Learning To Live With It

my only memory
is of you and i on the couch
autumn's first breeze and
september's sun down
if it weren't for the candles
we'd be the warmest thing in the room
cause you're too hot to handle
for somebody who knows how to lose

and i guess that's why a therapist
writes half of all my lyrics
i give credit where it’s due
if therapy is listening, i love you

now that i’m 18
i know damn well a rock can’t talk
but i saw that movie
and it changed the way i stare at a wall

i think you’re funny
but i’ve conditioned myself to laugh
cause i want you to love me
but humor's something i don’t have

and i guess that’s why a narcissist
writes half of all my lyrics
i give credit where it’s due
i know i’m always listening, it’s all i do
if therapy is listening
mary if you’re listening
i swear i’m always listening
it's all i do

my only memory

i wanna feel the way a blue nile song sounds
i wanna walk across the rooftops
i wanna write a love song for someone 
for once

when i met you i thought we were onto something
but you were a lesson
put comfort and shame in a blender 
it won't meld together

i said too much
got embarrassed
wouldn't recommend it
hated your guts in the morning
missy said to end it

i need a reframe
regeneration
and a bit of understanding
a cut cord between two candles
baby, that's a happy ending

i wanted you to see me
i wanted you to want to walk me home
i didn't make it easy but i
don't have to tell you why i'm worth the time

so, baby, if you see me
pretend you didn't see me

theydevil

get embarrassed!

artwork made by @malusmatrona on instagram

i don’t believe it
said you’re tired and leaving
tomorrow you’ll be out of state
for some unknown reason

right in front of my eyes
a perfect picture that time buys
breaks apart uneven
for some untold reason

alternating questions 
not the greatest first impression
it’s not about getting even
except to you for some reason

i listened to your stories
with bleary eyes at four in the morning
we lay our heads and then it’s evening
for some untold reason

reason

I think I'm better off alone
At least for now
I really think I mean it somehow 
Unlike the last time
Or the last last time
I fed it into their ears to make them think I wasn't undone

And it took a day or two 
But really a month felt straining to the tooth
But now I feel loose
The weight is gone and
I think I can finally say
I think I'm better off alone

Better Off

Oakland CA's Blue Ocean have been working around the fringes of the Bay Area indie scene since 2019, honing their very particular noise-soaked racket into a unique and instantly identifiable sound. They blend elements of shoegaze, pop, noise rock and electronics into a dense, sometimes disorienting soundworld that embodies a spectral mystery that recalls forebearers like Disco Inferno, Bark Psychosis and Flying Saucer Attack. "Fertile State" is their debut album, following on the heels of 3 tape EPs and a LP drawn from those tapes that sold out instantly on release in 2021. Songs like "Ode," "Fertile State" and "Syncnine" show how much Blue Ocean has grown in the last few years. They've easily shrugged off many of the markers of their punk/indie roots, allowing their experimental urges free rein and and the noise to find it's own level. It's a bracing, invigorating album that truly rewards deep listening and points the way forward to an intriguing future.

Fertile State

Blue Ocean - Fertile State

ill douse myself with kerosene
because its hot when you are mean
a figment of my dirty dreams and rot

you got the chemical and match
i'm paranoid when i relax
don't need a better half for fucking up

i soak, you throw the molotov
turn down the heat when i get soft
its volatile and toxic but explosive when it's blasting off

just adding to the oil spill
think i'd be dead if eyes could kill
the rubble of the aftermath was too easily worth the thrill

Gabi Denny's Album

kerosene

Taken from the "GROG" LP Out Nov 17th - https://heyitsfrog.bandcamp.com/album/grog

"New Ro" on Stereogum - https://www.stereogum.com/2242244/frog-new-ro/music

"New Ro" premiere on Various Small Flames - https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2023/11/09/frog-new-ro

New York duo Frog (brothers Danny & Steve Bateman) return with their fifth album “Grog.” This collection of gorgeous Indie Americana is full of the nostalgia, hope, defeat and lust that earned previous singles “Judy Garland” and “You Know I’m Down” several million streams on Spotify.

Eclectic and wildly creative, this fully realized LP veers from the gorgeous grooving funk of “Black on Black on Black” to the classic pop of “Maybelline” before “New Ro” exemplifies the “gothic and cartoonish” characteristics that songwriter Daniel Bateman describes his latest work with.

“Grog” will be released both CD and digitally on November 17th and launched with a performance at YoFi Fest 11 (Yonkers, NY) which accompanies a screening of their “Kings of Blah” documentary.

Artist Quote:

“There are really exciting places we were able to get to on this record, places that I didn’t know existed before I found them. It feels both gothic and cartoonish to me, big gargoyles, dark skies, storms, but the statues are of ‘Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.’ Every song is a step deeper into the abyss.” - Daniel Bateman (Frog)

Previous Support: NPR / BBC Radio 1 / BBC 6 Music / TLOBF / CLASH / Gold Flake Paint / London In Stereo / DIY Mag / Various Small Flames / IMPOSE / Cereal & Sounds / For the Rabbits

Spotify Stats: 9.5 million streams / 78k monthly listeners (Oct 16th 2023)

Press Quotes:

“I was taken aback by its apparent simplicity; a simplicity that at first masked a wealth of subtle nuances, wry homages, and nostalgic narratives that were enough to make listeners lament growing up anywhere other than suburban America.” – The Line of Best Fit

“Locked between the unstoppable force of self-deprecation and the immovable object of the American Dream.” – Various Small Flames

“A subtle, stunning triumph.” – For the Rabbits

“Utterly brilliant...they make you nostalgic for memories you never had and take you back to places you’ve never before been.” - London in Stereo

Grog

New Ro

cruel (demo)

I’d try to give it all
To fade the static of whispered dreams
Painted in the dark
How can I try hard enough 

I keep seeing my own visions masking the picture of his face
All I want is to 
Hope that the picture will change

Drift between sleeping times
Where all my love I cannot hide 
To forfeit all just to say that
You can stay here

I keep seeing my own visions masking the picture of his face
All I want is to 
Hope that the picture will change

Visions

well the west flew to mid-ohio
skater boys from new york have followed
and i wonder if they think of me when their egos die down

what a rude thing to say about them
they’re probably facing the hell of parents
who will sigh and fund their everything to keep them moved out
i know cause another one moved in now

i see him kickflip out the window
he could really make a name for himself though
i see him kickflip out the window
we could really make out if we lay low

you know the way to my heart
is a skateboard and living nextdoor
so, when do we start?

(when do we start?
can we start right now?
lets start right now)

been a month and you know my dogs name
i lurk the place where you work on thursdays
and i wonder if you think of me when you wanna get out
i know, i gotta move on, but i look out

and see you kickflip out the window
you could really make a name for yourself though
i see you look up at the window
i could play it off well if i lay low

you know the way to my heart
is a skateboard and living nextdoor
so, when do we start? 

can you heal the way that i feel?
can you heal how i feel?
can you heal the way that i feel?
come and heal the way that i feel
come and heal how i feel
come and heal me

you know the way to my heart
is a skateboard and living nextdoor
so, when do we start?

my only memory

sketchist