Self-described “depression pop band” bathtub cig are an outfit who live up to their name. A project which looks to evoke those private moments of contemplation and small comforts, be they born of wallowing or self-care. Latest single ‘Red Pine’ sees lead Hilary James joined by Skyler Nowinski (bass), Dave Power (drums) and Hannah Hebl (keys) to bring to life one such situation with a mix of indie rock rhythm and bedroom pop tenderness, and culminates in an affirming chorus to match the bright joy of a queer relationship.

The Fourth Wall – Darkness Of Heart

Back in November we previewed Return Forever, the forthcoming album by The Fourth Wall, with single ‘Never a Part’ introducing a record which sees songwriter Stephen Agustin delve deep into the immigrant experience to reveal the difficulties and complications therein. “An attempt to weigh the cost of such an action against what is gained to come to a better understanding of the traumas buried within the process,” as we put it. “What must be given away to make a new start possible?” As the title suggests, latest single ‘Darkness of Heart’ flips the pattern of Conrad’s novella to present a non-Western protagonist’s journey deep into the so-called ‘civilised’ world, only to see the truth behind the illusion of the American Dream. The horror, the horror, indeed. Watch the video by director/cinematographer Maura Campbell-Shun below:

Return Forever will be released later this year via DevilDuck Records.

 Linn Koch-Emmery – Ebay Armour

Built on propulsive percussion and vulnerable but confident vocals, ‘Ebay Armour’ is the new single from Swedish artist Linn Koch-Emmery. The first glimpse of a forthcoming LP due this spring, the song is a widescreen slice of indie rock that seems destined for big things with its blend of contemplative songwriting and visceral instrumentation. “This song is about a person close to me, that I never really figured out.” says Koch-Emmery. “Trauma and grief has its own illogical ways. Sometimes we cope with it through substances, others by buying a life sized armour off the internet.”

‘Ebay Armour’ is out now and available via streaming services and the Linn Koch-Emmery Bandcamp page.

Little Champion – Like the Earth is Flat

The most recent project of Asheville, North Carolina songwriter Dustin Goldklang, Little Champion draws on a wide range of influences to shape its distinctive earnest style—from the PNW indie scene to New York anti-folk. What results are songs able to exist with both hearts on sleeves and tongues in cheeks, as latest single ‘Like the Earth is Flat’ attests. Taken from the upcoming Little Champion LP Curiosity, the song braids life’s banalities and joys into a seamless thread, searching for peace in a world burning up, caving in, and always trying to sell you something.

I could use a heart attack like the earth is flat
So calm me down
Say it’s okay
Let me go

The Problem With Kids Today – All I Wanna Be

Based in New Haven, Connecticut, The Problem With Kids Today are a trio of “rock and roll delinquents” who make songs that hark back to vintage punk and power pop, with elements of several varieties of pop thrown in for good measure. At the end of the week The Problem With Kids Today will release a new album, Born To Rock, which as its title suggests is chock full of vigorous devil-may-care punk songs. The final single before the record’s release, ‘All I Wanna Be’ sees the band weave some eighties jangle pop influences into their scrappy punk style, taking the foot off the accelerator compared to some of the record’s other tracks, but losing none of the buoyant infectiousness.

Born to Rock will be released this coming Friday and you can order it now from the The Problem With Kids Today Bandcamp page.

SAVAK – Will Get Fooled Again

Next month, Brooklyn post punks SAVAK will release Flavors of Paradise via Ernest Jenning Record Co. and Peculiar Works. Following previous single ‘Leash Biter’, which we said “shows off the brooding swagger and bite of the SAVAK sound, simmering around a taut rhythm and gradually coming to a boil,” the band have unveiled a new single, ‘Will Get Fooled Again’. “There’s always a dude who thinks he’s smarter and better than everyone else,” says joint-lead Michael Jaworski. “Thankfully most people [can] recognize the insecurity behind the charade. This song addresses that insecurity.” It somehow sounds simultaneously catchy and burnt out, adding a sober tinge of anxious melancholy to SAVAK’s usual dynamic post punk. Watch Paul Heck-directed video below:

Flavors of Paradise is due for release on 1st March via Ernest Jenning Record Co. and Peculiar Works. Pre-order it now from the SAVAK Bandcamp page.

