Tracklisting:

Hop Along – How Simple
Remember Sports – Pull Through
Fresh Kill – San Diego
Badlands – Slow it Down
Foundlings – Misery
Squirrel Flower – Conditions
Valley Queen – Chasing the Muse
Nap Eyes – Every Time the Feeling
wished bone – reasons
Pearl Crush – True Blue
Samia – 21
plant food – baked beans
Gillian Frances – Blue Shit
Luton – Ice Museum
naps – ninth
Allison’s Gate – Traces
Mess – Cave
runner – awash
I’m Kingfisher – Sarajevo
Sam Moss – Snap
The Duke of Norfolk – Dylan Thomas / Bitter Bitter
Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – Less Than Positive
lung cycles – dcs

You can check out all of our past monthly roundup mixes here, and be sure to follow us on Spotify and Playmoss for all our future playlists.

The post May 2018 Roundup appeared first on Various Small Flames.

However, after a two-song demo release last year, wished bone are back with their debut full-length, cellar belly. The album is also a debut of sorts for Human Noise Records, it being the first full-length release from the new project of Tom Johnson of GoldFlakePaint. The partnership seems a perfect one—an eternal champion of independent music working with a band operating outside of the industry’s demand for constant attention—and for all the ills and complications, such a thing highlights the positive ties that can develop from the internet’s hold on music. A kind of cross-pollination between two passionate camps, their ideas blown by the winds of the internet to meet by happy chance, and thereafter growing into something bigger and stronger.

The botanical theme is apt in more ways than one, as wished bone’s Ashley studied plant biology, and indeed something about the atmosphere and style of cellar belly has a natural, almost ecological feel. Which is to say, this is a record crafted out of a thousand separate elements that pull together in harmony—an ecosystem of drum track beats and lo-fi lilts and a diversity of guitar sounds ranging from laid-back to melancholic. This dreamy environment is populated by snatches of vocals, the forthright, intimate delivery belying the often strange and poetic lyrics. As such, the vocals feel less like a direct communication and more some interior musing, the condensed language of true sentiments that might evaporate when constructed into full sentences. Take opener ‘reasons’ as an example:

love untouched is the sun at dusk
on my windowsill
and light on the snow has an ominous glow
her hair is tangled still

The result is a record where all emotions can be explored, and the mood and tone can change without warning. However, rather than feeling jarring or volatile, this inconsistency only adds to the organic aesthetic. The lazy tropical shuffle of ‘reasons’ leads into the electrically-charged ‘yellowstoned’, before the rich depth of ‘hubbub’ emerges like a new morning, a newfound brightness unfurling itself across the scene. Likewise, the off-kilter brood of ‘yellow bird’ paves the way for the upbeat rhythm of ‘pollinate me’, a track no less strange but altogether more positive. The song is a great example of the wished bone lyrical style, the language odd yet more precise for it, conjuring lives both inside and out in all their idiosyncrasy.

little spiders build entire worlds
would you like to meet the love of mine?
he stands about a storey high
his eyes are blue like little butterflies

when you came to town you made me shake
made me think about mistakes I’ve made
could you tell me why you’ve got no shoes?
is there something i can do for you?

i’m a flower and you are a bee
why won’t you pollinate me?

The acoustic strum of ‘seed’ pushes as far toward traditional folk as anything on the record, though breaks down into something closer to Daniel Johnston around the midpoint, an analogue roughness trumped by the vivid ‘spring time lover’. This is followed by ‘pat’, a rhythmic and playful song that crests and crashes along with Ashley’s clear-eyed pledge (“someday soon, i’ll find you”), before the empty-house stillness of ‘two floors’ bubbles into life and shows off an ethereal sort of eccentricity. All that is left then is closer ‘ohio’, as vibrant and clear as anything cellar belly has to offer, where even the imperfections seem to further the sense of clarity and cohesion.

Which seems pertinent for the record as a whole. Whatever quirky oddities are on show, no matter how often the pace or tone switches onto another track, the album never loses a sense of natural progression, as though a functioning world of it’s own. Think of cellar belly as a habitat moulded by external pressures, its shape and colour and form reacting to conditions around it, though adapting and changing to persevere. To be alive.

cellar belly is out now via Human Noise Records and you can get it via Bandcamp, including on cassette.

Photo by Joshua Cobos

The post wished bone – cellar belly appeared first on Various Small Flames.

In support of this move, many bands and artists have decided to follow suit and donate some/all of their proceeds too. There’s already a pretty comprehensive list over at Bandcamp Daily of people taking part, but it doesn’t include all of our favourites and focuses mainly on those donating to the ACLU too. We know that many have been gifting proceeds to other causes (Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, Forward Together, Sister Song etc. etc.) pretty much since the election, so we wanted to make sure they got a mention for their generosity too. Therefore, you buy any/all of the below and rest assured that the acts will make a donation to some great organisation along with Bandcamp’s ACLU end of the deal.

