However, as always, we want to point out that ‘free’ does not have to mean pay nothing in this context. Indeed, the title of the post says ‘free’ music because it’s snappier than ‘name your price’ music, but really that’s a convenient/attention-grabbing misnomer. Last year we spoke about how paying artists makes for the best soil in which to sow creative seeds, and things are no different now. Indeed, with the dawn of Spotify and the all-powerful algorithms, it is more important than ever to support independent artists and labels, and in reality there are already enough free ways to consume music that we don’t need to encourage another.

So please delve into the below list, curated entirely by humans, and spend whatever is left of your Christmas money when you stumble across something you like. We can vouch for the quality of everything here, so don’t be afraid to judge a record by its cover to begin with.

Here’s a handy mix featuring one song from each of the free / ‘name your price’ albums featured:

The post Favourite Free Music of 2017 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Opener ‘Summer is a Long Way Off’ confirms from the beginning that See You At Home haven’t had some bright epiphany in the last year. The track undulates with emotion, a slice of downbeat nostalgia-pop in the vein of Dawn Golden.

“I want to go out,
I want to feel alive again.
And I crave for spring to
be finally warm again”

But it soon becomes apparent that this isn’t just self-indulgent navel gazing. The Be Happy deals with some pretty difficult personal troubles, what the band describe as “a journey to get better”. ‘Prescription’ plays like a plea to a loved one, someone who once offered support in a time of need and now needs support of their own. “Don’t jump”, the narrator sings, “not when you saved me from falling”, as steady percussive drums beat over a blue-grey haze.

The final track, as its title suggests, is the most hopeful on the record. It’s a reminder that even the worst of times can’t last forever, that people are more resilient than they realise, that hope and healing are very real. It’s again from the perspective of someone watching struggle second hand, and makes a vow to help no matter what.

“I won’t let you drown,
I won’t let you drown
like me”

With Be Happy, See You At Home have made a small but perfectly formed little release that’s heavy on the emotion without ever sounding trite or overdone. You can get it on a name-your-price basis from the See You at Home Bandcamp page.

The post See You At Home – Be Happy appeared first on Various Small Flames.

And, of course, being comprehensive is impossible these days, so let us know if we missed your favourite and maybe we’ll add it to the collection.

Peach Club – The Bitch Diaries
(RIYL: punk, rock, lo-fi)

Pet Cemtery & Henoheno & Brittle Brian & Francie Cool – Split
(RIYL: bedroom pop, sad music, lo-fi)

Porridge Radio – Rice, Pasta and Other Fillers
(RIYL: lo-fi, bedroom pop, carbohydrates)

Post-Trash – Volume Two
(RIYL: compilations, bedroom pop, indie rock)

Psychic Shakes – Psychic EP
(RIYL: lo-fi pop, chilled out vibes, down-tempo beats)

Ratbath – Dead Skin Cells
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, sad)

Ravetank – Wasting Your Life From 9-5
(RIYL: alternative, pop, lo-fi)

Real Swell – everything else is terrible!
(RIYL: lo-fi, experimental, lo-fi pop)

Rhucle – Rustic Lullaby
(RIYL: ambient, mindfulness, field recordings)

Ryan Tanner – Promised Land
(RIYL: folk, Americana, country)

Ryder Eaton – Peach Pit
(RIYL: folk, lo-fi, experimental)

Saint Clementine – If We Are Falling / I Wish I Knew What You Did Last Summer
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, pop punk)

The Saxophones – If You’re on the Water
(RIYL: ambient folk, dream pop, alternative)

Sea Offs – Sea the Blind
(RIYL: ambient, folk, dream pop)

See You At Home – The Future’s Here and It’s Terrible
(RIYL: indie, emo, dream pop)

Shalash (or, ШАΛАШ) – X
(RIYL: ambient, drone, compilations)

Skittish Arm – The Dog EP
(RIYL: ambient, drone, experimental)

Soccer Mommy – For Young Hearts
(RIYL: bedroom pop, lo-fi, indie)

Svelte – svelte EP
(RIYL: post-rock, noise, shoegaze)

Swell Tone & Z Tapes – Summer of Sad
(RIYL: bedroom pop, sad songs, compilations)

Be sure to check out the previous sections of our favourite free music list here.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2016: P – S appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Remember, we’re on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, so don’t hesitate to get in touch and let you know your favourite tracks from June. Or July. Or whenever.

Tracklisting:

1) Gofer – Yucky Duster
2) The End Parts One and Two – Paper Bee
3) Pas De Deux – Brenda’s Friend
4) Mostly Homely – Exam Season
5) rosy – Long Neck
6) Cool It! – Terry vs. Tori
7) best thought – Honeyuck
8) buttery sprouts – Trace Mountains
9) Green Ennui – Flying Circles
10) Memento Mori – Jake Bellissimo
11) Same Light – Tim Lannen
12) Golden Car – Tincho
13) Can’t Take My Mind – Skyjelly
14) E.V.I.L – Medicine Boy
15) Bike Thief – Frederick Squire
16) Oh Well – Adeline Hotel
17) Offering – Loone
18) Something Profound & Meaningful – See You At Home
19) Bowl of Plums – Ben Seretan
20) Muted Colours – Chain Wallet
21) Little One – Aaron Holm
22) Fear O’ the Light – Katie Dey
23) Protracted – William Ryan Fritch
24) Dizzy – Danielle Fricke
25) Uncanny – Sister Grotto
26) Hands in Our Names – Karima Walker

The post June 2016 Roundup: A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Things are packed with melancholy and nostalgia from the first track, ‘Dirt Under My Fingernails’, which opens with the lines,”I buried it below the tree, near the place where we had picnics as kids / with the tyre swing and the ditch /it’s now six feet deep”. The start of ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’ is a mellow drone, backed with burbling field recordings of birds and a stream, before a pleading audio sample from BoJack Horseman and light and spidery guitars precede the vocals proper.

‘Dim Sum’ sounds warm and sad, like that ache of fading light on a quiet summer evening, before closer ‘Something Profound & Meaningful’, a vague and emotional song with lyrics that seemingly describe the devotion of the narrator to someone who isn’t quite well.

“You dream of teeth,
and nothing else,
and nothing else.
And you feel oh so sick.
Your mind is in hell,
your mind is in hell.

But I will think of you,
and I will dream of you”

You can get The Future’s Here & It’s Terrible now on a name-your-price basis from the See You At Home Bandcamp page.

The post See You At Home – The Future’s Here & It’s Terrible appeared first on Various Small Flames.