Drapeaux Rouges Des Enfants Perdus

“Holiday” by Julie Byrne

from You Would Love It Here, released by Solid Melts

This is an album of fading memory and lingering thought. This is an album of longing.

Julie Byrne’s You Would Love It Here is a noticeably personal piece that’s at times uplifting and other times harrowing to listen in on; it takes a certain intimacy to create such an expansive emptiness in only 5 songs, such a hollow life in such a small bit of space. I use descriptors like “empty” and “hollow” positively, not referring to a lack of something, but rather as embodiments of the distant space between your present state and the love you once had and lost. Other journalists have called this piece “pastoral”; I assume that to be an attempt at articulating the same haunting, fragile quality.

There is so much more to say about this; perhaps it would be more fitting not to.

The album has been released on cassette; this is the perfect format, lending a thicker quality to the negative space in which notes bleed. Solid Melts pressed a first edition of 50 copies, a second edition of 40, and has now announced the tape as being out of print. I bought the last copy. I apologize to the reader whose hopes of cassette ownership I just deflated.
For the sake of context, the chosen single (above), a song that echoes achingly through my spine in the coldest of ways, is the first track of the b-side; the supplementary track (below) is the second track of the a-side. See below for the (gorgeous) packaging coordinated by Drew at Solid Melts, with art by Thea Kegler. For the continued sake of context, this the same guy/label that released Bronson’s Paper Tusk, an album I obsessed over for months, and an artist I was eager to interview. Thank you, Drew; I love your work, the art you support, and the way you choose to present it. The Red Flag Family supports (and stands in solidarity with) Solid Melts. You (the reader) should too.

“Lady, I” by Samuel Lockridge

from his self-released When I Rise (2012)

“Is it too early to talk about the best album of the year?

Yes, it absolutely is.

But this is one worth remembering. I can safely say that.”

That’s what I originally wrote, before saving it as a draft. I still mostly agree. The album is really good, but I secretly hope that this isn’t the single highest peak of music in 2012. What a gorgeous single though…

Also, (and let me preface by apologizing for being that fucking guy), doesn’t the poetic cadence and chord movement of “Hangman” strongly resemble that of Leonard Cohen’s “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye”? Does anyone else hear that? Am I an asshole for simply asking?

Nomads, Pilgrims (2010)

“Three Car Garage” by You Won’t

from Skeptic Goodbye, released on Old Flame Records

Simple put: I really enjoy this single (and the album in its entirety) and I was absolutely sure that I’d featured it months ago. This, I found out, was not the case. So here we are.

I almost subbed the original single for a different track, but ultimately found it too difficult to pick one over the others.

UPDATE: I’ve listened to this album once or twice a day since unearthing it a couple weeks ago. I love it.

I’m still struggling to articulate what makes it so perfect to me. Josh Arnoudse has quickly become one of my favorite “young” (in the sense of career) writers. I have requested and interview.

“Galilean Moons” by Baobab

not from his self-titled, self-released debut

First, let me clarify: The featured song is not on the album that I am simultaneously promoting. When it came to picking one track from Baobab to display, I found myself in such a stressful state of indecisiveness that I simply chose to a non-album track instead. This doesn’t need to be confusing; Baobab is so unquestionably cohesive (sonically) that to take one track out of context would do the album a disservice.

Phil Torres’ Baobab is the latest in a line of highly-interesting (and -talented), multi-instrumentalist solo projects that we’ve featured here (the most recent being another guy named Phil: Mr. Hartunian’s Follies project). Along with my perceived difficulty in choosing a single, I’ve also found myself struggling when it comes to articulating the beauty of this album (especially whilst avoiding comparisons to other artists, something I have simply refused to do in this zine). Instead of trying to describe intangibles, I realized that it would be easier (if slightly less eloquent) to describe when and where this album would be appropriate to listen to:

Listening to this album would make the most sense (to me) while walking alone down a sunsoaked path through a busy market in a foreign city in which I’ve never before been (or will ever be again), watching the people shout and laugh in a language I can’t understand. That was a terribly written, long-winded sentence, but it’s the closest I can get, for now. Sorry, Phil. I promise I’ll try to write something better tomorrow. I really love your work and would like to do it justice.

I should also mention, as a foreshadowing of features to come, that this album has sent me down a rabbit hole that is The Triangle (aka Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill)’s music scene. I’ve had no desire to even think about that state for several years, following the end of something very personal to me (the poem is incredibly relevant, actually (at least within the way that I’ve chosen to read it)), but I’m finally excited to dive in again. More to come.

