This duality between individual and societal issues is what drives Jenny O.’s work, the former framed against the latter as thus acknowledged as component parts of the problems we all face. “People in power are just people,” she offers on Peace & Information. “And when you see it repeating / It comes down to you not to be that way.” The result is to view the personal and political not as juxtaposed phenomena but instead something more synergistic, inherently linked forces with real power over one another. So what at first appears to be stories of soured relationships told with relaxed guitar solos and blissful harmonies is actually something far deeper. A new perspective, one which allows us to see fine cracks in a seemingly unscalable wall of disempowerment, and begin to realise we might not be completely helpless after all.

Earlier this year Jenny O. unveiled ‘Prism’, the first single from an album due for release later this year which centred this vision more overtly. A slow, swirling jam which lures the listener into its folds, murmuring in their ear, convincing them of the power of love. “Baby where you going?” Jenny O. croons, “You should see / What my love can do.” A force capable of magnification and transformation, an agent of change. “Love is a prism,” as Jenny O. describes. “It amplifies or alters how we see and conduct ourselves. Through love, I was able to write everything else on the upcoming album, so it’s right that ‘Prism’. comes out first.”

My love for you
Is a prism for your electric art
Is a castle for your magical heart
Let me be your magnifier
And meet you higher
A reciprocal spirit!

Ahead of a Europe/UK tour with Strand of Oaks (see below for a full list of dates), Jenny O. has unveiled a brand new video for the track, edited by Elizabeth Weinberg who filmed it at George’s Lighting in Hollywood, California. Check it out below:

Prism is out now via Mama Bird Recording Co. and is available from all the usual places. Jenny O is about to head to Europe and the UK for a string of shows with Strand of Oaks, as well as appearing at the Manchester Psych Fest. Check out a full list of dates below:

Aug 16 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg*
Aug 21 – Oslo, NO – Krosset*
Aug 23 – Gothenburg, SE – Pustervik*
Aug 24 – Stockholm, SE – Nalen Klub*
Aug 25 – Degerhamn, SE – Carlas Cafe*
Aug 26 – Lund, SE – Mejeriet*
Aug 27 – Copenhagen, DK – Loppen*
Aug 29 – Berlin, DE – Privatclub*
Sept 1 – Groningen, NL – Oosterpoort*
Sept 2 – Zwolle, NL – Hedon*
Sept 3 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Psych Fest
Sept 5 – Den Haag, NL – Paard*
Sept 7 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club*
Sept 8 – Bristol, UK – Exchange*
Sept 9 – Brighton, UK – The Prince Albert*
Sept 10 – London, UK – Lafayette*
* w/ Strand of Oaks

The post Jenny O. – Prism appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Goshen Electric Co. – The Gray Tower

We’re huge fans of Jason Molina here at VSF, so imagine our excitement when it was announced Strand of Oaks‘ Timothy Showalter was standing in for him for a special tour, as Magnolia Electric Co. (Mike Benner, Jason Evans Groth, Mikey Kapinus, Mark Rice, Peter Schreiner) welcome Showalter into their ranks to form Goshen Electric Co. In addition to a tour, the new outfit are releasing a single, and the first track is available to hear now, complete with a video from Colin Kerrigan and Rocco Avallone.

‘The Gray Tower’, which was first released as a single in 2002, is a perfect fit for Showalter’s delivery, capturing the atmosphere of the original where the foreboding and dread is matched only by the naked humanity beneath. “Jason’s lyrics were darkly heroic,” Showalter says. “Trying to fight against it. Just the word ‘try’—whenever he says ‘try,’ it’s just magic to me.”

The Gray Tower B/W Ring the Bell is to be released by Secretly Canadian on the 2nd November and you can pre-order it now.

Lea Thomas – Upstream

Lea Thomas is a songwriter, textile artist and “lifelong student of ecology” from Maui, Hawaii, and her music draws upon these features in its distinctive style. The opening song of new EP Part of This Place, single ‘Upstream’ is the perfect example—a track through which nature is interwoven, the patient and delicate sensibility hiding a sense of permanence and grace, the parts coalescing into a organic whole. Indeed, much of the album came to life during a stay in the Vermont wilderness, with Thomas embracing any imperfections within the recording as part of the naturalistic aesthetic the music exhibits.

