The first offering is from Bristol’s Two White Cranes (who we like a lot), with the ironically-titled ‘Unattached’. It’s great and hopefully a sign of further quality to come!

Subscriptions cost £45 (p&p included), with the added incentive of mystery subscriber-only goodies. The pins will be available individually for £4 + p&p, so it’s a no-brainer really. Pencil your name on the list here.

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‘List of People Buried at Arlington National Cemetery’ kicks things off with a bang, opening with emo/hardcore-style ranting delivery before morphing into the anti-folk territory of Defiance, Ohio. “I get so alone that I start to drink,” they shout, “I’m usually fine then I start to think / an atom bomb leaves nothing in its wake / do I survive for everyone’s sake?” The instrumentation is slightly off-kilter which, coupled with Lightning’s delivery, gives a sense of cathartic energy, as if the music is arriving to your ears unfiltered in its ferocity and strangeness.

“Purge me of my sins
now I’m friends with my demons
screaming, ‘it’s in my blood
it’s in my blood
it’s in my blood”
it’s in… ‘”

Sounding like Fugazi meets Young Jesus, ‘Wicked & Divine’ details slash-and-burn attempts to escape psychic pain, the ill-fated self-destruction-as-a-narcotic routine acting as a vicious circle from which respite can only be gained through further revolutions of the cycle. This self-aware entrapment triggers further feelings of self loathing and suffering, leading to further entrapment, then self-loathing, then entrapment etc. etc, so that while the narrator dreams of going back to reseed the charred ground, in reality they just keep on blazing the same earth over and over again.

“I can take the heat
Icarus got nothin’ on me
baby, we’ll burn out brilliantly
where’s the fun in fading out quietly?
As the sun melts our wings
your arms around me
I’ll kiss you goodbye as our bodies
plunge into the sea

It all starts out the same on Resolution Day
take me back to your room and say
‘kiss me, I want to feel right’
but I’m too busy getting high”

‘Fade to Black’ continues this idea (“The insanity of doing the same thing over and over til I collapse”) and, although the sound is more restrained, the sense of immediacy remains. A departure from the other two, the track unfurls into something akin to The Weakerthans meets Small Wonder, ending with a determined crescendo of militaristic drums that Titus Andronicus would be proud of.

“I started to tell you
you were in a dream I had
all our friends were in the backyard
everyone was wearing black
then right there you stopped me
you asked ‘did anyone have sex?’
I stammered ‘no I-I don’t think so.’
You sighed, ‘then keep it to yourself'”

With all this talk of pain and trauma and its inescapable bind, you might get the impression that this is a bleak record. The funny thing is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. What emerges in Lightning’s first lines (and in every word and note thereafter) is that the music is the very thing to break the Kekuléan knot they had gotten lost in. Survival punk is not a creative descriptor so much as an ethos, a way of life. CUTTERS exists so that it’s band members feel more alive. How can that be bleak? Bleak would be to sing happy songs about Hollywood love stories you could never believe. Bleak would be to say nothing at all.

As brief as it is brilliant, both//neither ends just as you get hooked, leaving you thrilled and short-changed and baying for more, like some musical equivalent of the best episodes of Lost. This feels like the beginning of something, so let’s sit and wait patiently.

You can buy both//neither now from the CUTTERS Bandcamp page, or grab a vinyl from Jam Eater Records.

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Eskimeaux is the recording project of Brooklyn-based musician and producer Gabrielle Smith. Adopting the moniker in 2007, Smith has put out a series of albums which vary from weird experimental noise to sad bedroom folk. Her forthcoming album O.K. on Double Double Whammy is said to be ‘beat-driven and poetic bedroom pop’, which sounds pretty good to us.

The usual Eskimeaux band consists of Felix Walworth (of Told Slant), Lago Lucia, Oliver Kalb (of Bellows) and Jack Greenleaf (of Sharpless), who also helped Smith arrange, mix and produce O.K. It seems clear that Smith has enlisted the talents of her friends to ensure that her album is as good as it could possibly be. As well as the DDW links, she is also a founding member of the Brooklyn songwriting/art collective The Epoch, and this release utilises all of her connections in the independent scene. Aside from the aforementioned band members, Smith also thanks Henry Crawford (of Small Wonder) and Mitski Miyawaki (AKA just plain Mitski) among others. The artwork is no less a team effort, with the main embroidery design by Susannah Lee Cutler (of Yours Are The Only Ears) adapted from a photo by Andrew Piccone, the cover photos by Richard Gin, the insert by Colin Alexander (of Flashlight O) and the spine by Emily Sprague (who you may know as Florist). While the proof will be in the pudding (i.e. how the full release sounds), it seems O.K. is a testament to the power of gathering good friends and kind strangers who are all pulling in the same direction, a reminder that good, carefully put together art has infinitely more value than whatever the PR men and women try to push at you.

