The shape-shifting nature of the lineup might account for the Manatree sound too, with elements of indie and math rock fleshed out by polished pop tones in the mould of Sylvan Esso and even more experimental electronic artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never. As such, the band manage to be both fun and energetic without sacrificing complexity, forming a distinctive aesthetic that proves accessible yet surprisingly deep.

After the self-titled album that was released in 2015, this July saw Manatree put out their sophomore record, Engines. The album displays the full range of Manatree’s influences, ranging from the frenetic math-inspired ‘Fragments’ to the restrained emotion of the title track, which is based far more within the folk realm. Which is to say nothing of the loose confidence of rock songs ‘Too Close to the Fire’ and ‘Backwards’, the almost acapella ‘Staying Up’ or grand dream pop of opener ‘Brushfire’ and its closing reprise.

We’re happy to share a brand new video for ‘Brushfire’. Directed and produced by Henry Sho Kellam (Mikan Media) and starring Anna Chah, the video plays on the rising ambiance of the song, the bright hopeful notes of the opening matched with the dawning of a new day. The lyrical side of the track tends toward a contemplative mood that borders on mournful, though the instrumentation and video both utilize this toward a more mindful and affirming end, a shedding of complications and human folly, fleeing the ordered noise of civilization in favour of a return to a wilder peace.

Engines is out now and you can get it now from the Manatree Bandcamp page.

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The band’s second album, Internet Connection came to life slowly, starting out as a split single back in 2016 when the pair were themselves split between northern and southern California. In the intervening time, Kiebach graduated college and moved back south, and they set to re-recording the songs with added maturity and post-college perspective, and the album was gradually born. As suggested above, the record toes the line between emotional connection and energetic release, the cathartic tempo matched by an earnest simplicity that seems sensitive to the difficulties of young adult life. Though the tenderness could sometimes be described as twee, the writing is clever and intelligent enough to avoid any accusations mawkishness, and tracks such as ‘Internet Animal Celebrity’ push through into a fully surreal territory (“I wish I was an internet animal celebrity” being the only, oft-repeated line in the song).

Opener ‘Dog Body’ offers the first taste of the vulnerability Kiebach presents in his writing, pushing the uniquely naive purity of one’s relationship with their pet in a way that brings to mind Jon Raymond’s Wendy and Lucy. “I miss my dog,” he sings, in a way that has you believing every word. “Hope someone takes him on a walk / We’ll walk into the San Francisco fog.” ‘Everything’s Cool’ offers a picture just as innocent, the lyrics painting a friendship whose depth is left unsaid in the way of the strongest bonds, while ‘I Hit a Car’ switches to a kind of drifting loneliness, where isolation approaches like a far-off storm, though one too vast to outrun.

“The forth of July
Friends getting high
I’m alone my room
Red solo cups and cigarettes
I think that I’m kind of a mess
I guess that’s just what I’m going to do

If I can’t hang out with you”

‘Re: Nervousness’ pares things down, returning to simplicity in the hope of finding peace, while ‘Hospital Gown’ operates according to the same kind of ideal. Finding a loved one ill and confined to bed, the track focuses on the small details of the moment rather than the wider implications, allowing for a quietly devastating exploration of fear and grief where no grand answers are available, but small kindnesses carry the highest of value.

A similar relationship is found on ‘Everything’s Alright’, where outside forces (and some internal ones too) conspire to make life difficult, and platitudes are held as the last defence. “Your house is ninety-five degrees,” Kiebach sings, “I just get so anxious,” and there is nothing to say or do about it beside the most obvious attempts at comfort. “And when you’re feeling kind of down you’ll say / Everything’s alright.” ‘Skin Topography’ follows the anxiety further: the nausea and agoraphobic terror, the guilt and embarrassment, the desperate need to move on and the failed communication that makes it so difficult to do so.

“So take my hands and try to read skin topography
Fucked up over these palms
Tattoo these lines back into curves
Don’t care if it hurts
I’m done feeling like this

Can’t tell you what’s been going on
Can’t tell you anything
You think too much”

So, while the music of Talk, Tired Thanatoid might appear twee, below the surface lies something far deeper and more valuable. Indeed, the playful dimension is intrinsic to the exploration of things, allowing the band to touch upon themes such as loss and mental suffering with subtly and humanity. But also, it is the very thing we turn to when faced with such issues. Sometimes, no amount of big-scale advice or philosophising can help. Sometimes, it is the small acts of compassion and generosity that count.

Internet Connection is out now and you can get it digitally from the Talk, Tired Thanatoid Bandcamp or on cassette via Pacific Nature Records.