“When I feel the soil breaking free
Sliding down the banks between the colors of spring
I feel the warmth of a woman pouring out of me”

Part Of This Place is out now via Spirit House Records and you can get it from Bandcamp.

Elly Swope – Idea

Having become a well-known face in the Portland music scene, playing with the likes of Kelli Schaefer, Roseblood, Genders, Sunbathe and Deathlist, this autumn sees Elly Swope’s first proper solo release. Despite playing much of the parts herself, Swope’s sound subverts all conceptions of what solo music can entail, possessing a rich texture and runaway energy that any full band would envy.

Lead single ‘Idea’ is a case in point, sparking into life with a momentum that lets up only to climb toward a bigger release, Swope’s self-assured vocals more than a match for the angular guitars and furious drums. Thematically, the track charts the deconstruction and subsequent reconstruction of identity that follows the end of a relationship. “This song is about the ways in which we dissociate after a breakup,” Swope explains, life separated into what is personal and what was shared, and what must now be let go.

It Feels the Same Everytime is out via Rue Defense on the 9th November. Per-order it now via Bandcamp.

Massage – Crying Out Loud

Massage is a new project from Alex Naidus, who you might know as a founding member of Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Taken from their debut album, Oh Boy, single ‘Crying Out Loud’ is a bittersweet song which delves into “the frustration of deeply caring about someone but not being able to spend time with them without something going wrong.” The sentiment is set against an upbeat tempo to produce a sunny kind of sadness, a wistful sense of loss that’s almost as affirming as it is painful.

The track comes complete with a video from director Thaddeus Ruzicka, and the film textures of the footage capturing the Massage aesthetic perfectly.

Oh Boy is out now via Tear Jerk Records and you can buy it from Bandcamp.

Belaver – Grave Robber

With new single ‘Grave Robber’, New York’s Belaver aims to give the listener a guided tour of “a world of exhumination,” a place of dark unease “where the past is a crypt of memories to rob and a skeleton yet to be discovered.” After time fronting doom-folk band listenlisten, such a style is fitting for B.E. Godfrey, his music exploring the dark and dingy corners of the human experience. Indeed, this latest single follows the killer-themed EP, Wild Desperation, which he put out in 2015.

Utilising a mix of acoustic guitar and synths to support Godfrey’s distinctive vocals, ‘Grave Robber’ feels like a cross between Mt. Eerie and Monarch Mtn—twilit and noir-ish, traipsing through ancient catacombs and holding a torch to whatever dusty relics are found.

You can find Belaver on Spotify and Soundcloud.

Spencer Segelov – Sacred Songs

Spencer Segelov is a musician and songwriter from Caerphilly in South Wales. Previously working under the moniker Spencer McGarry Season, Segelov has explored a diverse range of styles in his time, from rock and jazz to a whole range of pops—indie pop, synth pop, baroque pop—and his new record Loser Leaves Town continues the multifaceted approach. In contrast to the barroom jazz of the title track, ‘Sacred Songs’ is a piano ballad that blurs the line between earnest and playful, though the chorus settles firmly within the sincere end of the equation.

Loser Leaves Town is out now via Country Mile and all the major download services.

Lazy Legs – Nosebleed

We’ve featured Portland grungers Lazy Legs a few times here at VSF, writing about their self-titled EP back in 2016 and describing how previous single ‘Gloss’ “pull[ed] off the quiet/loud dynamic effortlessly […] managing to be both woozily captivating and cathartically empowering.”

The duo are back with a new single, ‘Nosebleed’, the first taste of a forthcoming record, Moth Mother. ‘Nosebleed’ delves into a raw and spiky dreamscape, dropping the psychedelic flourishes of the previous release in favour of a crunchy, heavier sound. The result is still very much of the Lazy Legs aesthetic, though suggests the new album will see the band orbiting closer to their grunge and slowcore influences.

Grab ‘Nosebleed’ now on a pay-what-you-can basis from Bandcamp.

Annie Dressner – Fades Away

We last featured Annie Dressner back in 2013, and now the UK-based American is back with a brand new album, Broken Into Pieces. For those unfamiliar with Dressner’s sound, opener ‘Fades Away’ provides a good example, blending a delicate guitar line with a conversational tone to create an intimate sound. The track is fleshed out with various other instrumental flourishes too, becoming a vivid, warm song of surprising weight, the simplicity of Dressner’s writing only adding to the poetic nature.