Also, though not wanting this descend into self-promotion (the ship has sailed on that front anyway), we released a benefit compilation back in 2015 in support of Worldreader. For the next 24 hours, every penny (minus postage) will be donated to the ACLU. Digital downloads are set at ‘name your price’, tapes are available for as little as £1, and we have a super limited number of postcard artwork prints left too. We’ve included some examples at the end of the post, but can see most of the prints here, or by clicking on the individual songs on Bandcamp. If you like any in particular send us a message and we’ll mail them out for a small donation.

(Also, we understand that not everyone is in a position to make financial contributions, but there are plenty of ways to help. Even if you just support minority artists, writers and thinkers, as we suggested in a recent piece in response to the Women’s March movement).

Advance Base / Casiotone For the Painfully Alone – You know Owen Ashworth is pretty much a genius, right? Most recent album Nephew in the Wild supports this notion.

Alanna McArdle (in support of Right to Remain)

Andrew Weathers – A perfect blend between traditional folk and weird ambient stuff

Andrew Younker – new release Microchasm is like a digital dream.

Anti- – including great new albums from Japandroids and Peter Silberman, plus that exceptional John K. Samson record

ATO Records – Margaret Glasby, Okkervil River, Hurray For The Riff Raff…

Ba Da Bing Records – e.g. Claire Cronin’s beautiful album, Julie Byrne‘s new gem

Barsuk Records – who have a great compilation, Sad!, featuring David Bazan, Say Hi etc.

Beat Radio – You could say we believe in Brian Sendrowitz

Benjamin Shaw – Whatever his moniker, wherever in the world he’s hiding, Benjamin Shaw’s music will make your day a little easier.

The Burning Hell – The prolific Mathias Kom has something for everyone

Cellar Door Tapes – Plenty to explore here, though wished bone are an underappreciated diamond.

The Chairman Dances – Time Without Measure is as timely as it is brilliant, as we explained a few months ago.

Cryostasium – Blow off some steam with this black metal

Dicktations – The band’s cut will be donated to CAIR or a charity of your choice, so it’s as good a time as ever to grab their latest album, Super Paradise.

Disposable America – Scientifically-proven to have the best logo/tag-line in the indie music sphere, so obviously their music is great. Lillith’s Apology Plant is out today, if you want to be cutting edge.

Dogbreth – With 100% off their takings going to No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes, their latest (excellent) record Second Home is doubly alluring.

Drunk With Love Records – An interesting, exciting label putting out experimental DIY music. Surf the tag to check out our reviews

Emperor X – Matheny is splitting his proceeds between five non-profits: Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Women’s Refugee Commission, Union of Concerned Scientists, B’Tselem and Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Father/Daughter Records – maybe new Diet Cig, Vagabon, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, or all of the above?

Fire Talk Records – We liked the latest Nassau EP, Hoss.

Flannelgraph Records – Whole host of stuff to keep you busy

Folkadelphia – You could dig into these sessions and compilations for days and days

Forged Artifacts – The Bombshells are cool, as are Some Pulp, ahem and a ton of others.

Foxes in Fiction – Hildebrand released Virgos to Waste, a set of rare, one-off and unreleased recordings in support of the Southern Poverty Law Centre.

Fox Food Records (donating to Samaritans) – Too much good stuff to rec, but our pals Nice Legs have a new release on vinyl! Alternatively, cruise the Fox Food tag to read our previous reviews.

Friends For Equality – Nancy Kells of Spartan Jet Plex went to town on this compilation, as we discussed here

Full Spectrum Records – A wide spectrum of odd, weird music. AKA the best music

GoldFlakePaint – The king of our musical jungle has put out some killer compilations over the years which will introduce you to a shed load of new talent.

The Grey Estates – Talking of blogging royalty, everyone’s favourite purple website also plays the compilation game. We wrote about why Sugar Rush is good and important a while back.

Hallelujah the Hills – We loved their most recent album so much, I spoke to Ryan Walsh for Bandcamp

Jacob Furr – Latest record Sierra Madre is one we’ve been meaning to tell you about

John Heart Jackie

Kill Rock Stars – A good time to get acquainted with Horse Feathers

Land Animal Tapes – The perfect excuse to grab that new Travis Trevisan release.

Los Campesinos!

Lost Tribe Sound – We’re continually blown away by the likes of William Ryan Fritch, Western Skies Motel and Seabuckthorn

Mat Riviere – Some fuzzy, not-doom pop music, just what the doctor ordered.

Merge Records – The new Alison Crutchfield record is great, but there’s also the likes Titus Andronicus, Mount Moriah, The Mountain Goats…

Mexican Summer – Quilt released a superb album last year

Mike Pace & the Child Actors – Get Soft is probably my favourite release of the year so far, for reasons explained here.

