Tracklisting:

1. Your Best American Girl – Mitski
2. Shine – Solids
3. Vertebrae – Sam Moss
4. Joy Lies Down – Cloud (Bern Yr Idols comp from Audio Antihero)
5. Near You – Adeline Hotel
6. I Saw You – Outer Spaces
7. Madeline – Yoni & Geti
8. Keep it Light – ARMS
9. Figure It Out – Jake Rollins
10. We Learned to Cry – Adeem The Artist
11. ant hill paradise – Bedbug
12. I’m Young – Erin Tobey
13. coca cola purgatory – Ryder Eaton
14. Muppet Babies – Nice Legs (FRY YR BRN comp from Cereal + Sounds & Z Tapes)
15. Dawn Raid – The Second Hand Marching Band & Benni Hemm Hemm
16. President – Nice Try
17. SHIP – Fake Boyfriend
18. If You Let It – Sioux Falls
19. sorry for not answering the phone, i’m too busy trying to fly away – In Love with a Ghost
20. Clueless – Holiday Home
21. Realistic Birthday Music – Hallelujah the Hills
22. Age of Consent – Cayetana
23. Seattle – Tincho
24. Lance bangs #1 single released on 4/20 – Lance Bangs
25. Cigarettes – Daytime TV
26. Everything Costs – Radical Face
27. Tired of IPAs – talons’
28. Soak – Good Good Blood
29. Heavy as a mountain – Moin Moin

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

Well today we bring you a stream of Jake Rollins’ contribution to said compilation. If you are unfamiliar with his work, Rollins is a Boston-based musician who makes lovably lo-fi indie rock. As we said in our review of his album Spend a Few, Make a Few, “[He’s] the kind who makes music because it’s lots and lots of fun, which… is as good a reason as any to do just about anything”.  ‘Figure It Out’ is no exception, a vaguely tropical surf rock/Brit pop hybrid smothered in reverb, the vocals swimming through the instrumentation to give a gloriously languid long summer feel, where problems are indistinct things that only carry weight in the distant future.

Sentimental Journey is set for release on the 20th April and you can pre-order it now from the Memorials of Distinction Bandcamp page. There are only 25 cassette available so be quick! For more of Jake Rollins, check out his Bandcamp page.

The post Song Première: Jake Rollins – Figure It Out appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Henoheno – I Made These Songs Before I Moved (REVIEW)
(RIYL: Bedroom pop, Elvis Depressedly, Alex G)

Henry Demos & Lewtrakimou – I Was trying to Get There But it Was Hard to See From the Balloon (REVIEW)
(RIYL: experimental, psychedelic, lo-fi, incredibly cool/nice people <3)

Hermann Doose – Hawaii Was Beautiful
(RIYL: pop, surf rock, ARMS)

High Bloom – Haloed
(RIYL: ambient, electronic pop, Orchid Tapes)

Honeyuck – very tiny songs (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, twee folk, Frankie Cosmos)

Isabel Rex – American Colloquialisms/Two Hexes (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, garage rock, Olive Drab)

The Island of Misfit Toys – I Made You Something
(RIYL: emo, indie folk, hardcore)

Jake Rollins – Spend a Few, Make a Few (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, summer pop, slacker rock)

JANK – Awkward Pop Songs
(RIYL: power pop, emo, Algernon Cadwallader)

Jay Som – Untitled
(RIYL: dream pop, woozy rock, dreaming of summer)

Joplin Rice – Low Hum (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi)

Katie Dey – asdfasdf
(RIYL: bedroom pop, experimental, lo-fi)

The Kickstand Band – In the Sun
(RIYL: indie pop, surf rock, )

Kip McGrath – S/T EP
(RIYL: lo-fi, bubblegum pop, twee)

Kitten Crisis – Have a good summer
(RIYL: pop punk, summer days, Radiator Hospital)

Lady Paw – Long Shadow

(RIYL: dream pop, experimental, Twin Sister)

Laurence – Happy Town
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk)

The Le Sigh – Vol. II (close enough to 2015!)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, compilations packed with goodness, female-identified/non-binary artists)

Letters From Bummer Camp – Vol. 1
(RIYL: punk, Boosegumps/Long Neck/other NJ-indie artists, helping good causes)

Long Neck – Heights (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, Two White Cranes, Cyberbully Mom Club)

Kizzy Hall – one last shame spiral
(RIYL: scrappy rock, basement pop, Coma Cinema)

Mike Pace and the Child Actors – The Flood
(RIYL: box-office music from the 80s/90s, Oxford Collapse)

Miniature Philosopher – Leaving ‘Bula
(RIYL: Paul Baribeau, Nana Grizol, Talons’)

Mini Dresses – FOUR
(RIYL: dream pop, laidback vibes)

The Modern Folk – Surround Me / Leather Jacket (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, DIY, shambling rock n’ roll)

Morning River Band – Abyssal Channeling (REVIEW)
(RIYL: folk, country, bar-room rock)

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: H-M appeared first on Various Small Flames.

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

March has gone and Spring has sprung. If you were too busy trying to top up your vitamin D levels with every weak little sunbeam then fear not, we have collected everything featured on Wake The Deaf in one handy little playlist. Follow the links in the tracklisting to be whisked away to the relevant pages.

We are taking a short break over Easter to gather our thoughts and hopefully return with something shiny and new. No promises just yet but keep an eye here, Twitter or Facebook for developments. Until then!

