations, Gold Flake Paint, The Grey Estates)

Griffin Washburn – S/T
(RIYL: chill indie pop, psych, The Lagoonas)

GRNDMS – Capitol Mill (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, Frankie Cosmos)

We’ll be sharing a new section of the list every day this week, so be sure to check back for the complete collection. If you find something you like, or think we missed something life-changing, then why not let us know on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr or good old email.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2015: D-G appeared first on Various Small Flames.

GRNDMS

“Capitol Mill is proof that sunny little songs need not be mindless nonsense, and that you don’t need to write explicitly sad songs to resonate with the listener” – we reviewed the début album from GRNDMS, out now on Fox Food Records.

Eskimeaux

“About doing the best you can and hoping it’s enough, about accepting and learning and growing so that whatever hand you’re dealt, you carve out some semblance of meaning and happiness to make everything worthwhile” – Eskimeaux’s O.K., out now on Double Double Whammy and Mt. Home Arts, is a triumphant success.

Peptalk

“Peptalk paint ecosystems, thriving arrangements of geology and biology where plants and animals and wind and rain follow their own instinctive patterns. However, things are not quite what they seem…” – We welcomed you to the weird and beautiful world of Peptalk’s Islet.

Craig Finn

“Finn’s sharp turn of phrase… elevates mundane situations to something meaningful, transforming everyday words and imagery into things imbued with symbolism” – the first song from a new album by The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn.

Henoheno

“Emotional suffering is presented in a detached manner, as if the narrator has transcended into an outer body experience or else knows the pain so well it lacks the immediacy it once possessed” – we were delighted to premiere ‘Destroy’, the first track from Henoheno’s upcoming album I Made These Songs Before I Moved.

Kalle Mattson

“Strummed guitars and slow-burning drum machine beats which conjure a vivid, nostalgic image, like a city as seen from a dark shore at night” – ‘A Long Time Ago’, a new song from Kalle Mattson’s upcoming EP Avalanche.

PONY

“Sun-kissed and salt-lipped… four songs about romance and break-ups during the summer months” – we reviewed CRUSHED, the debut EP from Toronto band PONY.

Old Earth

“[Milwaukee] completely shaped and nurtured me. I grew up and spent most of my life here, so going from being a teenager seeing punk shows in VFW halls in the early ’90s to being an artist that some people know and read about in the city is kind of crazy” – Old Earth spoke to Milwaukee Record about the pros and cons of moving to California.

Kathryn Joseph

“I never felt like we were making something beautiful. I just thought my songs were shit, and that this is all really embarrassing” – Kathryn Joseph spoke to The Skinny before winning Scottish Album of the Year award for Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled. We reviewed the album here, and certainly aren’t surprised.

Joseph also unveiled a new song, ‘the worm’, via The Line of Best Fit.

Jenny Hval

I feel a little intimidated at the prospect of writing about Apocalypse, girl, the new album from Jenny Hval. Luckily there are already some great reviews out there, we particularly liked these from The Quietus and God is in the TV.

Crosslegged

“In the past, my summers have been defined by the artists that manage to capture the heaviness of a muggy afternoon or the confusing side of a fleeting romance. I know Speck will be a record that falls into that special category for me this year” – The Le Sigh are streaming Speck by Keba Robinson’s Crosslegged.

Naps

“Finding out about Naps felt like being told a really good secret” – understanding that there can never be enough quality new music, The Le Sigh also premièred a new song from Florida band Naps (who we have featured on numerous occasions).

Frog

“Irreverent, strange and just a little addictive” – Clash premiered a video for Frog’s ‘Judy Garland’. ICYMI, we reviewed (and loved) Kind of Blah and spoke to Frog about their music.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus have released Sorry About the Delay, a mix of demos, rarities and unheard album cuts in preparation for the forthcoming album The Most Lamentable Tragedy. Pitchfork have all the details, including the link for a free download.

Strand of Oaks

“Filled with bite and sometimes regret, but also a good deal of warmth” – The indomitable Timothy Showalter visited NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions. We have written about Strand of Oaks quite a bit, but probably still haven’t conveyed how much we love Showalter’s work.

And… our favourite 8tracks playlist of the week was this one by beneller (that cover art!!)

the ultimate summer playlist from beneller on 8tracks Radio.

The post Week in Review: #6 (15th – 19th June) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

‘Mass Observation // Whistles & Bells’ is like a soundcheck for the album, with its hesitant guitars and barely there lo-fi vocals. ‘White Hot Mess’ is a breezy acoustic track, something that will sounds good to fans of Frankie Cosmos, etc. etc., with sweet little doo doo doos and poetic lyrics about the mundane day to day. It’s quietly carefree, like waking at noon and happily moseying round the house for the rest of the day.

“If I forget to water plants at my parents well tell them I fell asleep.
And I woke to find myself in a hollow and hot star that you know I could not keep.
If I can’t bring myself to shine all the dishes and the pans
or sweep the floor.
I will curl inside myself, hold the hand of the stereo,
I don’t know what I’m waiting for”

‘Bending Out’ is much softer and gentler, the doo doo doos replaced with mmm mmm mmms. The lyrics are great here too:

“Burning stuff with lighters,
firewood and fingers,
does your throat feel like its squeezed,
are your symptoms more at ease
or is it hell?”

‘Linger On’ starts with a guitar that rings like a bell and then gentle drum machine percussion kicks in. ‘Last Past Life’ has some crunchy guitars and some really interesting lyrics, a combination which brings to mind Casiotone for the Painfully Alone or Trace Mountains:

“Mother Mary I confess
I broke your porcelain head
and hid it by the dishes.
Double meaning got me curious,
eyes are open it’s luxurious
to see with every fibre.
Sequence will repeat
breathe ash before you eat
swallow birds whole
so you can cry over the cruelty
in your next best life”

‘Observation Satellite’ has bright sunshiny-morning folk guitars and lovely vocal harmonies and lyrics that dream of escape to somewhere simpler, while ‘Pwr Chords Drool’ takes a sticky psych route with its echoey lo-fi vocals. with its electric guitars ‘Echo Chamber’ is a twangy affair, while ‘Spoonless’ is a lovely little song which has the childlike air of making fun for oneself (“Walking with my eyes closed, its a game I made up, its really hard to win cos stairs will do me in, anyways I’m playing, anyways I’m playing”). The album ends with ‘Resolute’, which builds on soft acoustic strums and earns bonus points for describing clouds as “soft and lazy things”.

The entire album feels simultaneously intimate and bright and airy. It is unlike a lot of other bedroom pop acts in that it doesn’t stare long and hard at painful memories or anxieties, or if it does it does so in a more breezy, untroubled manner. The lyrics read like playful poetry but still hold an emotional connection, like the musings of someone who has managed to maintain a child-like mindfulness of the world around them. Capitol Mill is proof that sunny little songs need not be mindless nonsense, and that you don’t need to write explicitly sad songs to resonate with the listener.

The tapes have long sold out, but you can still get a download at the Fox Food Records Bandcamp page.

The post GRNDMS – Capitol Mill appeared first on Various Small Flames.