Speedy Ortiz – Ranch vs. Ranch

Last year, we featured several songs from Rabbit Rabbit, the latest album from Speedy Ortiz on Wax Nine Records, with tracks like ‘Scabs‘ and ‘Ghostwriter‘ showing a band at the height of their game. Caustic and empathetic, crushing and affirming, the album had it all, but one perhaps understated feature of the Speedy Ortiz sound is how much fun it possesses. New single ‘Ranch vs. Ranch’ is a celebration of this side of the band, with a video capturing their time in the studio as what feels like a celebration of what the project represents. “Two years ago easily feels like ten to me now, and watching the footage feels like finding a time capsule full of lost gems,” Molholt explains. “It’s a warm reminder of how much fun we had making Rabbit Rabbit, and of how integral the two eponymous ranches—Rancho de la Luna and Sonic Ranch—were to this record.”

Rabbit Rabbit is out now via Wax Nine Records and you can get it from Bandcamp.

Split System – The Drain

Naarm punks Split System return at the end of the week with Vol. 2, their second full-length record of back-to-basics raucous fun. Released across the globe by Legless Records (Australia), Goner Records (USA) and Drunken Sailor (UK/EU), Vol. 2. promises to find a typically Aussie blend of blistering punk and good-time classic rock, what the liner notes describe as “all hooks and glory, all the time.” Third single ‘The Drain’ is a great entrance point for the uninitiated, spiky and infectious with a chorus that seems destined to inspire a thousand beer-soaked yell-alongs. Watch Ben Ulitzka Portnoy’s video below:

Vol. 2 is out this coming Friday and is available to pre-order from the Split System Bandcamp page.

Work Wife – Strangers

Based in Brooklyn, Work Wife is the indie rock project of Meredith Lampe, Cody Edgerly and Kenny Monroe. In April, Work Wife will release Waste Management, a new EP via Philly label Born Losers Records. The follow-up to 2022 debut Quitting Season, the band say the record is about “living in New York, watching the world change rapidly and feeling like you should too, wandering in and out of friendships and relationships and locations and moments.” Lead single ‘Strangers’ is the perfect introduction, a warm and introspective song of trying to find yourself in the vast bustle of the city amidst its noise and countless strangers. It builds across its almost three-minute runtime, ending in a thumping singalong finale. Watch the soothingly minimal video below:

Waste Management will be released on 12th April via Born Losers Records. Pre-order it now from the Work Wife Bandcamp page.

The post Weekly Listening: February 2024 #1 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Back in 2023, North Carolina post-punk/dream pop outfit Cor de Lux released Media, an album which channelled the uncertainty of the present and attempted to turn its energies into something more constructive. Single ‘Rumors’ came complete with an animated video created by Matt Smithson which further delved into these themes, matching the song’s story of losing a friend with a picture that captures the folly behind so many human interactions. “The video is a super abstract story of some amoeba/single cell things emerging, becoming sentient, trading ideas, fighting about their ideas,” the band explain, “until there is nothing left: no color, just rage until it all implodes at the end.”

Media is out now and available from Bandcamp.

Cordelia Gartside – December

Based in Hastings, Cordelia Gartside is a singer-songwriter who uses a mix of indie folk and rock sensibilities as a vehicle for delivering succinct and emotionally charged vignettes. Centring on  what she describes “spinning out in December when the light goes and time’s weird and it’s hard to know how you feel about anything,” latest single ‘December’ is the ideal introduction to her narrative-driven work. A track hushed in tone but winding taut with feeling, capturing the volatility of one’s internal weather when the outside world presses in a little too heavily.

Crying at commercials, I know
I should try to be discerning with
My emotions
Don’t know how I’m feeling
December it’s me again

Ground Loops – Get It Right

“The lasting impression is that of organic development,” we wrote of Ground Loops‘ self-titled debut release via Rue Defense back in 2020, “the various components reaching out in all directions and meshing with those around it, knitting together to form a dense and textured sound.” Follow-up EP When A Stoppable Force Meets A Movable Object sees TC Brownell (Wild Pink, Dead Painters) channel his new surroundings of the Pacific Northwest to offer a freshly verdant edge to the sound, as opener and single ‘Get It Right’ attests. A song which exists within the landscape’s foggy breath without sacrificing the level of detail Brownell’s precision and patience creates.

My Best Unbeaten Brother – Slayer on a Sunny Day

With Ben Fry joining Ben and Adam Parker, who you might now from Audio Antihero favourites Nosferatu D2, The Superman Revenge Squad Band and Tempertwig, My Best Unbeaten Brother is the latest project to rise out of Croydon swinging. This year will see the band unveil their debut EP, and for now we have the non-album track ‘Slayer on a Sunny Day’ by way of introduction. First appearing on Joyzine’s 20 Years of Joy compilation, the song channels the wry contradiction of its title, pairing a racing momentum with droll delivery in an attempt to look on the bright side and make the best of the present moment, no matter how difficult outside forces conspire to make such a mindset. As Parker sings: ‘The apocalypse can wait until tomorrow.”