Oh, and that picture above shows the hand-made packaging that Phil did for the album. I’ll update this article accordingly when I get my copy.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Ezra Furman

from The Year Of No Returning, released on Kinetic Family Records

I’ve been following Ezra for years now. Over time his sound has gotten heavier, while his writing has become even more delicately honest than ever before. I’m excited to hear a new record from him, as well as some very exciting news that will be acting as the flagship for a new tendency within the zine:

Ezra Furman is one of the first artists announced for this year’s Denver UMS!

For readers outside of this state, the UMS is like our miniature SXSW, featuring hundreds of bands (both big and local) playing over 4 days in 20+ venues lining a stretch of South Broadway (a stretch containing some of our favorite bars and, most importantly, our absolute favorite fucking venue in the city, The Hi-Dive). We’re especially excited because we just moved up the street and will be able to enjoy the shows fully, with no need to worry about driving home when all the fun is over each night.

We will be continuing to highlight UMS performers as the line-ups are announced. By that I mean to say that we will be featuring the artists that we are most excited to see live, as opposed to featuring all the headliners and a couple local spots in a general feature.

UMS 2012! I’m so fucking excited!

“Hopeful Antiquarian” by Eidolons

from their self-released EP, Wolf Dens

Portland 3-piece. Listen.

from Wiktionary.com:

eidolon (plural eidola or eidolons)

1. An image or representation of an idea; a representation of an ideal form; an apparition of some actual or imaginary entity, or of some aspect of reality. 
2. A phantom, a ghost or elusive entity.

Eidolons EP (2011)

“Work in the Morning” by Lower Plenty

from Hard Rubbish, released on Special Awards and Easter Bilby

4-piece from Melbourne, Australia. According to the only press I could find (this interview) they seem to just be a local band that’s never toured. It’s a good album, regardless of the creators fame (or lack thereof).

“Charlie” by Town Hall

from their self-released Sticky Notes & Paper Scraps

Brooklyn folk. Haven’t had much of that recently. I like it.

Town is hall is comprised of somewhere between 3 or 15 people. I’m not sure. [EDIT: 3 people, definitively.]

she looks like an angel in a cloudy cradle

passed out on the bed in your room

your sweet little darling

all she knows is falling

down the stairs or in love

so Charlie got a tattoo on his wrist

hoping she’d stay there like his skin

and I’m dying to know if I could win

with a heart like hers

she looks like Diana with a leopard in her hands

as she leaves holding all of her laundry

your sweet little moon beam

all she knows is moving

down the street

or in her sleep

so Charlie got a tattoo on his wrist

hoping she’d stay there like his skin

and I’m dying to know if I could win

with a heart like hers

she looks like an actress in her yellow sundress

as she smashes the bugs in her apartment

your sweet little lady

all she knows is fading

like a t-shirt

or a friend

so Charlie got a tattoo on his wrist

hoping she’d stay there like his skin

and I’m dying to know if I could win

with a heart like hers

I wrote this a while back and forgot about it. When I came back to it, I found that they’ve released a new full length (that shares a few songs, but is a noticeably “louder” album). Here you go:

Roots & Bells (2012)

“Margaret” by Every Atlas

from Burn Down the Forests! Bleed Out the Oceans! The Deserts and Canyons Will Sing

Californian 4-piece. They seem to constantly, in all forms of press, compare themselves with Bright Eyes and Manchester Orchestra. I always find it strange when artists (not labels, managers, PR teams etc.) openly compare themselves to other, more “famous”, artists. I don’t know why this bothers me, but it does. Regardless, the comparisons are warranted. I get it; I think their work is gorgeous, their poetics sharp. I hope you don’t misinterpret cultural analysis for under-appreciation.

Listen to Every Atlas slowly; give each word, each note, time to bloom. Once this album has shaped a garden, I’ve provided additional work by them below.