Most People

Negative Fun Records – A veritable gold mine of good music

Old Earth – WTD fav Todd Umhoefer has put together a special charity bundle just for today. Surf the tag for our thoughts on why Old Earth rules

Old Flame Records – Shark? will add a little energy to your day

Paper Garden Records – The latest ARMS record is a beauty

Paul Lawton – The Ontario musician has put up a whole load of ‘lost’ recordings from a whole host of his bands and monikers especially for ACLU day

Peter Mulvey – Mulvey teamed up with friends to release a benefit compilation in support of various good organisations.

Petridisch – If you’re looking for weird, experimental spins on classical compositions, look no further.

Pinegrove (Donating to Southern Poverty Law Center)

Radiator Hospital – Torch Song is a special record, today’s a great day to welcome it into your life

Rhyme Sayers – An embarrassment of hip-hop riches to delve into here

Run for Cover – Elvis Depressedly, LVL UP, Spencer Radcliffe, Modern Baseball etc.

Sam Moss – His latest album, Fable, is just lovely

Skinny Blonde – The band have gone a step further than most, promising to donate 100% of all Bandcamp sales/Spotify and Apple Music revenue etc. to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood until Trump is no longer president. Read our thoughts on their music and get involved.

Someday River

Sorority Noise – Numerous albums worth your time here, as our reviews attest.

Space Mountain – If you haven’t got Big Sky yet, what on earth are you waiting for?

Specialist Subject – The new American Enthusiasm is great (and kind of appropriately named for this whole idea)

Speedy Ortiz

Sub Pop – If you haven’t already, now’s a good time to grab some stuff by Damien Jurado, Low, Wolf Parade, Father John Misty etc.

Wake The Deaf – As stated above, we usually donate to Worldreader, but for 24 hours the ACLU will get every penny after postage.

Wilder Maker – The Everyday Crimes Against Objects Of Desire trilogy is fantastic, as we can attest

The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die – Released a special track in support of the ACLU

Xiu Xiu

Here are some of the artwork prints we mentioned at the beginning, from the likes of (in order) Mouni Feddag, Jean De Wet, William Exley, Heather Swenson, Rachael Perisho and Mina Hamada. They’re all postcard size on nice sturdy card. Not many of each left, but let us know if you have a favourite and we’ll sort something out.

Pssst, a little secret… we’re changing our name really soon, so all this WTD-branded stuff will be super rare and collectable.

The post Bandcamp’s Charity Friday: A Shopping List appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Sabbatical Wilderness – Night Life in the Lemon Town of Büshka (REVIEW)
(RIYL: experimental, narrative-driven music, J-RPGs)

Sad Girls Club – Sad Girls Clubbing
(RIYL: bedroom artists, 90s/00s pop, crying in discos)

Sailor Jupiter – S/T
(RIYL: punk, noise, Riot Grrrls)

Schapero – Girls EP
(RIYL: catchy pop, Toro y Moi, LCD Soundsystem)

Sea Ghost – SG
(RIYL: punk, powerpop, The Unicorns)

Single Colour Fields – Jaundiced Views
(RIYL: dream pop, freak folk, splits)

Sister Something – Duds EP / The Tongue Davids EP
(RIYL: indie rock, post-pop, Mac DeMarco)

Sleeping In – EP
(RIYL: shoegaze, Speedy Ortiz, Sonic Youth)

Slows Down – S/T (REVIEW)
(RIYL: dream pop, drone, post rock)

SNCKPCK – LAVA PAL
(RIYL: Electronic, chill, positivity)

Spirit of the Beehive – You Are Arrived (But You’ve Been Cheated) (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, lo-fi, dream rock for disaffected youth)

Sports Day Records – RELAY (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie pop, bedroom pop, compilations)

Stolen Jars – Kept
(RIYL: math pop, folk, Dirty Projectors, Freelance Whales)

Strange Friends – Summer Recordings (REVIEW)
(RIYL: fuzz pop, lo-fi, Gorgeous Bully)

Stray Amour – S/T
(RIYL: indie pop, shoegaze)

Sun Hotel – Coast / Fight Off You Demos
(RIYL: folk, “swamp pop”, Lord Huron)

Sunshine Faces – Peaked / Letting You Know
(RIYL: dream pop, lo-fi, bedroom pop)

Ursidae – Tape 4
(RIYL: drone, field recordings, sonic collage)

The Wailin’ Smithers – S/T (REVIEW)
(RIYL: indie rock, laidback summer fun)

The Wandering Lake – From James’ Garden
(RIYL: psych folk, experimental, meditative vibes)

The Washboard Abs – WHATEVERLAND (REVIEW) / The Beaming Pts. 1 & 2 (REVIEW)
(RIYL: bedroom pop, folk, Mount Eerie)

Wished Bone – Pseudio Recordings
(RIYL: dreamy lo-fi, Elliott Smith, Sharon van Etten)

Yesses – S/T
(RIYL: lo-fi, pop, The Beatles)

We’ve shared a new section of the list every day this week, so be sure to check back for the complete collection. If you find something you like, or think we missed something life-changing, then why not let us know on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr or good old email.

The post Favourite Free Music of 2015: S-Z appeared first on Various Small Flames.