‘Slayer on a Sunny Day’ is out now via Audio Antihero.

Routine Caffeine – In The End Now

Louisville, Kentucky‘s Routine Caffeine are prepping a new EP for release in 2024, and latest single ‘In The End Now’ offers a glimpse at the band’s penchant for rich, bittersweet soundscapes. Rising from careful beginnings, the song explores the benefits and pitfalls of holding your tongue within a relationship, and if the quiet tiptoeing of the opening suggests a certain hesitance to raise difficult topics, the track soon gathers conviction as the momentum builds and tips into a cathartic back half. Speaking the truth might cause things to unravel, but sometimes change requires a few things to be broken in order to precipitate.

SAVAK – Leash Biter

Brooklyn post-punk outfit SAVAK come from strong musical stock. Founded by Sohrab Habibion (Obits, Edsel) and Michael Jaworski (The Cops, Virgin Islands), the band features Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck, Enon) on drums and welcomes Jeff Gensterblum (Small Brown Bike, Her Heads On Fire) and Matt Hunter (New Radiant Storm King, Silver Jews) for live performances. New full-length Flavors Of Paradise utilises every inch of this collective experience to create a brand rock as politically-charged as it is catchy. Single ‘Leash Bitter’ shows off the brooding swagger and bite of the SAVAK sound, simmering around a taut rhythm and gradually coming to a boil.

Dogs on every corner
Biting at my heels
Teeth cut through like a razor
A scar that never heals

Secret Secret – She’s Tired!

Consisting of childhood friends Sadie Alan, Marika Stuurman, Maria Donjacour and Thomas Fendert, and cutting their teeth in the San Francisco underground scene, Secret Secret is a band centred around collaboration and trust. Their self-titled debut full-length introduced their brand of “lullaby punk” in 2020, and now the outfit are preparing to release a brand new EP. Single ‘She’s Tired!’ is the first taste, a song which explores ideas of exhaustion and burnout with a playful energy, capturing Secret Secret’s trademark balance between fun and emotion. “Are you tired? / Are you waking up with no desire?” as Alan asks. The song is also supported with a surreal video which pitches the band into their own dreams.

‘She’s Tired’ is out now via the Secret Secret Bandcamp page.

Tractor Beam – Set In Stone

The project of Toronto-born, New York-based songwriter Sasha Balazic, Tractor Beam is less a solo endeavour and more an outlet for collaboration and friendship. Following last year’s debut album Turtles All The Way on Kingfisher Bluez, Tractor Beam have returned with ‘Set In Stone’, a brand new single that sees them continue their signature style, what the label calls “an eloquent mix of freak folk and 2000’s indie rock.” Balazic’s earnest vocals are joined by gentle guitars and lapsteel, building from a soft and subdued beginning to something genuinely stirring, complete with propulsive percussion and joyous call and response lines. But it’s not all good vibes, melancholy and potential tragedy linger at the edges, something brought into relief with the use of audio samples from the 25th Challenger space mission towards the end.

‘Set In Stone’ is out now via streaming services.

wheel kid – shortcut through graveyard

wheel kid is a project based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that combines folk sensibilities with sound collage and noise styles to evoke both the New England landscape and the emotional terrain of those who inhabit it. The first in a series of small releases, burning sister taylor river might seem a modest offering with only three songs, but each provides into own miniature world into which the listener is invited. Take ‘shortcut through graveyard’, whose sparse lyricism is supported by a rich and patient sonic palette.

ester born in 17-5
21 years old when she died
buried in the yard on the highway side
see her grave from the kitchen window

captain alexander 1812
sailed to the far north in pursuit of the right whale
buried underneath the pool at the motel
where the kids do laps in the shallow end

Zoya Zafar – You Meant Nothing, Too

Back in October, we wrote about ‘Tunnel Vision’ by Orlando’s Zoya Zafar, the lead single from her forthcoming album Some Songs. With the record due for release this spring, Zafar has unveiled a second song to further whet appetites. Titled ‘You Meant Nothing, Too’, it’s a slow and solemn song built on droning piano, Zafar’s softly intimate vocals and strikingly poignant negative space. Acoustic guitar and subdued percussion eventually join too but things remain pared back to their essential elements. Zafar uses minimalism not as an austere stylistic choice but as a tool to hone her music’s emotional weight, suffusing it with warmth despite its direct and unfussy arrangement.

‘You Meant Nothing, Too’ is out now via streaming services.

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