“I have carried this music inside me, like a dream, since I was fourteen years old. For twenty-four years, I struggled and failed to bring it to life, until one night I woke from a literal dream. In that dream, I dreamt of a stained glass spider. It was crawling all over the walls of my darkened bedroom. It illuminated everything it touched with a technicolor web. The room was translucent and magical. I stood in the dream, marveling, and thought to myself that we all have the right to do what this spider is doing. We all have the right to weave our own creative web. When I woke from that dream, I shook my wife awake and told her, ‘Honey, The Spider and the Spectator, it’s real.’ That moment of acknowledgment, and my embrace of the irrational, became the seed of transformation for both myself and the trio.”

With this newfound inspiration, Munkus and Co. set out to actively work against convention and tradition, operating according to no constraints—be that in terms of theme, style, time frames or any other boundaries. “The idea was to do everything in the ‘wrong’ way,” Munkus explains. For five years he did just that, experimenting with a host of instruments and technologies and allowing Sommerlad and Epp to do likewise, so that the act came to resemble not so much a band but an avant garde collaboration where any curiosity could be followed and developed. The result was a full-length album, The Spider and the Spectator.

We’re delighted to share the first single and title track ahead of the record’s release in April. Opening with discordant drum machines, the song falls into a frantic rhythm, the shared vocals surrendering to the flow and motion. Various guitar lines and loops arc across this canvas, the vocals entwining and overlapping into a network of words and phrases, taking on an almost ritualistic edge—distinct energies collected and combined, then offered toward some higher purpose.

The Spider and the Spectator will be released on Subtle Soup Records on the 20th April, so keep an eye on their website. Also, visit the Old Robes website for more information, and the band have a Bandcamp page where you can find their previous release.

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Two Channels and a Choir of Angels is one of two lost albums that were released by Sioux Trails Records for Net Label Day, and finds the pair making music that is noisy and lo-fi and wonderfully their own. Opener ‘I’ is a blown-out speaker jam, buried at the bottom of a murky barrel of lo-fi distortion. The track breaks the eight minute barrier, eventually gathering into a rollicking rock & roll song, smudged beyond recognition.

Five seconds into ‘II’ it becomes apparent that the whole album is going to follow a similar pattern, music intended to destroy your eardrums or your neighbours’ mental health. Fittingly, the Sioux Trails Records Bandcamp page recommends you “listen loud for best results”, and it’s clear that the sheer physical nature of its vibrations is almost as important as how your brain makes sense of them as sound.

And there really is no let-up. The album rumbles and clatters, occasionally ripping with these big bluesy guitar licks. The discordant squall of ‘IV’ coughs and splutters and rattles across its six minute run-time, before the fifth and final track (which is actually the most reserved cut on the album) brings ramshackle percussion and reverberating guitar. The final 15 seconds lurch in a completely different direction, a choir of perhaps-heavenly voices, but after the bruising that you ears have been through, and with the creepy sepia-tinged gazes on the album art, it sounds as ominous as a 3am phonecall.

You can get Two Channels and a Choir of Angels on a name-your-price from the Sioux Trails Records Bandcamp page. Be sure to check out the other Slenko & McKeys album, the perfectly titled Apparitions (Louder Than Whatever Shit You Listen To) on Bandcamp too!

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“The album takes the formula of Stewart’s previous releases and stretches it panoramic, bedroom pop on a mountainous scale, a departure from his norms in all the right ways. The band build dense layers of guitar which, paired with rumbling bass and crashing drums, create something imposing, a monolith rising through the fog.”

The great news is that the full album has now been released, and the promise saw at the start of the year has been realised. Eight songs of dense indie rock which borrow as much from the cathartic peaks of post-rock as they do from the slow and spectral sound we’ve come to associate with Stewart. We begin with ‘In Linear’, with it’s slow and considered start, all open spaces and dark winding guitars and Stewart’s signature vocals. The “choruses” spike with heavier instrumentation, our first taste of the album’s post-rock tendencies, while the gentler verses are full of lines like:

“You always cover the receiver with your hand
why don’t you want them to listen
why don’t you want them to understand?”