Broken Into Pieces is out now and you can get it now from the Annie Dressner Bandcamp page.

Marc Ferrino – Like a Spark

Working in bands such as Black Before Red and Low Line Caller, Marc Ferrino forged a reputation as one of Austin’s best vocalists, and 2019 will see the release of his debut solo EP on Wren & Shark. So far we only have one song to go on, though ‘Like a Spark’ is more than satisfactory in terms of building anticipation for the record. Pitched between indie rock cool and a celebratory style of pop, the track serves as one final hurrah for the summer—a grand, sweeping ode to ephemeral warmth.

Like a Spark is set for release in 2019 via Wren & Shark. Keep an eye on their website for pre-order info.

The post Bright Sparks: Vol. 17 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

GRNDMS

“Capitol Mill is proof that sunny little songs need not be mindless nonsense, and that you don’t need to write explicitly sad songs to resonate with the listener” – we reviewed the début album from GRNDMS, out now on Fox Food Records.

Eskimeaux

“About doing the best you can and hoping it’s enough, about accepting and learning and growing so that whatever hand you’re dealt, you carve out some semblance of meaning and happiness to make everything worthwhile” – Eskimeaux’s O.K., out now on Double Double Whammy and Mt. Home Arts, is a triumphant success.

Peptalk

“Peptalk paint ecosystems, thriving arrangements of geology and biology where plants and animals and wind and rain follow their own instinctive patterns. However, things are not quite what they seem…” – We welcomed you to the weird and beautiful world of Peptalk’s Islet.

Craig Finn

“Finn’s sharp turn of phrase… elevates mundane situations to something meaningful, transforming everyday words and imagery into things imbued with symbolism” – the first song from a new album by The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn.

Henoheno

“Emotional suffering is presented in a detached manner, as if the narrator has transcended into an outer body experience or else knows the pain so well it lacks the immediacy it once possessed” – we were delighted to premiere ‘Destroy’, the first track from Henoheno’s upcoming album I Made These Songs Before I Moved.

Kalle Mattson

“Strummed guitars and slow-burning drum machine beats which conjure a vivid, nostalgic image, like a city as seen from a dark shore at night” – ‘A Long Time Ago’, a new song from Kalle Mattson’s upcoming EP Avalanche.

PONY

“Sun-kissed and salt-lipped… four songs about romance and break-ups during the summer months” – we reviewed CRUSHED, the debut EP from Toronto band PONY.

Old Earth

“[Milwaukee] completely shaped and nurtured me. I grew up and spent most of my life here, so going from being a teenager seeing punk shows in VFW halls in the early ’90s to being an artist that some people know and read about in the city is kind of crazy” – Old Earth spoke to Milwaukee Record about the pros and cons of moving to California.

Kathryn Joseph

“I never felt like we were making something beautiful. I just thought my songs were shit, and that this is all really embarrassing” – Kathryn Joseph spoke to The Skinny before winning Scottish Album of the Year award for Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled. We reviewed the album here, and certainly aren’t surprised.

Joseph also unveiled a new song, ‘the worm’, via The Line of Best Fit.

Jenny Hval

I feel a little intimidated at the prospect of writing about Apocalypse, girl, the new album from Jenny Hval. Luckily there are already some great reviews out there, we particularly liked these from The Quietus and God is in the TV.

Crosslegged

“In the past, my summers have been defined by the artists that manage to capture the heaviness of a muggy afternoon or the confusing side of a fleeting romance. I know Speck will be a record that falls into that special category for me this year” – The Le Sigh are streaming Speck by Keba Robinson’s Crosslegged.

Naps

“Finding out about Naps felt like being told a really good secret” – understanding that there can never be enough quality new music, The Le Sigh also premièred a new song from Florida band Naps (who we have featured on numerous occasions).

Frog

“Irreverent, strange and just a little addictive” – Clash premiered a video for Frog’s ‘Judy Garland’. ICYMI, we reviewed (and loved) Kind of Blah and spoke to Frog about their music.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus have released Sorry About the Delay, a mix of demos, rarities and unheard album cuts in preparation for the forthcoming album The Most Lamentable Tragedy. Pitchfork have all the details, including the link for a free download.

