Released to coincide with his birthday, and organised by Dan Wriggins (of Friendship) in collaboration with Dear Life Records, You Were Alone: An Owen Ashworth Almanac is a covers compilation featuring versions of Owen’s songs from family, friends, labelmates and fans. A celebration which recognises a birthday but also so much more than that. A body of work and the burgeoning legacy it has and continues to establish, not to mention the blossoming community fostered through Owen’s label Orindal Records.

And community feels like the right word for the compilation. Both in terms of the gathered artists and the characters they bring to life. Because hearing the songs in different voices really brings home the diversity of personalities present across Owen’s work. Pedro the Lion adds a weariness to ‘My Sister’s Birthday’ with his distinctively gruff fondness. Claire Cronin is the perfect person to fully excavate the spookiness of ‘Pamela’. MJ Lenderman and Karly Hartzman raise a glass to poor old Christmas Steve. Sinai Vessel captures ‘Kitty Winn’ in all its sad affection.

Some, like Lisa/Liza‘s ‘Rabbits’ or Karima Walker‘s ‘Same Dream’, take the original versions back to the traditional folk roots, while the likes of Ylayali, Moon Racer and Bedbug lean into the electronic, harking back to earlier CFTPA days. What’s impressive is how the distinctive “Ashworthian” voice remains across the spectrum. Even the tracks with no literal voice, be it Robert Stillman‘s take on ‘Christmas in Nightmare City’ or Gordon Ashworth‘s extended guitar version of ‘Nephew in the Wild’, lose none of their ability to evoke the tales we’ve grown to hold so dear. Because while Dan might have intended to organise a birthday party, it turned out more like a reunion. A gathering of Owen’s characters, our friends. Still here, still living, still with so many stories to tell.

Cover painting by Martha Miller

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“I was born and raised in America, and identify as an American,” Robert Stillman explains. “However, I have lived in the UK for over a decade, and this has given me the opportunity to consider what being ‘American’ means outside the day-to-day experience of being American and has created a space for me to consider the concept of American ‘identity’ as someone no longer living there.” The ability to contemplate from such a vantage, together with Stillman’s eclectic vision, allows for a comprehensive examination of this identity. American shorn of its stereotypes and sentimental simplicity. American with its shadows and shames left intact. “It is tempting to claim one’s favourite trappings of ‘American’ and disassociate from the rest,” Stillman says, “but this is unacceptable to me.”

The album is therefore not just an attempt to answer the question of the title, but a rebuttal of other such answers. Or rather the gradual realisation that in order to truly answer the question, the flimsy alternatives that have been previously offered must first be confronted. The intuitive nature of Stillman’s music is an inherent part of this process. A way to bypass the clouding power of historic justification. To short-circuit the reflexive mechanisms of self-defence. The record sees him reach for anything and everything which feels relevant within the moment of asking—from the sombre piano-led opener ‘Cherry Ocean’ to the carefree jazzy swing of ‘It’s All Is,’ the disorientation of ‘Deep Time, U.S.A.’ to the haunted, faraway sound of ‘Acceptance Blues.’ As Stillman continues:

In this record I wish to share my insight that to ‘be’ American is to claim everything within that specification: historical, cultural, social, stereotypical, experiential, heroic, villainous. In this model of Americanness, there is nothing ‘American’ that lives outside of the ‘American’ identity. In the context of some of the most difficult, embarrassing, uncomfortable years of being American, I feel that doubling down on the identity in total represents a gesture of radical acceptance of reality that opens the space for positive action, be it personal or political, as a corrective to the inertia of denial and delusion.

Alongside the new record, Orindal and KIT are also releasing a remaster of Stillman’s 2017 album, Portals, as a limited edition LP. Aside from its continued popularity (the release is the most repressed cassette in Orindal’s eleven year history), the timing feels appropriate as Portals offers an interesting companion piece to What Does It Mean to Be American? Consisting almost entirely of multi-tracked Fender Rhodes electric piano, the songs display the same sense of improvisation but within far narrower constraints, and the relatively minimalist, repetitive style stands apart from the fluid experimentation of What Does It Mean… As though the album is spoken in one language, rather than the countless dialects of its successor.