‘LAFK’ opens with almost martial drumbeat before the advent of inky and slinky guitars, eventually blooming into a track which fuses a sheer rock passion with emotive vocals and reflective air of something else entirely, bringing to mind earlier Winterlseep releases and particular the music of Brian Borcherdt’s Dusted project. The song is punctuated by moments of almost pure silence, where the only sound is the receding reverb of the previous burst of instrumentation, a sound you can’t be sure doesn’t exist only in your inner ear. Eventually things build to a pinnacle, ending in a furious cacophony of pounding percussion and squealing guitars. ‘Careful Creators’ gathers itself and then comes crashing to life, the vocals sad and oddly serene, floating in during the intervals between the noise (“To be alive is to be alone”).

The title track is a patient and vaguely ominous song, guitars rolling in like surf on an abandoned shore, while ‘x’ shakes things up with its shimmering, shifting ambience, like ice crystals gliding through the great black expanse of outer space. A discordant clang announces the arrival of ‘Temporary Widow’, which has shades of Explosions in the Sky, epic crests of feedback and pummelled drums surrounding the soaring vocals like a big staticky storm cloud. ‘Concrete Plans’ marches out of a drone that sounds like some kind of cosmic wind, the drums holding a rhythm that feels almost heavy rock.

“Under someone else’s concrete plans
you’re not even a name
or the print of your own hand
you become so dependent”

Finale ‘Words’ is epic and reverberating, stretching over the nine minute mark and enduring all manner of tumult in its duration. It converges into perhaps the heaviest maelstrom on the entire album, before descending into a lull at the very finish, just sparse guitar and Stewart’s vocals, like the strange glowing hush in aftermath of a tempest.

“It’s alright if your words
don’t come as easily to you
if everything is overheard
maybe they’re not supposed to”

This is an album that has it all. It’s pretty easy to turn to cloying metaphors to describe the sense of vast space it conjures, the poignancy or Stewart’s vocals, the pure tangible noise that the band can summon. It takes a little bit of everything and melts them down into something that’s quite unique. Something that is quite distinctly Summering.

You can get Summering now via the Summering Bandcamp page.

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Ahead of said release, the band have unveiled the first single, ‘Tired’. The song captures pretty much everything that’s great about 80N7 releases, ramshackle rock accompanied with the forced indifference of cool youth. That said, Captain Samurai break the illusion of hipness by revving themselves past apathy, the song building into a cacophonous, angsty catharsis where instruments are pounded and Diaz howls with his heart on his sleeve. Take that, fashionable detachment!

Hey Thanks Goodbye will be released by 80N7 in November and you can pre-order it via their bandcamp page. And why not check out the band’s previous music while you wait?

Photo by Albert Gonzalez, art by Amador Diaz

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Okay, here’s a second chance. Fox Food Records is preparing to release the début album from Sweden’s Fanpage (the solo project of Elsa Kristina Sundin), whose first EP Trip was very much up our alley. In fact we described it as:

[A combination of] DIY bedroom poppers’ lyrical style with a punky delivery and shoegazy soundscapes… the whole thing a few clicks too slow… an atmospheric release that is at once both sad and slightly creepy, with the angsty croon and eerie languidity of the Julee Cruise stuff on Twin Peaks

LYA consists of twelve songs which the press releases describes as “small pieces of life, floating in a river. Absorbing mud, iron, colour” which are “finally pulled together, processed and formed into being”. So far only two of these songs are available, but this coalescence is abundantly clear. First up is ‘Rain Days For Bad Songs’, an off-kilter electro pop song just managing to keep it’s head above a swirling noise, like a radio hit from your favourite recurring dream.