Strand of Oaks

“Filled with bite and sometimes regret, but also a good deal of warmth” – The indomitable Timothy Showalter visited NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions. We have written about Strand of Oaks quite a bit, but probably still haven’t conveyed how much we love Showalter’s work.

And… our favourite 8tracks playlist of the week was this one by beneller (that cover art!!)

the ultimate summer playlist from beneller on 8tracks Radio.

The post Week in Review: #6 (15th – 19th June) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The album opens with the sprawling ‘Ticonderoga’, which sounds like the lovechild of Fang Island and Parts & Labor. Clocking in at just under eight minutes, the track is a suitable flag-bearer for the rest of the album. The only lyric present is the song’s title, a name he repeats over and over with mounting feeling as the guitar and percussion become increasingly agitated. This is followed by ‘Light Leaks’, another seven minute epic that mixes the finger-picked complexity of traditional folk music with a mathy electronic sound. Here we get the first real glimpse at the truth at the heart of the record, a naked sincerity which forgoes being hip or clever or cool in an attempt to communicate openly and truthfully and connect with the listener. The song holds an improbable weight, opening with two simple verses and the refrain of “Hey, it’s all right. Light leaks from under the door”, it seems like the sonic version of the sort of simple but impossibly meaningful gesture from someone which begins to pull you from your darkest hour. Next Seretan delves into repetition once again, and the clear cycle of uncomplicated words means that by the halfway mark the listener is singing along, each phrase swelling in size and feeling, filling that soul-shaped part inside your ribcage that isn’t taken by your heart or your lungs, becoming a chant, a hymn.

“You will be stronger tomorrow
You will be wiser tonight
You will find new love without warning
You will find new joy with every breath”

If ‘Light Leaks’ is the epiphany then ‘Meadowlark’ is the sustained attempt at being well, a slow-burning new dawn that demands with a country rock swagger, “Put your might in something good. Sing out with the Meadowlark”. Lyrically, ‘Blues for Ian M. Colletti’ follows a similarly encouraging theme (“You are a blessing on the world”), but the sound is far more restrained and ethereal, the late night heart-to-heart to ‘Meadowlark’s morning optimism. ‘The Confused Sound…’ and ‘Two Black Wings’ are nostalgic/oneiric returns to ramshackle rock, again using swirling repetition to build atmosphere and emotion, before the final two tracks close off the album with a clear return to the hope and joy that runs through the record. ‘My Lucky Stars’ is short and stripped back, based around the lines “I’m in love with you, I thank my lucky stars for you” and the album ends with ‘Swing Low’, a seven-minute loop of the joyful “swing low, sweet chariot. Coming for to carry me home”.

There are clearly Bad Things which inspired the record too, but these are not the focus. Rather, these Things bring into relief everything we stand to lose, everything worth fighting for, the good and the bright and the beautiful. This is an album that tries to remind us why Bad Things are bad in the first place by holding aloft what is good. Seretan has ECSTATIC JOY tattooed on his chest for goodness sake! To quote him again:

There are lots of [Bad] Things for everyone. You might be going through a Thing right now. I am, for sure. But making music isn’t about those things, exactly. Not for me, at least. It’s about me and my loved ones planting a flag – brilliant, billowing, as wide as a city block and covered in pink and yellow sequins – and letting it unfurl on the stone face of the outcrop.

This is why Ben Seretan is such an admirable record. To write sincerely involves opening up, which is not only icky and messy and embarrassing but also leaves you open to ridicule, the dreaded patronising smirk. Yet the only way to enable real connection is to stand out in the open, trusting that those you meet feel the same way. The only way is not to hide. And let it be known: there is nowhere to hide on the stone face of an outcrop, especially when you are holding aloft a gigantic flag full of sequins.

You can buy Ben Seretan on CD and vinyl via Bandcamp, or grab a cassette from Hope For The Tape Deck. If you want to read more about what the album means then head on over to Seretan’s Tumblr for some rather lovely writing.

