Pulp Music is an album content to do its own thing, to revel in its own ephemerality and to confront the weird world we live in with a sense of sly humour. By embracing the throwaway nature of pop music, Neurotic Fiction forgo society’s relentless and destructive sense of ambition, instead celebrating what they describe as “the strange comfort in admitting we may never really amount to anything.”

Romance has been been described as Neurotic Fiction’s “final exhalation,” which might not bode well for the longevity of the project but certainly charges things with a newfound sense of urgency. Opener ‘Assimilate’ shows this off, the barely two minute run-time encapsulating what you’ll find across the rest of the record. It’s a quick dose of scrappy post-punk—like a lost gem that’s sat on a forgotten mixtape for forty years before being unearthed by a cassette archaeologist, still boasting its rollicking energy and defiant edge.

Wiry synths hold together ‘Mi Mi Mi Mascota’ as it advances in a nocturnal swagger, while ‘Leather, Bristles, Studs, Acne’ sounds breathless and swivel-eyed as it’s bombarded with frantic percussion. But it’s closer ‘Happy Goth’ that’s the standout, adding sparkling surfy vibes to Romance‘s otherwise shadowy post-punk. As the title suggests, it’s a song about a person’s uneasy emergence from gloom, all thanks to another’s altogether sunnier outlook. It’s still twitchy and agitated, but hints that by the end of Romance, Neurotic Fiction may have worked their way past some of those neuroses, or at least become confident enough to accept them for what they are.

I say “life’s to be endured”
You postulate it’s to be enjoyed
It’s a new theorem to me
You’re changing my biology

Romance is out now on Specialist Subject Records and you can get it from the Neurotic Fiction Bandcamp page.

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Tracklisting:

Frog – American
The Phone Booth – Ballad of Indifference
Spielbergs – 4AM
Neurotic Fiction – Collateral
Neighborhood of Make Believe – Track Names
Pizzagirl – body part
Orchid Mantis – porch song
Gorgeous Bully – patience
Reighnbeau – Trading Heat
Troy Everett – Absent
Amparo – Hounds
REW<< – Victoire Impossible
Okay Embrace – Moving
Young Jesus – For Nana
Vender & The Cobras – Everything is Beautiful
The Lostines – Faith in Love
Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover – Little Wind
Rivulets – Everything Goes
Balto – Bullshit Dream
Meat Wave – That’s Alright
Docks – Kiosk
Satanic Ritual Abuse – Hurting (Adjective/Verb)
SATU – Growing Up
Anna Tivel – Fenceline
Madison Turner – Richmond, Virgina
Elly Swope – 6.8
Nathan Ball – All or Nothing
Monarch Mtn – canyon blues
Stripmall Ballads – You Were Good (I Was Good For a While)
Katie Mullins – Crocuses
Lisa/Liza – Tea Kettle
free cake for every creature – shake it out
Katy Kirby – Tap Twice
Lung Cycles – hottest day of the year so far (4pm version)

You can find all of our Monthly Roundup playlists here, and peruse a wider range of mixtapes that we’ve put together over the years.

The post November 2018 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Pulp Music is Neurotic Fiction’s debut album, a record that sees the band take the angular, jerky raw ingredients of 80s post-punk and somehow use them to create infectious pop songs. All that is delivered with an unselfconscious smirk, founded on the idea that, as the title suggests, there’s joy to be found in fun and meaningless art.

Although, upon pressing play, you can’t help but think Neurotic Fiction might be doing themselves a disservice. Clearly a lot of care and attention went into the album, and the hard work in the studio with John Hannon of No Recording has paid off beautifully. Opener ‘Social Animal’ is a great example of the Neurotic Fiction blend of old and new, a patchwork of influences that results in something fresh and distinctive. Lead single ‘Collateral’ is a rush of poppy post-punk goodness, the band wearing their Blondie and the B-52’s influences like badges of honour. Manic drums and guitar are joined by yelled backing vocals, proof that even the catchiest songs on Pulp Music are powered with a turbo-charged punk energy.

Neurotic Fiction have gone through several line-up changes since they began. Both Rosey Brown and Rosie Smith (of Oh Peas) have fronted the band in the past, and probably deserve credit for having a hand in creating some of these songs. But that role is now held by Jessie Pfundner, who brings the added bonus of synths too. Vocals are also provided by guitarist Livi Sinclair and bassist Rory Matthews, while Sean Langdon-Dark provides percussion

There’s a feeling of restraint on ‘Generals’, a song that first appeared as part of Art Is Hard‘s Pin Pal series, that is until around the halfway mark where it hits a little eddy of dynamism, sweeping itself away with razor sharp guitar and stomping percussion. ‘Loose End’ feels light and catchy, but still has those gritty punk undertones, Pfunder’s vocals soft but sardonic, Matthews shouting the track’s title over and over in frustrated yelps during the chorus, signs that no matter how fun the music sounds, all is not well with the world.

“They’re pulling the rug out from under us
And when we’re on the ground they don’t help us up
They tell us we don’t work nearly hard enough
And they know what they’re doing, and they cut and cut
A gulf opens and it weakens our resolve
We watch as what we hold dissolves
Keep a handle, try to keep a focus
While our limbs are being severed from us”

The melodic ‘Blue Slush’ transitions smoothly into ‘Meaning of Lyf’, a lovely garage pop song where the guitar gets almost surfy. The other song from the Art is Hard single, ‘Mediator’ is another slice of jangly and melodic post-punk, which we previously labelled as existing between “between Buzzcocks-style punk and Brit jangle pop,” before the title track gallops to a close, ending in a celebratory shout-along finale.