Only one song is available right now but it definitely whets the appetites. ‘Broken Necks’ fulfils the poetic pop promise, with Smith’s sincere lyrics of love and altruism supported by unsteady percussion which give the whole thing that weird feeling where life has you sad and scared but you wouldn’t change it for the world.

“When I had a million arms I would wrap them around all your body parts
try to keep away all that could do you harm
try to keep out sickness and keep you warm

but every time the going got tough one by one they were falling off
While you were breaking your neck trying to keep your head up
I was breaking my neck just to stick it out for you
and I know we’d hang out everyday if I wasn’t 100 miles away

from our tadpoles gathering in the creek
and our baby birds learning how to shriek
All the eagles I still haven’t seen and the trees proudly alive and green
I could swear they are there just for you and me
whether friends or in love there’s an indisputable beauty”

You can pre-order O.K. now from Double Double Whammy on variety of vinyl designs. If cassette tapes are more your thing then luckily the good folks over at Mt. Home Arts have you covered (in what promises to be quite spectacular style – see below for an early prototype). We’ll write a full review once we get to hear it but trust our instincts and put your order in now.

P.S. The main photo is by the supremely talented Andrew Piccone.

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Father/Daughter Records are back with their second instalment of the Faux Real series where cool real bands cover the songs of cool fictional ones. Faux Real I saw the likes of Levek, Radiator Hospital and Body Parts covering The Muppets, The Cattanooga Cats and Disney’s Goofy, and now a fresh roster of are back to take on some of the most iconic songs in pop culture (sort of). The tracklisting is as follows:

Tracklist
1) Chumped – “Threshold” (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World)
2) Krill – “Billy Madison Victory Song” (Billy Madison)
3) Quarterbacks – “You Painted My World” (The Adventures Of Pete & Pete)
4) Running In The Fog – “Killer Tofu” (Doug)
5) Allison Crutchfield (of Swearin’) – “Special To Me (Phoenix Audition Song)” (Phantom Of The Paradise)
6) LVL UP – “Somebody Kill Me Please” (The Wedding Singer)
7) Sharpless – “Franz Kafka” (Home Movies)
8) Rivergazer – “Fever Dog” (Almost Famous)
9) Paint Sepsi – “I Must Be In Love” (The Rutles)
10) Small Wonder – “Margerine” (The Simpsons)

While it’s hard to believe of a compilation that contains a song from Doug, this release was rejected by Record Store Day as it was “not compelling enough” for their release list. You can see the final RSD list here and, while there is some cool stuff, there is also what seems to be quite a lot of flab (seven Springsteen releases?). But, hey, what do I know? Luckily, Faux Real II lives on. And that’s a good thing, because aside from being an entertaining collection of obscure-ish made-up bands, the real artists have actually done a great job in making ten enjoyable songs that will still be listenable once the novelty wears off.

You can pre-order the compilation now from the Father/Daughter website or Bandcamp page. It will be released on 28th April on “Fake Grape” vinyl and limited to 500 copies. It’s not going to be repressed or released digitally so get in quick.

P.S. Father/Daughter head honcho Jessi Frick spoke with Stereogum about the compilation and the issues surrounding Record Store Day. It’s worth a read for those interested in how those things work.

The post Father/Daughter Records Presents: Faux Real II appeared first on Various Small Flames.

‘Fire In My Eyes’ was released on New Year’s Eve, and luckily didn’t manage to slip under my radar. The song is a lovely slice of folky lo-fi bedroom pop that starts with an intimate lovelorn feel, “i’m sitting inside / the room that is now mine / it comes in waves / i want to take care of you somedays”, before spiraling into something a little darker with lines such as, “i recall my hands around your throat / in the darkness of our hole / the colors are all muddy now / my angry footprint on your mouth”.

Luckily, the last verse comes full circle and revisits the cosy romance of the songs beginnings, “do you want to sit on a hill / and fall down with me? / we could make more coffee / or just fall back asleep.”

You can get ‘Fire In My Eyes’ right now via the Yours Are the Only Ears Bandcamp Page.

P.S. Here’s a fun fact for you – Culter also designed the cover art for Small Wonder’s Wendy. You can check out more of her art via Cargo Collective.

The post Yours Are the Only Ears – Fire In My Eyes appeared first on Various Small Flames.