The songs of Portals are intended to “encourage a state of ‘no-mind’ in the listener,” as Stillman puts it, “acting as a gateway out of thoughts and into the present moment.” However, the release should be viewed not as the polar opposite of What Does It Mean to Be American?, but its precursor. The groundwork necessary to foster conditions capable of tackling the themes of the new record. The state of ‘no-mind’ might read like an exercise in escape or forgetting, but Stillman reveals its value in personal discovery. One which holds immediacy as a kind of acceptance, and acceptance as a kind of reckoning.

What Does It Mean to Be American? and Portals are out now via Orindal Records (USA) and KIT Records (UK), and you can get them from the Robert Stillman Bandcamp page.

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Real Life Buildings – Racing the Sun
Nice Apple – Are You Still There?
V.V. Lightbody – Babe, Honestly
Nico Hedley – Late Bloomer
Gracie Gray – Morphine
Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Bloodletting
Pleasure Systems – Heirloom
Ana Roxanne – Slowness
Kin Hana – Fog
Rainwater – Pink Flowers
Christelle Bofale – U Ouchea
Prudence – Smile & Nod
Operators – Faithless
Belaver – Driver
Mr Husband – Friends
Rose Hotel – Running Behind
Jeremy Squires – Somersault
Bad Books – Lake House
Yammerer – Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co
Britt – Trial Period
Wild Yawp – Femme Girl
Forest Management – Blue Leaves
Robert Stillman – Ritual
Everyone is Dirty – Hit-Girl
Merin – Coral Island
Lavender Bones – Over Again
Luke De-Sciscio – R.O.B.Y.N.
Anna Wiebe – Fortune
Young Elk – Gossip Magazines
Emma Frank – I Thought
Eamon McGrath – GUTS
Jacob Faurholt – The Dark Isn’t Right

Like what you hear? Catch up with the rest of our Monthly Mixes.

The post May 2019 Roundup Mix appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Hot Spring

Joined by Ben Austin (cello), Grant Engstrom (lead guitar), Pat Lyons (pedal steel),
Tina Scarpello (vocals) and Jack Schemenauer (percussion)—AKA Everyone Else—Spencer Radcliffe has made a new record to be released this month on Run For Cover Records. Adopting something of a country vibe, the release of Hot Spring is timed perfectly, the record concerned with transitions and seasonal change. The title track finds snow once more, winter clinging on or returning unannounced, while second single ‘Bloodletting’ finds something of a reprieve. “Spring is done, the battle’s been won,” Radcliffe sings. “Everyone survived the unloading of guns.” The order of the tracks is flipped on the album itself, lending a new weight to a line in the former: ” You know it’s best not to believe in everything you’re told.”

Christelle Bofale – U Ouchea

Based in Austin, Texas, Christelle Bofale combines soul, dream pop and jazz to form a distinctive sound, drawing upon her Congolese roots to further add to the personal nature of her music. Thematically, the record is one of conflict, from the juxtaposition of gentleness and ferocity in the sound to the lyrical explorations of bravery, honesty and doubt—coalescing into an evocative meditation on the contemporary black experience. Single ‘U Ouchea’ is a worthy introduction, its cyclical nature unfurling slowly across the seven-minute run time, yet underpinned by an oblique tension, some inner force running against the ethereal style.

Emma Frank – I Thought

There’s no one genre tag that will adequately describe the music of Emma Frank. With the pursuit of a number of styles, often within the same song, the New York artist has created a uniquely shifting sound that is never satisfied with remaining in any one place. Be it folk, pop, jazz or R&B, Frank dips into any number of stylistic influences, though the sound is tied together by the honeyed warmth of her vocals.

Having signed with Justin Time Records/Nettwerk, Frank has recently released a brand new single, ‘I Thought.’ The track confronts the impulsive and drastic, the people who change their lives on the whim of tenuous crushes, burning bridges with all that came before in the blinkered blur of the moment. Frank considers herself a member of this group, but the track is a reminder of the value of a slower kind of living—the meaning of things cultivated over time, weathering fleeting fancies to achieve a more substantial weight.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
Don’t burn the bridge that you’re walking over
But I lay the first brick down in the wall between us
I kept the first secret
I kept the first secret

There’s never a limit to how much we change
And I thought we’d finished
I thought I was to blame

Check out a video from the visual artist Ayo Tsalithaba below:

Keep an eye on the Emma Frank website for news of more releases.

