Naomi Pop – S/T (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, indie rock, other Z Tapes artists)

naps – one hundred percent confident (REVIEW)
(RIYL: ambient, experimental, naps with an uncapitalised-n)

Naps – You Will Live in a Cool Box (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, garage rock, indie pop, Naps with a capitalised-N)

Nadia – I’m your protector now
(RIYL: dream pop, healing, electronic)

Newfoundland – Good News is Too True (REVIEW)
(RIYL: atmospheric folk, dream pop, Youth Lagoon, Meursault)

Noël – ’10
(RIYL: punk, emo, indie)

Ocean Floor – Old Haunts (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, Mount Eerie)

Oddigtl – solarium
(RIYL: beats, lo-fi, electronic, laidback summer soul)

Old Gray – dex
(RIYL: sad, bedroom pop, slo-mo emo)

Pasture Dog – Southern Gothic (REVIEW)
(RIYL: lo-fi, hymnals, all things Southern Gothic)

Prairie Empire – Sad Winter Songs (Outtakes and Demos)
(RIYL: folk, acoustic, sad bastard music)

Pet Cemetery – dietary requirements (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, ambient, Coma Cinema)

Phargo. – Rende’s
(RIYL: emo, Braid, anime)

Plums – Jen
(RIYL: dream pop, summer crushes, nostalgia)

PONY – CRUSHED (REVIEW) 
(RIYL: indie pop, Best Coast, Vivian Girls)

Pope – Fiction
(RIYL: noise, grunge, No Age)

Porridge radio – im not sure anymore
(RIYL: lo-fi, sadcore, bedroom pop)

The Pretty Greens – Lonely Hearts Club No Jerks Allowed
(RIYL: The Raincoats, Bratmobile, Brill Building pop)

Radiator Hospital & Martha – Split EP
(RIYL: indie rock, power pop, Radiator Hospital, Martha)

rchrd prkr – it’s getting worse
(RIYL: emo, punk, lo-fi)

Robbie Bankes – Through February Snow (REVIEW)
(RIYL: folk, Tyler Butler, winter)

Romantic States – s/t
(RIYL: minimalist pop, garage rock, blends of quiet & loud)

Ruth & Trudy – Still Pond (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, experimental, lo-fi)

We’ll be sharing a new section of the list every day this week, so be sure to check back for the complete collection. If you find something you like, or think we missed something life-changing, then why not let us know on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr or good old email.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2015: N-R appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The May Roundup mix below contains a track from every artist we featured during the month (apart from Sharon van Etten and Noah Gundersen, sorry!), so plug your headphones in and enjoy some new music. Click the artists’ names in the tracklisting below to be taken to the post in question.

Tracklisting:

1. No More Sad Songs – Elvis Depressedly
2. Catchyalater – Frog
3. The Day Draws Near – The Washboard Abs
4. Every House is On Fire – Island Eyes
5. Forever – Boosegumps
6. Open Casket Hidden Meaning – Molly Drag
7. The Arp – Aidan Knight
8. Atheist Money – Adam Stafford
9. Lynx – The Tarantula Waltz
10. Milo – Young Jesus
11. Slow Dark Water – Furnsss
12. Aubrey – Debris Slide
13. Foreign Hands – Aisha Badru
14. I Need Never Get Old – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
15. Outside the Pale – Samantha Crain
16. Home – The Modern Folk
17. Staggers and Rise – Small Houses
18. Yannina – Jake Houlsby
19. To the Black Horizon – Mark Timmins
20. Heart – Bobby’s Oar
21. Bling – Bells Atlas
22. And You Meant the Sea – Ruth & Trudy
23. Party – Lake Michigan
24. Growing Leaves – Gay Angel
25. On and On – Zee Town and the Dog Boys
26. Travel Map – Hip Hatchet
27. Zoa – Batte Ave.
28. The Bird – Kathryn Joseph
29. …Until They’re Called – Old Earth

May 2015 Roundup from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

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

The first song, ‘Death & Taxis’ is soft acoustic bedroom pop which is almost overwhelmingly heartsick and romantic, with lines such as, “I long to live alone with you” and “my everything exists for you”. This is followed by ‘The Way It Goes’, which is way more upbeat, with ramshackle percussion and carefree guitar. Things are still loved-up though, which is no criticism, “I don’t believe in love” Sondermann sings, “but you’re all I’m dreaming of”. The song also contains the great line,”I hope you feel bored and lonely too”, which seems to sum up our fear of being different and desire to find solidarity, to find people just like us. ‘My God’ is another rattly DIY indie pop song, opening with the line, “I’m afraid of everybody, I’m afraid of you”. Both of these songs are reminiscent of a super-earnest Swim Lessons, which is high praise.

