As is the case with this type of music, good writing is the key behind the success. A lot of music focuses on the sharp and immediate aspects of love, the moment you fall in or out of it, leading to the use of many tired clichés and making the whole thing seem somehow forced or false. Holmquist addresses many different times and situations across a relationship and manages to keep things feeling honest and realistic. For example in the title track ‘Carson City’, rather than delving into the stereotypical ‘I can’t live without him/her etc. etc.’ he writes from the point of view of a couple that are obviously not in the immediate and fantastical ideal of true love. They have real problems of children and money. They are just trying to get by with as little pain as possible, trying to find some sort of fulfillment. Throught the album this is one of the things that hit me the most – the lack of the overblown and the trite. There are no grandiloquent accounts of fairytale affairs, this is based in the real world. That isn’t to say that Holmquist’s characters lack warmth or emotion, they are steeped in it. Instead they appear more rounded, more real. They are lonely. They miss their wife and kids. They struggle with addictions and demons and pine for the past with intense regret.

I have been reading lots of Raymond Carver’s short stories recently and listening to Carson City I drew a lot of comparisons. Both contain people just trying to get by but invariably finding themselves fucked up. Both have that sense of melancholic nostalgia for small towns and the people that inhabit them; people away from the superficial trappings of technology and modern life. This video, from HearNebraska, is a good watch to further your understanding of what Holmquist is trying to achieve. I come back to it again but I feel it perfectly sums up the sound: this is honest music. Unlike some folk and americana bands around now (not naming any names), you get the impression that his family and friends are living in the world he is singing about.

In my opinion Holmquist is achieving big things, and, perhaps just as importantly, he is doing it the right way.

Carson City is set to be released on June 26th and is available for pre-order here.

The post The Great American Desert appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Sons of an Illustrious Father – We Are Dead and Reborn

(RIYL = Indie Rock, Folk, Americana)

South of Lincoln – The Monsters Bathroom Sessions 

(RIYL = Americana, Folk)

Spanish Prisoners – Gold Fools

(RIYL = Psychedelic, Dreams)

Strand of Oaks –Pope Killdragon Demos

(RIYL = Indie Rock, Folk, Creepy Synths)

Turf War – Cheers to the Years 

(RIYL = Punk Rock, Fun, The Black Lips)

Two Bicycles – I’m Not Afraid To Wait For You (Single)

(RIYL = Ambient, Lo-Fi, Grouper)

Tyler Butler – Live on CJSR

(RIYL = Folk, Acoustic, Ambient)

Tyler Lyle – Halloween Slideshow ‘11

(RIYL = Folk, Indie Rock)

Vacation – Locust Lane

(RIYL = Bedroom Pop, Psychedelic, Woods)

Wake! Owl – Wild Country

(RIYL = Folk, Indie Rock)

Writer’s Strike – Stay Down

(RIYL = Indie Rock/Pop, Catchy Songs)

The White Album – The Album

(RIYL = Folk Pop, Scandinavia, Seabear)

Wise Children – The Woods

(RIYL = Folk Pop, The Middle East)

Wugazi – 13 Chambers

(RIYL = Fugazi, Wu-Tang Clan, Mash Ups)

The post Best of 2011 Free Music (S-Z) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

15. Tune Yards – W H O K I L L
(4AD)

14. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica
(Mexican Summer/Software)

13. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
(Fat Possum/Lefse)

12. Parts & Labor – Constant Future
(Jagjaguwar)

11. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
(XL/TBD)

10. Clams Casino – Instrumentals Mixtape
(Self Released)

9. South of Lincoln – Homes

 (Self Released)

8. Blanck Mass – Blanck Mass
(Rock Action)

7. Conrad Plymouth – Comrade Plymouth
(Ten Atoms)

6. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
(4AD)

5. The Antlers – Burst Apart
(French Kiss/Transgressive)

4. Gil Scott Heron / Jamie XX – We’re New Here
(XL/Young Turks)

3. James Blake – James Blake
(A&M/Atlas)

2. Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
(Sub Pop)

1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
(4AD/Jagjaguwar)

If you’d like a sample of the above, check out the Wake The Deaf Top Albums of 2011 playlist on Spotify. Click here to be taken straight there.

The post Wake the Deaf’s Top 15 Albums of 2011 appeared first on Various Small Flames.