15). Swans – To Be Kind

(Mute / Young God)

14). Mogwai – Rave Tapes

(Sub Pop)

13). Madlib / Freddie Gibb – Piñata

(Madlib Invazion)

12). Deerhoof – La Isla Bonita

(Polyvinyl)

11). Aphex Twin – Syro

(Warp)

10). FKA Twigs – LP1

(Young Turks)

9). Ava Luna – Electric Balloon

(Western Vinyl)

8). Inventions – Inventions

(Temporary Residence)

7). Small Wonder – Wendy

(Father / Daughter) [Review]

6). This Will Destroy You – Another Language

(Suicide Squeeze)

5). Mac Demarco – Salad Days

(Captured Tracks)

4). Strands of Oak – HEAL

(Dead Oceans) [Review]

3). Cloud Cult – Unplug

[Review]

2). Caribou – Our Love

(Merge / City Slang)

1). Field Report – Marigolden

(Partisan) [Review]

The post Wake The Deaf’s Top Albums of 2014 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

But with the internet, oh boy, I didn’t even have to look! I just clicked a few links that looked vaguely interesting and now I’m sitting here listening to Truesdale, trying to describe why this modest, minimal little piece of music is so damn beautiful. If you liked Small Wonder’s Wendy or Adieu Caribou’s I Do Care About You, then I think you will like this.

This is a very personal album, one of those ones that you just know was borne out of compulsion rather than a desire to please. Citron says it best himself:

“This album was not written for anyone other than myself, and I am wary to upload such a personal lens into myself onto the public of the web. So all I ask in return is your support if you enjoyed it! Share it! Tell your sad, sad friends who enjoy sad, sad music!”

So sad friends, if you’re out there, please enjoy this album. You can download Truesdale on a pay-what-you-want basis over at the Fairweather Currents Bandcamp page.

P.S. Fairweather Currents also have two collections of covers including takes on tracks by The Antlers, Nana Grizol, Waxahatchee, Coma Cinema and many more. They’re pretty lo-fi and morose but also really nice.

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This is one of those albums that is difficult to pin down with a genre. It’s part folk, part lo-fi pop and part indie rock, and the real success of the album is how they balance these elements to make something that is both energetic and melancholic, something that is displayed perfectly on the track ‘Up North’. I’m tempted to label it “bedroom pop”, because it’s sad and earnest and was released on Bandcamp, but as to whether it was recorded in a bedroom is currently unknown (I think it’s unlikely, it sounds great so I think they may have found somewhere a little more professional).

In terms of references, there are similarities to fellow Pacific Northwesterners BOAT in terms of the energy and vocals. Lyrically, if you liked Small Wonder’s Wendy then you’re probably going to like this as well. It’s got that same heart-on-sleeve sincerity, that same sense of internal struggle and self doubt.

You can get I Do Care About You on a pay-what-you-want basis over at Bandcamp.

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They have recently released a brand new single, ‘vow’, which is due to appear on their forthcoming debut album. The track is a lovely little indie pop number, all languid guitars and Morgan’s sweet vocals. As with the band’s previous singles, ‘vow’ comes complete with some very nice collage-style artwork courtesy of Alana Questell.

You can buy the single right now via the band’s Bandcamp page. I highly suggest you check out their other tracks too.

SALES are also embarking on a tour of the East Coast. Check the nifty poster below for dates, venues and some pretty excellent companions (including acts such as Small Wonder, Alex G, Told Slant and Hundred Waters).

The post SALES – Vow appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Musically, the album is a patchwork of influences. The uplifting refrains of Modest Mouse, the energy of Dinosaur Jr., the strangeness of Flaming Lips, autotune, a rap verse (!)… all of these bind together to form an album that is experimental yet undeniably pop music. This is a dynamic album that refuses to settle into one box, accelerating and decelerating at will, changing from boisterous (‘The Hardest Question’, ‘Gemini’ etc.) to poignant (‘Mom and Dad’, ‘Greater Then’, etc) with little warning, and it’s all the better for it. It kind of brings to mind experimental legends The Mae Shi, or rather, The Mae Shi covering Arcade Fire and Cursive and Weezer and Miley Cyrus (trust me) and God knows who else. It is every bit as good as this sounds.

Greenleaf is a close friend of Henry Crawford, AKA Small Wonder (who we featured here), and Crawford appears on the album. In fact, you could say he does more than that: “Jack Greenleaf and Henry Crawford have been writing songs together for as long as anyone can remember,” says The Epoch page, “if you are listening to a Small Wonder song, you are also listening to Sharpless whispering along behind the singing. When you listen to Sharpless, Small Wonder sits nearby, playing along on the floor.“ In a world of blog-driven buzz bands and label-pushed clones, it’s good to know that communities like this still exist. The pair have even put out a small release together, which you can hear here.

You can buy The One I Wanted To Be via Bandcamp, where there are plenty of past releases to explore too. Be sure to keep up with The Epoch, they are involved in some great stuff at the moment.

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