The post Ben Seretan – S/T appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)

“It’s heartening to know that a band who have been toiling away at their craft for years can go from relative obscurity to flavour of the month with one astounding T.V performance. It’s also heartening to know that within the loose circles of pop music, there’s still an appetite for the surprising and the unusual. When I first saw Samuel T. Herring’s chest beating, lateral chicken dancing and unexpected bellowing during Future Island’s performance of Seasons on Letterman, I was bowled over—it violated every expectation I might have had of a synth pop band within the first thirty seconds and left me wondering what the hell I’d just watched by the end. It’s catchy, it’s refreshingly different, and Herring’s performance absolutely demands your attention in a way that few other songs have this year.” Dave 

Field Report – Pale Rider

“Every year I seem to fall for an album that demands to be played front to back (see: Hospice, Spectral Dusk, White Lighter) and 2014 was no different. It’s difficult to settle on a single song from Marigolden but I’ve plumped for ‘Pale Rider’, a track which exemplifies what Field Report are all about. The song deals with the pressure of meaning so much to another person, a blend of sadness and regret illuminated with sparks of intense emotion and a fierce hope. I’ll leave you with my favourite lyrics of the year: ‘now you’re cantering crooked and screaming at the wind / and shooting off flare guns in memory of the kid / his birthday was yesterday; he would have been six / oh my god, I am so sorry.’” Jon

Strand of Oaks  – JM

JM is Tim Showalter’s tribute to the late Jason Molina, and more generally to the consoling and healing power of music. The lyrics are comprised of a (presumably autobiographical) list of struggles and difficult times – “And I hated all my friends, I wouldn’t let them in”, “I was sitting in the bath, cleaning off the ash” – followed repeatedly by the caveat “but I had your sweet tunes to play”. Describing how Showalter (and every single one of us) finds solace in songs, the track smoulders in a flickering twilight before igniting in a storm of wailing guitars and thundering drums, ending with: “I won’t let these dark times win, we got your sweet tunes to play”. It’s big and triumphant and sincere and it’s my favourite song released this year. Thanks for the sweet tunes, Tim.“ Liam

Photay – Reconstruct (Feat. Seafloor)

I have a theory that Photay must have stumbled on the formulae for the perfect song. Reconstruct has absolutely everything. After battering in your ears with a raw as hell bass riff, it journeys successively through a dreamily singalong chorus, a ponderous breakdown and a jazzy jam-ending. I haven’t stopped listening to it for months.” Matt

Flying Lotus – Never Catch Me (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

“Never Catch Me sees two of the finest bring out the best in each other. FlyLo’s rhythm and grooves are matched every inch of the way by Kendrick Lamar’s flawless delivery. As songs about death go, it’s as upbeat as possible. Lines like “Looking down on my soul now, tell me I’m in control now, Tell me I can live long and I can live wrong and I can live right,
And I can sing songs and I can unite with you that I love, you that I like,
Look at my life and tell me I fight,” focus on our desire to affirm our time as worthwhile, the fear of wasting it and eventually being forgotten. Matched with a charming video, it’s been on regular rotation for a fair few months now.“ Will

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

Be sure to check out the other volumes which can be found here. Enjoy.

Tracklisting:

1. Thirteen (Big Star cover) – The Point
2. Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper cover) – GRMLN
3. Sofia (Mannequins on 7th Street cover) – Spark Alaska
4. Sunflower (Low cover) – T E Morris
5. Hideaway (Kiesza cover) – Eliza Shaddad
6. It’s the End of the World as We Know It (R.E.M. cover) – Free Cake for Every Creature
7. Peach, Plum, Pear (Joanna Newsom cover) – FemFemFem
8. Fake Empire (The National cover) – Thad Kopec
9. No Lion (Boom Forest cover) – PHOX (Fuel/Friends Chapel Session)
10. Last To Swim (Strand of Oaks cover) – Our Griffins (Root Down in the Shadow Covers Club)
11. Unfucktheworld (Angel Olsen cover) – Nadia Reid
12. You’re Not the Only Monster (R.L. Kelly cover) – DIY Scarves
13. I’m on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) – Low
14. You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan cover) – My Bubba
15. Tugboat (Galaxie 500 cover) – Finnmark!
16. Frog Went a Courtin’ (Traditional) – Eef Barzelay
17. Lost on the River (Hank Williams cover) – Radiator Hospital (Birdtapes compilation)
18. Just Be Simple (Songs:Ohia cover) – Water Liars (Out of Town Films)
19. Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory (Guided By Voices cover) – Arms
20. Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley cover) – Eels (KCRW)

Covers Mix #12 from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post The Covers Mix: Volume #12 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The other candidate is a bit of a cheat. Unplug is a live album from Cloud Cult, recorded at a sold-out show at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. “We dug through the Cloud Cult discography,” frontman Craig Minowa describes after the first track, “and picked out the songs that had the philosophical messages that we want to be putting out there right now.” That essentially means that they dig out the jewels in their back catalogue and shine them up with brand new orchestrations so that they become even more precious.