And celebration is the song’s overriding theme, although not by any conventional standards. There’s a gently triumphant feel to the way that Neurotic Fiction, even in their most punk moments, sidestep nihilism in favour of a sense of inclusive acceptance, and make it perfectly clear they know they’re unlikely to change the world. As Sinclair tells Burn After Writing, ‘Pulp Music’ is a song about “how, by throwing away ambition and delighting in making low-brow, disposable art, it’s possible to find a unique sense of fulfilment.”

Pulp Music is an album content to do its own thing, to revel in its own ephemerality and to confront the weird world we live in with a sense of sly humour. By embracing the throwaway nature of pop music, Neurotic Fiction forgo society’s relentless and destructive sense of ambition, instead celebrating what they describe as “the strange comfort in admitting we may never really amount to anything.” As Sinclair continues in the Burn After Writing feature, “I guess the record concludes that life has to be bearable, and in order for it to be bearable traditional notions of success have to be rejected, that it’s necessary to indulge in purposelessness and meaninglessness at times.”

Pulp Music will be released on the 16th of November, and you can order it now via Specialist Subject Records or the Neurotic Fiction Bandcamp page.

Design and layout by Caio Wheelhouse

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Balto – CA LUV / Born Astray

Portland, Oregon’s Balto are nothing if not busy. Returning from a solo tour of Russia, lead Daniel Sheron has announced the band’s new album will be released next February, and provided two singles to show why we should be excited. ‘CA LUV’ is a peppy folk-pop number with delightfully fluent lyrics, the words following around the fluid bends of the instrumentation with a pleasing trip that will no doubt soundtrack your days once the warmer months return.

If ‘CA LUV’ is made for summer days, then second single ‘Born Astray’ is made for timeless nights, those late hours when regret and alcohol blend into a curious form of joy. Luke Beckel’s vocals capture this perfectly, his soulful croon transitioning to impassioned yells every so often, as though emotions become too urgent to hold in. Get both singles from the Balto Bandcamp page!

Matt Townsend – Came Down From The Mountain

While Matt Townsend has so far peddled solo acoustic music, his forthcoming two-part EP series sees him expand into a wider, more varied sound. Taken from the first EP, The Drifter and the Dream, ‘Come Down From The Mountain’ is folk music that draws upon a number of other elements, with 60s pop, indie rock and orchestral ambient influences all clear and present. You can pre-order the EP now via Bandcamp, and Townsend is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the release, which you can support here.

Tape Deck Mountain – I Will Break U

Tape Deck Mountain is a recording project led by San Diego’s Travis Trevisan, and ‘I Will Break U’ is the title track of their latest EP. With its harsh sound and ominous vocals, the track lurches forwards like some creeping gas-powered giant, various sharp and jagged noises swirling and combining into a dense, monolithic juggernaut that simply demands your attention.  I Will Break U is out now on Semi-Pro Records and is available via Bandcamp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqY1L6-4Pq4

Swim Team – Are You Forgetting Something?

Swim Team are here to remind you 1) it’s summer somewhere in the world, and 2) Melbourne is a hotbed of garage rock talent. As if to drive home the latter fact, the lineup consists of members of other bands, with Krystal Maynard of Bad Vision, Sammy Wass of The Pink Tiles and Esther Sandler of PAPPY joined by TJ Day on drums to create something of a crunchy pop super group. With debut EP, Holiday, due for release on the 6th January, first single ‘Are You Forgetting Something?’ is our appetite whetter, a warm slice of 90s-style pop-rock that’s simultaneously bright and a little sad.

For those of you lucky enough to live in/near Melbourne, Swim Team have a release show pencilled in for the 14th January at The Old Bar.

Andrew Younker – Pink Slip

Taken from his latest EP, Brainchild, new single ‘Pink Slip’ finds Michigan’s Andrew Younker creating dreamy, nostalgic vibes, his vocals peeking through the lush instrumentation with a cool sense of calm. The lyrics themselves are less magical, painting an indistinct, almost surreal scene involving a businessman on the front lawn and hopes of the titular pink slip. Brainchild is available now via Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-can basis.

Neurotic Fiction – Mediator

Following their snap debut EP earlier this year, Bristol/Cardiff/Exeter band Neurotic Fiction are back with new single, ‘Mediator’. Toeing the line between Buzzcocks-style punk and Brit jangle pop the track races along with an insistent yet upbeat energy, making for an urgent and moreish two minutes that place the band firmly on your radar.

The song is half of an AA single (along with ‘Generals’), being released as part of Art Is Hard Records’ Pin Pal Club. Pre-order yours here.

Happyness – Falling Down

This coming Spring will see Happyness follow-up their excellent debut, Weird Little Birthday, with a new record on Moshi Moshi Records. While the album doesn’t yet have a name, it does have a single. ‘Falling Down’ is a slow-building track mixing retro rock and shoegaze, the opening sequence stretching out over the two minute mark before soft-edged vocals complete the atmosphere of gentle melancholic fondness. Keep an eye on Moshi Moshi Records for pre-order info.

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