“Oh I got a splinter in my heart
I’ve got something to keep me occupied”

The second track, ‘Y U’, is similar in its combination of pop and noise but ups the ante in terms of weirdness, with some unnerving backing vocals/moans which play like the shrieks of an wounded demon or troubled mind. The result is something both unpleasant and alluring, like a dark secret you know you should avoid but can’t help but seek. Think the strangest parts of the new Oh, Rose record if the garage rock was switched out for atmospheric dream pop.

If that isn’t quite exciting enough, the album will be released on some rather special tapes. As the cryptic description reads:

Designed and created by Swedish artist Alexander Wirren the tapes and the accompanying artwork will be processed by nature, each one with it’s own form and tale of life to tell.

It looks like Fox Food Records are taking the tape game up a notch. Pre-order one now via Bandcamp ahead of release on the 1st October.

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July sees the release of Yellow Roses, a recording which sees the band include Dave Lackner, Alex Tatusian (who also designed the artwork), Jake Nussbaum, Alex Lewis, Rose Blanshei, Katie Von Schleicher and Nico Hedley. If Seretan’s desires for the songs (as outlined on Bandcamp) are anything to go by, Yellow Roses is going to up the ante on his previous work:

“I wanted these recordings to sound huge. I wanted them to sound massive, gravitational, full of a swirling largeness that could eat up large portions of iTunes libraries. I wanted them to make the listener feel bigger and more full of color… I wanted them to sound like there are still things out in the world that could take your breath away, that are worth 8 hours of driving, that are unable to be effectively photographed or posted about on the Internet. I wanted them to sound like they would never end”

Sound good? You can get a sneak peak of what to expect below:

Yellow Roses will be released on the 3rd of July. You can pre-order it now over at the Death Rehearsal Tapes Bandcamp page.

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“The work that Casa Ruby is doing for their community is both inspiring and needed. We’re very appreciative of what the work of Ruby Jade Corado and her organization has done for countless LGBTQ+ youth and adults and hope that this compilation is representative of that appreciation from not just us but the community at large from all across world, and hope that, in some way, it will serve as a reminder that, no matter what, no matter who you are, you are not alone, you have an entire community of people behind you, supporting you, every step of the way.”

The compilation features 24 songs from an array of artists, including some we have written about (Adult Mom, Ricky Eat Acid, Unraveler etc.) and some we will probably be writing about in the future. Discovering new music while supporting a very worthy cause sounds like a win-win all round in our book.

You can buy the compilation now on a pay-what-you-can basis via Bandcamp.

P.S. There has a bit of controversy surrounding the inclusion of certain artists, and Garza has addressed this in a statement now available on Funeral Sounds. She also welcomes people to email her should they wish to discuss the issue.

The post Funeral Sounds Presents: a Compilation for Casa Ruby appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Slows Down is the recording name of Alexander Hawthorne, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist from London who has just released his self-titled debut EP. He describes his music as, “between minimalist, melancholy chamber pop and dense, menacing psychedelic noise rock”. The record was written during Hawthorne’s travels in India and the USA and, quite incredibly considering the lush and layered sound, is an entirely solo effort. Taking inspiration from a wide range of luminaries including Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Radiohead, he uses a diversity of techniques, from humming, moaning drones to spiky, cathartic crescendos and a dash of psychedelic hypnotism. But despite the expansive instrumentation,things never stray too far from the refined, minimalist values, the glowing core at the centre of all the tumult and noise.

Opener ‘The Blues Easing’ kicks things off to a slightly ominous start, with stark guitars and a steady thudding drum beat and a haunting atmosphere snaking around everything. The music is backed by Alexander’s intimately mumbled vocals, sounding at once both sad and slightly dangerous. Next is ‘On The Street’, a meandering slow build of a track which eventually explodes into bright shining life in the last minute. ‘In My Room’ has an almost spaghetti western feel, with a militaristic drum beat and dramatic swells of instrumentation. Hawthorne cites Middle Eastern classical music as an influence and perhaps that is what comes to the fore here? On this track especially it is amazing to think that this is the effort of just one man, and I am interested to hear how these songs sound when Alexander puts together a full band to play live later this year. The EP closes with ‘The Way Down Leering’, over seven minutes of menacing post-rock-meets-lo-fi rock, something along lines of The Twilight Sad meets Liars, complete with subdued deadpan vocals and an airy, hushed lull of near-silence except the twinkling of a xylophone.