Margaret was such a beautiful woman
I was a tired old man
We married in June of last year by the ocean
and danced to our favorite bands
But I broke her heart just the same
From the balcony she’s calling my name
I can’t hear her through the glass

Margaret was a wife so loyal and caring
I cheated, I stole and I lied
And she tried to break down my walls and my barriers
Her love for me she could not hide
But I took her heart for a fool
A joke so ungrateful and cruel
And I’m an undeserving man

I was a piss poor excuse for a husband
She waited on my hands and feet
And I was an arrogant, selfish old bastard
Who could never once thank her for a single good deed
But she showed me love just the same
Always made sure that I was okay
And I deserve to die

So why of all people would you want my pity?
I’ve learned from the things I’ve done wrong, but I’m ashamed
Your love is a bottomless bottle that’s empty
I think you could fill it back up if you’d kiss me the same

Margaret I miss you to death
So to you it’s my sins I confess
and Margaret if you’d come home

I swear that I’ll change
I swear that I’ll change
I swear that I’ll change
Margaret I swear that I’ve changed

Big Bad Wolf EP (2010)

The Ghosts of Everyone (2009)

“The Lake” by Bryan John Appleby

from his self-released LP, Fire on the Vine

Seattle’s Bryan John Appleby is really talented, especially when it comes to converting that city’s particularly rainy sound into something so warm.

That’s why I’m featuring Bryan today. That, and the fact that I got shitfaced with his brother the other day (here in Colorado) and, while we were drunkenly trading non-folk musical interests, he pulled up his brother’s video for “Cliffs Along The Sea”. And here we are.

You said, don’t come by, I do not feel like talking
Not to you or anybody else
You write their names with a trembling, ragged finger
Upon the pane glass blinded by the frost

And the cold pulls you down
It pulls you down
Pulls you down, down, down

When I found you, your face it was not moving
Your eyes are ravaged, you’re the land beneath a plague
Wife and daughter caught weeping out on the water
When the storm fell heavy on the lake

And the waves pulled them down
Pulled them down
Pulled them down, down, down

But my brother, don’t let your lantern darken
Don’t be afraid for them
For oh my friend, there is nothing on the other side
We will grow old and plant for them a garden
When the growing’s done we’ll plunge like a stone to join them in the tide

To keep with the recent theme of loading every possible post with every possible bit of music, here is his debut album as well:

Shoes for Men and Beasts (2009)

“Too Many Moons” by Owen

from Ghost Town, released on Polyvinyl Records

Solo project of Mike Kinsella from Chicago. Apparently he’s played in a long list of bands including but not limited to American Football, Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, The One Up Downstairs, Owls, Maritime, and Aloha.

Additionally: As I was reading up on him I found out that he’s been playing shows with some kids I grew up with, Fake Problems. So that’s cool.

Au revoir, bonne chatte
There’s too many moons and I’m but one man
You know I like to get lost without you
and return with dirty thoughts about you
Don’t wait up
I’m not coming home until my insides hit the floor
Bonne nuit, martyr
There’s so many moons and you’re paralyzed with fear
Summer’s sun brings new blood to bathe in
I can’t swim but I’ll dip a toe in
Don’t wait up
I’m not coming home until these demons get bored
In mirrored eyes I see kerosene
and you’ve got the matches
(Just don’t ask me to stay)
Bonjour, chère épouse
There’s too many moons and I’m but one man

I’ve recently become fixated with the idea of presenting larger portions of each artist’s body of work; I supposed these could be called retrospectives, but that, to me, seems to imply that said artist has ceased creating. Instead, I see it rather as a chance to catch up, and to, upon enjoying the new single, delve deeper into an artist’s history.

This is especially possible when the albums are presented on Bandcamp. I first tried this with Matt Elliott, but unfortunately only one song from each album was available. Now, with Owen (and several artists before and after him) I will present full (or partial) discographies. This one, for example, spans 10 years but does not include every release.

I will not do this for every artist. Additionally, I will sometimes present side projects instead of back-catalog.

New Leaves (2009)

At Home With Owen (2006)

No Good For No One Now (2002)

“Dust Flesh and Bones” by Matt Elliott

from his 2012 LP, The Broken Man, released on Ici d’Ailleurs

I never thought I’d include a 9 minute track in our inexorable mixtape, yet here we are. How could I not? Rarely is folk gifted with such epics (especially ones so paradoxically simple). The Broken Man is a modern classic of an album and needed to be featured here. Please do not comment on the length of the song; if you don’t have 10 good minutes to dedicate to enjoying a piece of art, then politely fuck off.