Operators – Faithless

Montreal-based project Operators sees Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), Devojka and Sam Brown (Divine Fits, New Bomb Turks) combine their talents to form an urgently electronic sound. The project feels like the sonic progression of Handsome Furs, synths and beats weaving a pressing sound somewhere between Cold War and sci-fi, Boeckner’s familiar vocal style only adding to the insistent motion.

Ahead of new record Radiant Dawn, Operators have released the single ‘Faithless’. With its rigid beat and cold synths, the song opens as a kind of brutalist pop song, though eventually takes on a variety of other elements so as to form an almost transcendental crescendo.

Radiant Dawn is out on the 17th May via Last Gang Records.

Bad Books – Lake House

Bad Books is a collaborative project between Kevin Devine and Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra. Their first album in seven years, III will be released this summer on Loma Vista Records, and sees Devine and Hull alternate writing duties. The first single, ‘Lake House’ is Hull’s creation, leaning closer to his Right Away, Great Captain! sound than Manchester Orchestra, his distinctive brand of morose hope feeling as striking as ever. “‘Lake House’ is quite a personal song to me, Hull explains. “We tried to place it in a sonic environment that felt three dimensional. Instead of just hearing the song left and right, we wanted to have the sounds feel forward, backwards, above and below.”

III will be released digitally on the 14th June, and physically on the 21st June via Loma Vista Recordings.

Robert Stillman – Reality

Hailing from the northeast United States but now based in the UK, Robert Stillman composes experimental music that incorporates features of classical, jazz, minimalism, electronic and folk, pairing the futuristic digital sounds with a more traditional American style. His latest record, Reality, intends to, as Stillman puts it, “draw attention to, and unconditionally praise, the directly experienced world,” something achieved through an intense attention to detail that conjures a sense of intricacy and wonder. With an intuitive, spontaneous style, the album possess an organic, living spirit, each track its own ecosystem within which the various elements interact and converse.

Rose Hotel – Running Behind

Marking a change from the lo-fi intimacy of debut EP, Always A Good Reason, the forthcoming Rose Hotel (AKA Jordan Reynolds) album embraces a full-band sound. But the record promises to retain the earnest tone that made the debut so special. As such, while I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes displays a variety of influences, from shoegaze to retro girl group, Reynold’s burning spirit acts as the through line. ‘Running Behind’ attests, the track’s upbeat country rock distorted in a kind of Neutral Milk Hotel manner, Reynold’s vocals soaring and swooping within the clamour.

Check out the video directed by Reynolds and filmed/edited by Casey Doran:

I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes is out on the 31st May and you can pre-order it now.

Yammerer – Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co

One of Liverpool’s best kept secrets, Yammerer eschew promotion and social media presence in favour of old fashioned hype, developing a psych-tinged brand of post-punk that’s only as odd as the world from which is emerged. Take new single ‘Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co’, which combines the dark prophecies of Nick Cave with The Fall’s caustic charm and creates a sonic beast of many heads—each snarling and sneering and prone to howls of execration.

‘Poisonous Reptilian Colleague’s & Co’ is out now via Restless Bear Records and you can grab/hear it from all of the usual places.

Anna Wiebe – Fortune

New Behaviour, the 2016 debut record of Guelph songwriter Anna Wiebe, might have utilised relatively simple folk arrangements, but rich harmonies and Wiebe’s offbeat style transformed them into nuanced and genre-challenging songs. Her follow-up record All I Do Is Move, said to be concerned with “cycles, and the mental growth and movement that comes with life’s lessons,” promises to see an embrace of more complex arrangements. Though it is Wiebe’s idiosyncratic eye that will again prove to be its biggest strength. Lead single ‘Fortune’ gives us a glimpse at the evolution, the creeping, snaking vibe grown vivid by a full band, Wiebe’s vocals combining with the instrumentation to form a near-hypnotic rhythm.

Merin – Coral Island

Describing themselves as a “melancholy power pop quartet,” Winnipeg-based band Merin combine the bummed-out vibes of slacker rock with a more hopeful spirit, leading to a sound that’s at once grounded and bright. The title track of their latest EP, Coral Island, is perhaps the perfect example. “As I get older and fatter,” sings lead Cole Neusteaeder in the opening line, “I try my best not to just get sadder,” imagining an escape to a tropical island as though warmer climes might stave off the concerns. Only this is the twenty-first century—the coral reefs are dying and the pacific islands are being reclaimed by the sea. At least at the end of the world, we no longer have to worry about growing old and fat.

