From there, music began to fill the devotional void left behind by his religious upbringing. Across the next decade, Griffith James began to write songs as a process of healing and redemption, drawing on the classic pop of The Kinks and Harry Nilsson and the fragile vulnerability of Elliott Smith. His debut single, ‘Market and Black’ captures this style perfectly, enlisting Denver indie pop titans Tennis for production and guest vocals from Alaina Moore.

Griffith says the song is “stitched together from fragmented memories of dissolute afternoons on the needle-strewn blocks of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district,” and despite the buoyant, psych-tinged pop stylings, there is a definite sense of melancholy at its heart. The feeling that behind the smoothness and practiced grace lies a raw centre that still stings to the touch.

Please don’t regret
Out like a bird that wont fly
Please be yourself
Follow the sound that wont echo then die

The song comes complete with a video directed by Luca Venter, which stars both James and Moore. Check it out below:

The Griffith James album is out via Secretly Distribution on the 17th September.

The post Griffith James – Market and Black (feat. Tennis) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Following their debut EP, Good Luck!, released in 2017, the band are readying their first full-length, titled Hurts Being Alive. Produced by Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore of Tennis, the record builds on what the previous album started but also signals a real development in the ambition and range of the Down Time sound. Optimism and compassion still form the heart of the music, and now the trio have new ways of conveying it, leading to a newly authentic heart.

The album’s lead single, ‘Not a Complicated Person’, captures this ethos wonderfully. There’s a real welcoming warmth to the melodies, a carefree bounce to the drums, all complemented perfectly by Maunders’s earnest vocals. There’s something kindly about the whole thing, something almost child-like, but not in a way that’s cutesy or shallow. Rather, it has a gently irrepressible spirit, something simple and sincere and wholesome.

The band say the song is “about the oft-overlooked simple pleasures of a home cooked meal—creating something from nothing.” The idea captures the essence of Down Time. It’s music made the way grandma used to, rich and wholesome and good for the soul, and most importantly free from the pretensions or ambitions that so often haunt such artists.

The press release puts it nicely. “Listening to Down Time is like dropping in on a friend,” it says, “someone who’s there to listen or challenge or provide a new perspective. Down Time brings excitement to familiarity. It’s a conversation between three friends that invites the listener to be part of the family.”

Today we have the pleasure of unveiling a video for ‘Not a Complicated Person’. Shot in the style of a kitsch family sitcom, the video has the same endearing glow as the music, and that’s before things get weird. Click play below to see Maunders pulled into a surreal pie-world, while Camilli and Weaver skate to the local roller rink for garishly-costumed fun.

Hurts Being Alive is out on the 6th March on vinyl, CD and cassette, and you can pre-order it now from the Down Time Bandcamp page.

3/6: Denver, CO – Lost Lake
3/14: Fort Collins, CO – Hotel Hillcrest
3/15: Provo, UT – Free Provo Radio
3/17: Sonora, CA – Waterwheel
3/18: Santa Cruz, CA – SubRosa
3/19: Berkeley, CA – Sweehearts
3/20: Ashland, OR – Oberon’s
3/21: Portland, OR – Fixinto
3/23: Seattle, WA – Belltown Yacht Club
3/27: Boise, ID – Treefort Day Party

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