I’ve been a big fan of Cloud Cult for a long while, from their often bizarre avant-garde beginnings to their more hopeful recent albums such as Light Chasers and Love. Apart from being one of the most musically innovative bands around, and one of the most experimental (their live shows often have people painting on-stage during the show), they are also pioneers in terms of ethical and moral ways to progress in the music business. Rejecting labels in favour of self-publishing, the band were practicising green methods of releasing and touring their music back when that sort of thing should have started (the band’s merch is all postconsumer recycled or made from organic materials, they have planted thousands of trees to absorb the band’s CO2 output, and they donate renewable energy project such as those that generate revenue on Native American reservations). In other words, these are good people, folks trying to do it right.

Following the death of his two year-old son Kaidin, Minowa and his wife went through some very tough times. “There was a very, very low point, where I really wanted to follow our son and find out where he was.” Unplug is a collection of songs that charts their ascension from these depths, drawing heavily from the post-Aurora Borealis Cloud Cult catalogue that is based around/born from an epiphanic moment described by Minowa during the performance: “I all of the sudden felt this light around me and heard voices as clear as day… it became apparent that… for all of us, there is a much bigger calling for everybody. We just have to listen.”

I don’t want to write too much about the songs themselves. I’ve tried a few times and trying to put my feelings into words makes the whole thing seem clumsy and saccharine. Just let it be known that the album is a special one, and songs like ‘Breakfast With My Shadow,’ ‘Running With The Wolves,’ ‘Chemicals Collide,’ ‘Chain Reaction’ and ‘You Were Born’ all feel important. I think that a pair of songs around halfway through sum up the record perfectly:

‘We Made Up Your Mind For You’:

“We made up your mind for you last night,
so you can decide that you’ll be alright.
It’s no small trick to beat-beat
the pessimistic motherfucker sleeping inside your head.
Do you believe in you?
Cuz no one else can do that for you.
Are you ready yet? Are you ready yet?
you don’t want to hear it.”

‘That Man Jumped Out The Window’

“It’s the thoughts that you feed
It’s the habits you need
It’s the things that you don’t think that you’re seeing
When you’re really seeing.
That man jumped out the window
Come back in the window.

It’s your tone in my mouth
It’s the things that we’re too scared to talk about
It’s the feeling that you’re dreaming
(You’re not really dreaming)”

In a time where irony and skepticism are valued above all else, Cloud Cult are a breath of fresh air (it could be argued that the act of appearing intelligent/sophisticated/worldly (i.e. not naive) is the biggest drain on the time and energy of young people today). Their music is forthright, their positivity and hope border on something of a spiritual level, something which could leave them open to ridicule. That their songs and ideas don’t come off as New Age-y clap-trap is a testament to 1) how much we (or at least I) want to hear/identify with what they are saying, and 2) the sense of authenticity that surrounds their work. This is something that is heightened with the Unplug arrangements and recordings. It is clear, at least to me, that the band fundamentally believe what they are playing. You get the impression they would be singing these songs even if nobody was listening.

You can buy Unplug from the Cloud Cult store page. Be sure to check out the original albums too. (And if you, like us, aren’t from the US, think about sticking with the digital download. Shipping = carbon emissions).

The post Cloud Cult – Unplug appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklist:

1. Trying To Walk – Kissed Her Little Sister
2. Kickar Grus – Johan Hedberg
3. Harvey – Alex G
4. I Kept Your Teeth in a Jar By My Bed – Gorgeous Bully
5. Hypochondriac – Diveliner
6. Hallow – Cloud Boat
7. Hunting – Dearest
8. Rain, Windows – Sad Souls
9. Weeding Riverbanks (Excerpt) – The Volume Settings Folder & Tanner Garza
10. Side A (Excerpt) – Wes Tirey
11. Elevator Song – Keaton Henson
12. Y.O.Y.O. – Thom Byles
13. Accept That the Mark Will Outlast You – Old Earth
14. Dog – Jeremiah Nelson
15. PRPL – Ava Luna
16. Wire Frame Mattress – The Wytches
17. Post Holiday Dead Song – Tyrannosaurus Dead
18. Shut In – Strand Of Oaks
19. Pocket Knife – Liam Betson
20. Jean Moulin – VTCN RADIO
21. Temporary View (feat. Sampha) – SBTRKT
22. Yogyakarta – Derek Piotr
23. Can’t Do Without You – Caribou
24. Days With You (feat Sinead Harnett) – Snakehips

If you missed them, we have such mixes for January, February, March, April and May too.