Check out the literal garage rock video below:

Coral Island is out now and you can get it from the Merin Bandcamp page.

Wild Yawp – Femme Girl

New York’s Wild Yawp is perhaps best described by their own name—WILD (adj): uncontrolled or unrestrained, especially in pursuit of pleasure, YAWP (n): a raucous noise; a cry; a shout. With Emily Bielagus on vocals/guitar, reba hasko drumming and sid solomon providing bass/backup vocals, the band create a boisterous, in-your-face sound that is equal parts fun and aggressive. New single ‘Femme Girl’ being a case in point, taking on the arrogance of Straight White Males with all the energy of a runaway train—combining the caustic wit of The Coathangers with the breakneck snarl of Priests to transform an uncomfortable situation into an affirming one.

Eamon McGrath – GUTS

Eamon McGrath’s prolific career has encompassed a wide range of styles and genres, though his music has always been united by a heartfelt spirit and DIY attitude. Latest single ‘GUTS’ sees an introspective turn, tackling addiction and its accompanying emotions of guilt and sadness with an affirming openness and vulnerability. The tone therefore veers between self-deprecation and a strange kindness, working to acknowledge the frustration of dependence and the poison that brings, while trying to carve out an opening to relieve the pressure in order to start the slow healing process.

The song comes complete with a video by Sheila Roberts and Ryan Brough, with art and performance direction from Michael Bright. Check it out below:

‘GUTS’ is out now and you can get it from the Eamon McGrath Bandcamp page.

If you enjoyed Vol. 24 then be sure to check out all previous Bright Sparks lists, and head on over to our Reviews page for a more in-depth read.

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Tracklisting:

1. I Don’t Know – Tina Refnes (+ Lit Links)
2. If I Were a Portal – Evening Hymns
3. Cradle Robber – Tyler Butler and His Handsome Friends
4. Calvander – Mount Moriah
5. The Way It Is, The Way It Could Be – The Weather Station
6. Porch – Long Beard
7. Small Wind Power – Fraternal Twin
8. Mourning Dove – Danielle Fricke
9. 3 – Cat Be Damned
10. Cold Apartment Floors – Vagabon
11. I Used To Be A Bird – Fairweather Currents
12. Drive-Thru – Honeyuck
13. Ghosts – The Washboard Abs
14. Litany – Tyler Key
15. Aviator Shades – Quiet Hollers
16. Book of Right On (Joanna Newsom cover) – Foxtails Brigade (Lit Links)
17. Judy Blume – Mal Devisa
18. So Long – Dot & Logic
19. A Swift Thing – EP
20. Stuck w/ Me – Home Lives
21. Close Call (Adderall Anxiety) – Shaky Shrines
22. Boys – Dicktations
23. Nothing – Strange Friends
24. Careful Creators – Summering
25. Blinding White – Vapour Night
26. Pull – Slow Dancing Society (Hidden Shoal compilation)
27. Calmest – Naps
28. As He Walked Into the Field – Robert Stillman
29. Church Bells – Tommy Perman, Simon Kirby & Rob St. John
30. Seven – Oh, Rose
    31. No Hell – Cloud Cult

The post November Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Rainbow is a poignant work, one inspired by Stillman’s personal life. He has dedicated the album to Anna his wife, to his late daughter Ruth, and his second-born daughter Romilly, as well as to his adopted home in East Kent and his blue station wagon (which is apparently named Warren). As the blurb puts it:

“serves as a window into the past four years of Stillman’s own: a time of birth, death, love, and learning, and through these things, a new willingness to look the world in the eye.”

To whet your appetite further, Stillman has released a video by Benjamin Rowley for ‘As He Walked Into the Field’, a quite beautiful collection of images which chop and change with disorientating speed, coupling with the music to create something unpredictable and confusing yet full of natural light. Kind of like life itself.

If all that sounds up your alley (it certainly sounds good to me), then you can pre-order Rainbow now via Orindal Records, with artwork by Anna Fewster (and text from Thich Nhat Hanh). You can get it as a download, CD or on lovely clear vinyl with rainbow labels.

The post Robert Stillman announces ‘Rainbow’ on Orindal Records. appeared first on Various Small Flames.