Things then get a whole lot sadder. ‘The Day Draws Near’ is just plaintive acoustic guitar and Sondermann’s voice and what feels like empty space. Its sad but in a cosy, reassuring way – sounding like being alone in an empty room on a rainy afternoon, when the not-quite-twilight has that blue-grey quality and the only sounds are raindrops on the glass and the shooooshing of passing cars. It’s just three minutes long and deceptively simple but the atmosphere it manages to conjure makes it one of my favourite songs of the year so far. Sondermann sums up the mood when he sings, “In your backyard, you talk to God / about the heartbreak you forgot”. ‘Downtown’ is another pretty sad song, with a lovely gentle flow to the melody of the lyrics:

“I will go to a forest where all tired souls are bound,
I will go downtown
I will sink to the bottom of the sea without a sound,
I will go downtown”

‘Constant’ is another love song, with just acoustic guitar and tender lyrics, “the morning light surrounds you, darling, the wind is in your hair / the afternoon I found you, darling, I knew that I was there”, while ‘Don’t Know a Thing’ reintroduces percussion and confronts self-doubt head-on, “I am scared, I’m unprepared, I’m unaware of the ways I’m wrong”. The final song, ‘Way Down’, is perhaps brighter and breezier than previous tracks, but retains the sensitive and sincere vocals, opening with the lines, “I hide my fears way down, way down / where you dry your tears, way down”. The track reminds me strongly of Cataldo’s Prison Boxing, although I have no idea of how to articulate why that’s so.

All in all it’s a really really great album and I’m again eternally grateful that the folks at Z Tapes brought it to my attention. Fans of Radiator Hospital, Field Medic and Talons’ will all find something to love I’m sure.

You can get WHATEVERLAND on limited run cassette tape, or a name-your-price download via the Z Tapes Bandcamp page.

P.S. The Washboard Abs Bandcamp page has a bunch of other releases, including a new EP which features a cool Yo La Tengo cover. Check it out, it’s good I promise.

The post The Washboard Abs – WHATEVERLAND appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Young Jesus

“I think you can confront darkness with sincerity and that the best stuff acknowledges the light that is in the dark and vice versa” – an interview with Young Jesus, chatting about concept albums, life-changing novels & the balance between darkness and light.

Sharon Van Etten

“Heartfelt, brave and benevolent, not exactly an answer but a reassuring hand to hold while you’re working on the question” – You should be excited about the new EP from Sharon Van Etten.

Elvis Depressedly

“Elvis Depressedly will not mend broken bones or cast out demons or have you walking across hot coals. Instead they… offer an achievable version of optimism, one which does not require manic enthusiasm or God-like goodwill but instead a pinch of determination and a firm belief in love” – we get to grips with the new Elvis Depressedly record New Alhambra.

Bells Atlas

“Blending the visceral emotions of R&B and soul with an off-the-wall, avant-garde vibe akin to Dirty Projectors and tUnE-yArDs” – ‘Bling’ welcomes you to the eclectic world of Bells Atlas.

Gay Angel

“The sound of one creative mind expressing itself in the most maximalist way imaginable” – The second floret of Gay Angel’s 100-song bonquet is .

Zee Town and the Dog Boys

“Think Beach House in their sad teenage bedroom years” – the self-titled album from Zee Town and the Dog Boys combines shoegazy fuzz with intimate bedroom pop.

Aisha Badru

“The confessional, angry-but-still-in-love style of all the best break-up songs” – an introduction to the organic folk of Aisha Badru.

Noah Gundersen

“A rousing, textured love song that would be a radio hit in any just world” – we get the first taste of the new Noah Gundersen album with ‘Slow Dancer’.

Ruth & Trudy

“An unorthodox brand of lo-fi pop that blends a laidback hipness with heartfelt naivete” – Still Pond Songs, an album from Ruth & Trudy, out on Slovakian label Z Tapes.

Alynda Segarra

“Blues women foreshadowed a movement of feminists of color that is vibrantly alive today… leaving behind the embarrassing and soul crushing caricatures of women of color that I was fed my whole life” – Hurray for Riff Raff leading lady Alynda Segarra (who we have had the pleasure of talking to) has written a great piece on the feminist legacy blues women for American Songwriter.