Some things are so dark that woe betide the light that shines on them
I swear to god I thought it was a sign 
This shallow grave recedes with every darkened patch of sky 
The withered, wearied features start resembling mine
And in the disparate clamour of the chaos that surrounds you
It’s hard to know which of the voices that you hear 
Are your own 

Some things scar your heart so deeply that a howl is not enough 
To adequately purge the soul of pain
Still you yearn for contact but the burden that you shoulder means
you’ll never trust a living soul again
And in the disparate clamour of the chaos that surrounds you 
It’s hard to know which of the voices that you hear 
Are your own

This is how it feels to be alone, just like we’ll die alone 

This is how it feels to be alone 
This is how it feels to be alone 
This is all that we can call our own 
Dust flesh and bone 
This is how it feels to be alone
Just like we’ll die alone

In tribute to such a talented and depressingly overlooked artist, I’ve decided to publish one song (because that’s whats available) from each album of his Songs Trilogy (comprised of Drinking, Failing, and Howling), plus one from the epilogue (Failed). They, for sake of looking back, will be presented in reverse-chronological order. Please, if you enjoy Matt’s work, take the time to listen through this retrospective (not the right word), and then go ahead and buy all of his work.

“Eulogy for Liam” from Failed Songs (2010)

“Bomb the Stock Exchange” from Howling Songs (2008)

“Gone” from Failing Songs (2007)

“What’s Wrong” from Drinking Songs (2005)

“Nickels and Dimes” by The Act of Estimating as Worthless

from 2012’s Amongst These Splintered Minds//Leaden Thoughts Sing Softly, released by Double Double Whammy and Mt. Home

The Act of Estimating as Worthless contains several people, but is, at its core, built around Zoe Grant & Matthew Van Asselt.

I’m really overwhelmed by this album right now. I’ll probably come back and rewrite this article later in the week; for now, I don’t really know how to articulate my adoration.

Please take the time to listen to this album, to the words spoken. If you like it, go buy the tape.

i’ve got goosebumps on my arms from the cold outside
won’t you wrap me in a blanket and take me inside
give me a plate of cookies and a cup of tea
light a fire to dry the socks that i’m wearing on my feet
this is not a simple path that were walking down
you’re talking to me like a child
pull the drapes off of your face
and take a walk now
over rooftops under cities that shine with the starts

look how bright they shine
oh bright they shine

pictures pictures all around waiting to be taken
bracelets fall to the ground waiting to be found again
along with spare change and small things

they’re waiting to be found
i’m waiting to found

UPDATE: I just got my copy of the cassette, released by Mt. Home with art and packaging by the aforementioned Matthew Van Asselt. This is the single most beautiful presentation of a tape I’ve ever witnessed (and appears as an embodiment of everything I dream of doing with our own label, Plywood Violins). Here’s a picture:

TAOEAW are also part of the Diner House collective, whose Family Compilation is proudly featured below (containing, among other cool things, a Matthew Van Asselt solo track, as well as (a previous feature) Elephant and (an upcoming feature) Wood Spider). Spend some time with it.

“Autumn Snow” by Bison

from their self-released LP, Quill

7-piece from Virginia. What a fucking album.

It’s really as simple as that.

We will sow
We will sow
For to bring the autumn snow
And our labor shall not
Be for us in vain

She will grow she will grow
For to make their dresses flow
Till she’s seeded by the gin
Till the mistress weaves again
We will sow
We will sow
And she will grow

We will weave
We will weave
Until the Master has his sleeves
And for good measure
We’ll clasp his snaps ‘fore dawn

Never leave
Never leave
Until the unison’s agreed
That she is no longer rough
Like the hands that reap her up
We will weave
We will weave
And never leave

These blistered and
These calloused hands
Have done no work alone

We formulate
Then recreate
The patterns that we’ve sown

Foremost the gin
Then fibers spin
It’s all we’ll ever know

For are forebears
Have left us here
To reap the autumn snow
We will reap the autumn snow

“We Will Do Great Things” by Squinch Owl

from Homeward Bound, released on Birthquake Records

Take the time to listen to this (and every featured) album all the way through. Trust me. It’s worth it.

you’ve been having dreams of isolation and lord knows, we’ve all been changing fast but i still love you forever, and we will do great things together or apart, though i know it feels like we are wild animals, born with broken bones and i don’t know what to do any more than you, oh i don’t know what to do
and it is important to get drunk, fuck everything up and it is important to let everyone down sometimes so that you can realize just how much they mean to you, & it is important to know
that we will do great things, together or apart, though i know it feels like we weren’t made for this world, like we should never have been born
but i am glad that we were born

I know almost nothing about this project (which appears to be discontinued). The one thing I did discover is that the main writer/singer, Sofia Albam, is now (partially-) fronting a new project, Sons of an Illustrious Father, whose (exceptionally good) album One Body opens with an updated version of the above single. Compare the one above, with the one below. Again, please spend some time listening to these albums in their entirety. Then, support these artists as often as you can.

Sons of an Illustrious Father’s One Body :