Tracklisting:

1. i. – Danielle Fricke
2. Dk/Pi – Aero Flynn
3. Summering – Summering
4. Chapter 1 – Human Behavior
5. Dogs 1 – Vio/Miré
6. A Home Just Over Yonder – Frankie Duff
7. M.M.G.A.T.M – Field Medic
8. Broken Necks – Eskimeaux
9. Maybe I’m Wasting My Time – Jake Rollins
10. God is Laughing at Me – Butterfly House
11. Hold Me Like a Child – GOOD, GOOD BLOOD
12. Invisible Cities – Beat Radio
13. Somebody Kill Me Please – LVL UP
14. The Plane – Andrew Hung
15. Roles Reversed – Kid In The Attic
16. Floral Mattress – Naps
17. Tennis – Derek Piotr
18. The Day is Past and Gone – Jean Ritchie
19. The Day is Past and Gone (Variations) – Sarah Louise
20. Buffalo Bones – Wes Tirey
21. Don’t Go – Radical Dads
22. Lucky Man – Joplin Rice
23. Billy Madison Victory Song – Krill
24. Demise – Psalmships

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

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

Boston rocker Jake Rollins first came to our attention on the second volume of 80N7’s super cool compilations. The label are obviously big fans because they have just put out Spend a Few, Make a Few, Rollins’s new album, which is stocked full of catchy lo-fi indie rock, guaranteed to get your feet tapping and head nodding and generally make your day that little bit brighter. You see, Rollins one of our favourite kinds of musician, that is, the kind who makes music because it’s lots and lots of fun, which to me is as good a reason as any to do just about anything. I know this because it is clearly apparent in his songs, you can just tell they were made by a man doing his own thing and enjoying himself.

But trying to cut it as a young indie musician (even one as cool as Rollins) is no walk in the park. Lots of the songs on the album touch upon themes of self-doubt and that general creeping feeling that maybe there is something better you should be doing with your time (an emotion not unfamiliar with small-time music bloggers, trust me). See for example the opening track, ‘Maybe I’m Wasting My Time’, in which he sings, “Trying to make it sound cool, playing the drum out of tune / Why is music so fun? Maybe because I’m so young / Or maybe I’m wasting my time”, and again on ‘Rattle & Hiss’ which includes the line, ‘Do you know how much time I’ve wasted thinking about all the time I’ve wasted?” These emotions are most clearly expressed on ‘All the Good Things’, which slows things down to a slinking swagger as Rollins sings, “I don’t know why I’m sad, all the good things are bad”.

What’s really good about the album is that despite expressing these anxieties, Rollins produces 11 tracks that are lots of fun to listen to and are more likely to cause positive thoughts to come bubbling to the surface. Inadvertently or otherwise, he seems to solve all of his worries as he sings about them. What’s better than carefree rock and roll when you need to see the good in things. The fact is, Rollins hasn’t been wasting his time at all, and all the proof is right here. Try listening as the composed verses veer into a screechy instrumental chorus on ‘Your Voice’, or to the sinuous guitars that open ‘Out of Tune’, and try telling me this isn’t pretty great.

On top of everything else, his timing is impeccable. Spring is finally starting to commence, meaning summer is just around the corner, meaning there will soon be no shortage of warm sunny evenings to drive around with your windows down and forget about the bad things for a while. If you know what’s good for you, your stereo will be blaring Jake Rollins as you go.

You can get Spend a Few, Make a Few via the 80N7 Bandcamp page and can be downloaded for however much you’d like to give. This includes absolutely nothing at all, but for pete’s sake try to spare a few pounds/dollars/magic beans, Jake deserves it.

The post Jake Rollins – Spend a Few, Make a Few appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The album opens with Tomorrow’s Tulips, who provide a slice of effortless Californian uber-cool, a catchy rock song with a loveable slacker vibe and lines like “check me out as I walk down the street / Life’s a drag so I drag my feet / I just stay here, I just drink beer / And check me out the door”. The second track, from Ohio’s Eternally Dizzy, sets a trend of frantic indie rock instrumentation paired with (semi) nonchalant vocals, before Ringo Deathstarr (who’s ‘Big Bopper’ sounds like shoegaze fed through a crunchy alt-rock filter), Dan the Human (who covers sad lyrcis with a veneer of bright and breezy indie rock) and Harley Alexander (no not Rizzle Kicks – who apparently shares the name – but a much cooler guy from Canada who has this smooth soulful swagger and sounds like he keeps his shades on when serenading his audience inside dark and smokey clubs) take to the stage.

Oh there’s also oddball pop from Blessin’, yelpy goodtime rock n’ roll from Joe Bordenaro and a DIY (unrequited) love song from Boy Spit. There’s Kachi Ebiringah with his Eddie Argos-esque (Argosian?) sing-shout, Jake Rollins’ erratic guitar and the ominous deadbeat disinterest of Furnsss. There’s a windows-down summer gem from Dude York, sundrenched surf-rock from Hot Flash Heat Wave, hilarious energy-drink-fuelled teenage rebellion from White Fang and, finally, a restrained, wistful bedroom pop strum-along with DRGN King.

Phew. Deep breaths, that’s it! I’m sure you get the idea. This is compilation jam-packed with goodness (as long as you class DIY indie rock music as goodness – which you should). It’s a testament to the hordes of talented people who are making music any way they can, a celebration of those writing and singing and smashing drums because they feel like it and it’s fun and perhaps makes them and their listeners just that little bit happier. All-American Edition is what music is all about.

You can get it right on a nice-looking casette via the 80N7 bandcamp page.

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