The Weather Station

“Country songs are always about driving, journeys, and these sorts of things. I found that these songs were about journeys but not” – Exclaim talk to Tamara Lindeman about Loyalty, the excellent new album from The Weather Station.

Bedroom Pop

“The qualities they share are somewhat intangible, more emotional than sonic, and can be more easily felt than described” – Jacob W. Moore wrote a primer on bedroom pop for the uninitiated, citing bands such as R.L. Kelly, Ricky Eat Acid, Alex G and Foxes in Fiction, as well as the overwhelming influence of the folks at Orchid Tapes. Head to Flavorwire to check it out and then browse our ‘bedroom pop’ tag as further reading.

Sufjan Stevens

“The striking sense of solemnity hangs like a noose around its neck, rugged and impossible to ignore, from the first moment to the last” – A little late to this one, but GoldFlakePaint’s review of Sufjan’s new album is really lovely (and mentions Cormac McCarthy, which is never a bad thing).

King of Cats

DIY Magazine are streaming the new King of Cats album, which will be released on Art Reeks, a joint label that combined Art is Hard and Reeks of Effort…

Barna Howard

…and you can stream the new Barna Howard album at Line of Best Fit.

Bellows

Bellows did a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR!

And Finally… the 8tracks Playlist of the Week

The inaugural winner of this coveted accolade is Ratfriend, with this round-up of the best music so far in 2015:

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and 8tracks to keep up to date with the best new music.

The post Week in Review: #1 (11-15th May 2015) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Ruth & Trudy is the recording project of Mitchell Young who lives in Houston, Texas. His latest album is called Still Pond Songs a record he describes as, “songs of earth, love, heartbreak, family, encounters with the occult, and fun”. If that doesn’t capture your attention then you’re reading the wrong music blog buddy. Luckily, the music sounds as good as its description, an unorthodox brand of lo-fi pop that blends a laidback hipness with heartfelt naivete.

The opening track, ‘Greens’ is a ramshackle indie pop song complete with keyboard, tambourine and handclaps. The song also gives us our first glimpse of Young’s vocals, which he delivers in a slightly detached manner, capturing the feigned indifference of youth. Next up is ‘Star Projector’, a brisk instrumental number that’s all playful xylophones and swirling guitars, while ‘Late Swim (tfl)’ brings a mellow lo-fi aesthetic, a drum beat emerging around the halfway mark, a beat which sometimes overtakes the guitars and sort of stutters back in time. This gives the track a slightly agitated air, like that feeling when you can’t quite get your mind to focus right. The lyrics add to this unsettling feeling,

“who was there
standing on the lake
under the moon
above you
is he your friend
do you trust him
is he even alive?”

‘Pond Scum’ begins with a warbled vocal sample which loops and loops as the track continues as a slice of lo-fi folk, bringing to mind the Lucas O’Connell album we featured last year. ‘Captain Falcon’ is a blast of sunny indie pop, complete with kid giggle samples, sounding like a lazy summer afternoon, a tall glass of icy lemonade sweating in the sun. This is followed by another instrumental track, ‘Cop Island’, an almost tropical 70 seconds of shimmying guitars and gentle percussion, before ‘Provide For Family’ announces itself with odd little rattles and squelchy sounds, like the shambling whir of some clockwork contraption. The lyrics are about what the title suggests, “make sure your mother still feels she’s needed” it begins, before the oddly uplifting chorus of:

“provide for your family
uplift their spirits
we all share the same fears
no one wants to lose their loved ones
no one wants to die”

Then we get ‘Diane’, a sweetly unpolished love song, ‘When You Can See Your Breath Outside’, which rumbles along with the now familiar echoey vocals, and the finale ‘Here Last Year (Era Crathmania)’, which switches things up with a slice of rousing, 80s-tinged electro-pop, not unlike M83 at their most shimmering. But my favourite track is number 10, ‘And You Meant the Sea’, which is just the epitome of summer, all sea and sand and surf. Even the guitars seem sun-drunk as the track strolls along, a tale of beachside romance:

“we were eating candy at the beach
and I was playing with your hands
our hair was blowing in the wind
do you remember what it feels like
when our skin in sunlight would meet?
‘come on in,’ you said
and you meant the sea”

You can get Still Pond Songs on super-limited cassette tape or as a name-your-price digital download via the Z Tapes Bandcamp page.

P.S. Stay tuned for a review of the second Z Tapes release in the very near future!

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