The compliation is pleasingly varied, offering a wide range of styles, all linked by the (admittedly subjective) ‘weird’ tag. Some of the songs, such as Goose Lake’s ‘Roses Hallowed’ and Bong Sample’s ‘Wintertime, and the Living is Breezay’, are just plain creepy, but there are other ways in which the collection maintains a sense of foreboding. Camembert’s lo-fi garage rock is immediately followed by Forrest McGregor’s vocal driven folk, the succession from scuzzy guitars to gentle acoustic strumming serving to heighten the sense of strangeness. Similarly Taiwan’s lovely summer jam is followed by the perfectly titled ‘Insane’ by Planet Space; You get that bizarre feeling of reluctance or fear upon seeing or hearing something normal out of place. The non-weird tracks become weird as part of the collective whole, that horror movie effect of placing brightness or happiness completely out of context, the way a stalker wearing a grinning clown mask is weird or the way Clockwork Orange’s ‘Singing in the Rain’ scene is weird. This set of songs is “Lynchian”, they get under your skin, sometimes for inexplicable reasons, and you sense that even when being familiar or ‘normal’ they are probably just pretending.

If sinister or unsettling music isn’t your thing, don’t be put off. After all  this is a compilation from 17 artists and each deserves to be taken on their own merit. Yes, the order creates a sense of strangeness but the Taiwan song really is a great chilled out jam and Wand’s ‘Mt. St. Helens’ is a fast-paced, upbeat folk song. You can take away two things from this release: a damn fine album and a whole host of new bands to explore further.

Weird Pop (?) from the Peace Country is available for free at the Peace Country Diaspora Bandcamp page, and be sure to keep an eye on future releases/shows by PCD on their website.

The post Peace Country Diaspora – Weird Pop From The Peace Country appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Also, if you’re lucky enough to be in Alberta this weekend, you have three chances to see Paul play live; one in Edmonton tonight (Friday 22nd Feb) courtesy of Cabin Songs, with Matthew A. Wilkinson, Jom Comyn and The Royal Iguana Fur (who cover Louie Louie here), then twice in Calgary on Saturday and Sunday (23rd and 24th of Feb). Check   Facebook for more info.

P.S. The slightly bizarre cover art was taken by Warren Humeny, check out a blog of his photography here.

The post Paul Stewart – Some Good It Will Come appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Lisa/Liza – Ancient Edge

(RIYL – Psych-Folk, Experiemental, Joanna Newsom, Grouper).

Lost Twin – Birds

(RIYL – Electronic, Glitch, Flying Lotus)

Main Saint – Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery

(RIYL – Folk, Banjos, North America).

;

Marika Hackman – Covers EP

(RIYL – Cover versions, Folk, Acoustic)

Mars Water – Tempest Fugit

(RIYL – Surf Rock, concep albums, pondering the philosophical aspects of time)

Matthew A. Wilkinson – POST NAMERS

(RIYL – Electronic, Experimental, Spirits, Religious ceremonies)

MINING BOOM – Dining Room

(RIYL: Garage rock, Girls, Sundelles)

Molly Little – Demos

(RIYL – Acoustic, Laura Marling, Marissa Nadler)

Mt. Judge – Not Always

(RIYL – Ambient, Soundtrack, Birdsong)

Nap Eyes – Four More Songs

(RIYL – Indie rock, The Velvet Underground, Guided By Voices, Pavement)

The Novel Ideas – Home

(RIYL: Americana, Hey Marseilles, Magic Man)

Observer Drift – Corridors

(RIYL – Chillwave, Dream pop, Wild Nothing, Small Black)

Of Architects – Railroad Earth/Don’t Try

(RIYL – Lo-fi, Rock, The Midwest)

OUTTACONTROLLER – Don’t Play Dumb

(RIYL – Pop Punk, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones)

The post Favourite Free Music of 2012 (L – O) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

“People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order, so they’ll have good voice boxes in case there’s ever anything really meaningful to say.”

Tracklisting:

1. One – La Dispute

2. Bosnia – Prairies

3. Apex Of Excitement – Ethan M.

4. Giant Zero – Arrange

5. Most Of Us Are Maniacs Through Which The Universe Is Looking At Itself – Bewildered Hallelujah

6. Greywolf – USF

7. Dream. – of Architects

8. Her Favourite Song – Birkwin Jersey

9. Thin City – Matthew A. Wilkinson

10. Witch Dream – Dustin Wong

11. Waterpunches – PhaRo

12. I Felt Like I Understood It – Stupid Loser

13. I Saw A Body Floating Above Jerusalem – Cuddle Formation

14. Phthalo Blue – Lone

15. Black Hole – Man Meets Bear

16. Robot 30931 Feel Existential Despair – Neat Beats

17. Mrs Morris – Charles Spearin

18. Light At The End Of The Tunnel – Cloud Cult

19. Like Totally – Gold Panda

20. Have You Passed Through This Night? – Explosions In The Sky

As usual this mix is meant as a small taster, go out and support the bands by buying music and going to shows.

The post Keeping The Voice Box In Working Order: A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.