June Mix from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post June 2014 Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.

A similar thing happens whenever an artist you particularly like releases new work. Much of the appreciation a listener/reader/viewer feels is based around this connection with the artist, a sense that the person sees the world in a similar way. Anything that reinforces this relationship feels like a confirmation. This person really does think like me.

And so we (finally) get to the review. Timothy Showalter’s Strand of Oaks is one of my musical equivalents of Don DeLillo. His previous albums Leave Ruin, Pope Killdragon and Dark Shores have all, to varying degrees, been important to me, and I have waited for the new album, HEAL, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, especially given Showalter’s comments in interviews that he didn’t like Dark Shores. [Did the fact that he didn’t like what I liked mean I wouldn’t like what he did? Was the connection going to be broken?]

Despite the music of Strand of Oaks always confronting various issues and problems, so far it has often been through the use of metaphor or fantastical settings (Dark Shores centred around space as a symbol for isolation and loneliness, Leave Ruin had a love affair between a priest and nun, Pope Killdragon had giants and Dan Aykroyd and the ghost of John Kennedy). With HEAL, Showalter stated that he was going to more direct, stating explicitly the things that were causing him grief.

The album’s opening track, ‘Goshen ’97,’ serves as a prelude to Showalter’s strife, a childhood where he was ’rotting in the basement’ before he was ‘fat, drunk and mean,’ with ‘everything [see: trouble] still out ahead.’ It’s a great description of growing up in the 90s that’s infused with a positivity and longing that I associate with thoughts of childhood.

By the second track, the real problems have hit and the lyrics are sort of looking backwards, the refrain coming across as Present Day Showalter instructing Ground Zero Showalter. ’You gotta heal’ he insists over and over, suggesting that while destruction and self-harm might feel good, they can never be helpful in the long run. The rest of the album continues this mix of anguish and hope, with (very) loud, almost metal-esque guitars, Showalter’s distinctive vocals proving the perfect vessel.

‘Shut In’ captures a sense of isolation/hopelessness without the need for any space metaphors, stating “I was born in the middle, made it too late, everything good had been made.” ‘Mirage Year’ confronts his wife’s affair in stark detail “He asked you about movies, he asked about your day, you showed him in the mirror what was ours.” ‘For Me’ sees the guitars turned up for a song that boils and boils before bubbling over with the desperate refrain “and the sun fell right out of the sky.” ‘JM’ is the current stand out track, a mammoth midway point which serves as a tribute to the late, great Jason Molina. Showalter describes numerous negative scenarios and feelings (with little Molina references scattered around), capping each off with the refrain ’I had your sweet tunes to play.’ Molina helped him through, Molina healed him. This offers a nice parallel to what I said about the importance of artists, and it reinforces that sense of connection for the listener. Showalter has turned to music in order to feel a little less alone too. This person really does think like me.

Reading these descriptions you might expect the album to be an angry one. Catharsis through rage, antagonistic and dark and unforgiving. But what makes the album special is how the situations and emotions described are not portrayed as simple, clear-cut things. Yes he is angry, but he is also sad and frustrated and loving. He’s ashamed yet defiant, nostalgic but glad to have moved on. It is Her fault but also His. All great art attempts to describe the paradoxes and double binds of existence, because to attribute binary descriptions of our circumstances and emotions is to flatten the very best things about being human. Showalter’s comments in the press release from label Dead Oceans sums this up nicely:

“There’s an uncertainty to ‘HEAL’ that makes me nervous and excited at the same time. It’s sad, but it sounds like a celebration, like I’m crying and laughing and sticking both middle fingers in the air all at the same time.”

HEAL is out now via Dead Oceans, and you can buy it here.

The post Strand of Oaks – HEAL appeared first on Various Small Flames.

If you are new around here, then we also have round-up mixes from January, February and March.

April Mix from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post April 2014 Roundup – A Mixtape appeared first on Various Small Flames.