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Admissions of weakness and misery paradoxically suggesting bravery or strength in a weak-to-be-strong sort of way. The whole thing is admirable and relatable and impressively moving, holding a flame to the inherent confusion and grief of being young in the twenty-first century.

Hansford is back with a new track, ‘Open Casket Hidden Meaning’. The song, inspired by the first open casket funeral he attended as a child, as well as the death of his first dog, Noah. As you might expect, the sound is sad and remorseful in a child-like sort of way, the existential anxiety of adults not yet formed so that his grief can occupy a pure, selfless sort of level.

“It’s my fault I don’t believe,
don’t waste time in saving me.”

You can listen to the song now thanks to the good folks over at Indoors Outdoors.

Be sure to grab your copy of Deeply Flawed over on Bandcamp. If tapes are your thing then you can grab one at a show, or I believe you can get in touch which Hansford personally to strike a deal.

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We first came across ACAB Rocky through their split with Kneedlez (a release we featured on our Favourite Free Music of 2014 list), and now the Victoria trio are back with a release on Michigan’s Hacktivism Records.

Truce sounds like a real progression from their previous releases, with a lush mix of lo-fi shoegaze, indie pop and 90s emo creating tracks filled with riffs and vocal hooks. Opener ‘Matches’ plays like The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart fed through a math-y filter, with the refrain “I don’t know what you’re up to or up against” proving maddeningly catchy. ‘Nursery’ slows things down, opening with some admirable guitar work and developing into a laid-back song that dips a toe into psychedelic waters, before ‘Stella’, my current favourite, returns to the pop/shoegaze sound of ‘Matches’. ‘Stella’ typifies everything that makes Truce a success, a summer evening of a track, relaxed and slow and gilded with fading light, sad in a nostalgic sort of way.

This trend is continued across ‘Jane’, fuzzed-out synths providing a more immediate atmosphere, and ‘Backwoods’, where the drums become a little more ramshackle and free, straying toward garage rock territory. This all changes for closing track ‘Don’, the most minimalist on the EP, the focus on guitar and vocals bringing to mind the title tracks from last year’s album Sara.

Truce sounds like the sort of EP you will want to play as darkness falls in the warmer months, just sad enough to satisfy that weird sort of comfortable melancholy that descends with the summer sun. You can grab it now via the Hacktivism Bandcamp page, including on a rather lovely purple cassette.

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Wayne Szalinski are actually a band (who are presumably fans of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids). They have spent the last few years carving out a career in Michigan, with two well-received EPs and plenty of sold-out shows acting as a timely sign that an LP is called for. Black Mirror is that record, a “neo-noir” album that “struggles with masculinity/identity, entangled sexuality and violence, and questions why we love at all.” That might sound rather deep and gloomy, but, while the subject matter is serious, the sound is strangely uplifting, danceable in a tortured, melodramatic sort of way. 

In some ways, using ‘melodramatic’ to describe the things explored through this album feels unsuitable, as the question of identity (be it sexuality or otherwise) is inherently personal and therefore intimate and raw. In other words, the question of identity (that is, what makes you YOU) is always going to be something that sounds at least partly melodramatic when confronted in art. Here however, the tag is entirely fair and justified (in a positive context). As the neo-noir tag suggests, Black Mirror is a stylized, visceral and amplified portrayal of inner-turmoil/torment faced by people whose identity does not fit with the socially accepted norms, taking what is a common and everyday pain and making it dark and weird and uneasy. Takes ‘Bandages’ as an example:

“You’d look prettier dead
so i’ll take you by the hand and direct you to the bed
you’ll strain your lungs into the pillow crying
no no no.

After it is done, I can see the stains on your teeth
and the sides of your face seem to lack all symmetry
I will forgive and never forget,
I won’t deny my philosophy’s amiss
these words are poison delivered through the lips
stating it simply: ignorance is bliss.”

Aside from all of these details, Black Mirror is also a solid slice of math rock/pop, mixing the dark introspection of The Smiths or Jeff Buckley’s Grace with the British indie bands that popped up when emo-revival hit the indie scene on these shores (This Town Needs Guns, Meet Me in St. Louis, Hot Club De Paris etc.). So it’s up to you: either take it superficially and have a good dance or listen closely and explore it’s murky centre.

You can buy Black Mirror from their Bandcamp page.

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I don’t know a whole lot more about them apart from the fact that they have an EP coming out, Four Priests, and you can hear the songs on their Soundcloud page. Also BSM are giving away a 6 track smapler featuring the title track of the EP along with a new Kevin Devine song amongst others. Download it here.

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