You can buy Slows Down EP on 12″ vinyl or as a pay-what-you-want download via the Slows Down Bandcamp page.

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“When my grandmother died several years ago my dad came into my room in the morning and sat at my bedside. he woke me and told me he had to fly out to mexico for the funeral. he told me i had to take care of the dogs. when he left the room i started crying—not because my grandmother had passed away, but because i was overwhelmed, in that moment, by the prospect of taking care of the dogs. this was probably my first encounter with loss since my first dog, jazzy, died. after i cried i was frustrated because i knew i had cried for the wrong reasons. i didn’t mourn right.”

The piece continues through various tales of grief, expanding on Jazzy the dog and musing about why cemeteries are so grim and unpleasant, before ending with:

“h*ckhound is a skeleton dog that appears in my room every night at the witching hour. it runs in circles on my bed, chasing its tail, and when i try to hold it in my arms it crumbles into dust.”

The piece is obviously linked to the album thematically (songs include ‘Dig My Bones’ and ‘Dog Burial Theme’) but the reason I’m mentioning it now is that is represents the record in another way. The writing is strange and concise, moving quickly from one event to another and not overly bothered if you the listener can keep up. As an album, H*ckhound is the exact same way. We go from the ear-bleeding, throat-shredding ‘Vomiting Multitude’ to the loved-up pop-punk promise of ‘Terminal Knuckleheads’ and then the pensive strum-along of ‘This is the New Home’. ‘Strange November’ is a laid back garage jam and ‘Stylites’ accelerates back up to 100mph before the unexpected but lovely ambience of ‘Dog Burial Theme’.

H*ckhound plays like the anxious survivor of some tragedy, troubled but sincere, full of love to give and lose and so desperate to prove it he drags you along by the arm and pleads into your ear in a constant flow. It’s as if some mad scientist forced The Replacements, Black Lips, Weezer and God knows who else into a blender and set the resulting gloop in bone-shaped jelly moulds. 

You can get the album now on a pay-what-you-can basis via Bandcamp or on cassette from King Pizza Records.

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[Disclaimer: I say this every year, but only because it’s important] Thanks to the generosity of these wonderful artists and indie labels, you can get all of these releases for free if you wish, but there is often the option to make a financial donation. For those of you that can afford it, a few pounds/dollars to reward all the hard work that goes into making a record seems like a fair deal. Plus, it really is a win-win situation as most of these independent bands put the funds they raise towards touring or making new music. So if you like an artist’s music, give a little something and they’ll make even more music for you to listen to, or even come to your town/city and play it for you in person.

That said, we know times are tough and albums many. Remember, money isn’t the only way to reward someone. If you like an artist and can’t afford to give them some money, why not write to them? Send an email or a tweet or whatever you can to say that what they’re doing makes you happy or sad (in a good way) and thank them very much for being so lovely/amazing. Better yet, spread the word too. Tell family and friends and strangers about them. It doesn’t take five minutes to write a nice message or share an album and you can really make someone’s day. Remember it feels really good to make someone else feel good – kindness makes the world go round after all.

We will be posting part of the list each day this week. As in previous editions, the music has been alphabetized by artist. In an attempt to reduce loading times and technical issues, we have decide against embedding a track from each release. But fear not, each post will include an 8tracks mixtape with a song from each artist, so all you need to do is press play and see what takes your fancy.

If you are an artist who makes great free music, or fan of an artist who you think should be included, why not get in touch? Perhaps we will decide to feature your music in the new year.

Part one – A – D
Part two – E – H
Part three – I – M
Part four – N – R
Part five – S – Z

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