Tomorrow, July 3rd, is another bandcamp Friday! The website is waiving its revenue share to help support artists during the COVID-19 pandemic — and it’s the final “bandcamp Friday” that’s been announced thus far, so now is the time to shell out the bucks. Here are Alternative Control’s humble suggestions of bands to check out, from our Connecticut home and beyond…
Fires in the Distance, Echoes from Deep November
A.K.A “The Archaic Decapitator All-Stars,” this Newington band’s members have also been part of Connecticut heavyweights Xenosis and 60 Grit. If you’ve seen any of those groups, you know that expectations are high for Fires in the Distance — and the guys more than live up to them. Already signed to Prosthetic Records, their debut album Echoes from Deep November comes out on September 18th, 2020.
Taking a melodic approaching to doom, or perhaps a doomy approach to melodic death metal, Fires in the Distance blends keys and guitar into soaring tales of misunderstanding and loss. Stay tuned for a full review; in the meantime check out the two teaser tracks and preorder this album!
Vestal Claret (s/t)
Full disclosure, I played cello for about a minute on this — but that’s probably the least interesting factoid about the Connecticut occult duo’s self-titled album, released on June 23rd. Taking the internet metal world by surprise, Vestal Claret revealed nine tracks that take a marked left hand path from their 2014 album The Cult of Vestal Claret. Clean guitars and many synth and “real instrument” colors blend into a sonic palette that’s not as openly sinister as Cult; rather, it’s seductive and retro like a 1970s Satanic sex cult that wants you to come to their party tonight. They’ll start doing all the scary shit *after* you drink the Kool-Aid…
Duncan Evans, Prayers for an Absentee
Alternative Control columnist Duncan Evans just reviewed Henry Derek Elis’s dark folk EP All the Pretty Little Horses, but it turns out that Evans is quite the “dark folk” force himself. His 2018 album Prayers for an Absentee, released by Prophecy Productions, is inspired by the likes of Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and Swans. Check out the mournful “Poppy Tears,” the tenacious “Borderland Prayer,” and more! If you’re hooked, you’re in luck — Evans is currently in the studio working on recordings for several different projects, so there’s more prayers coming for all you absentees.
Moonlow, “Day 7 (The Birds Sing)”
Are your musical tastes a little more abstract, maybe even a little tortured? Then check out the new single from Moonlow, a UK experimental project that’s come across our radar. Released on a compilation called Enough by Trepanation Records, proceeds from this jagged coronavirus psalm will benefit the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Jessie May Agenda
I usually don’t use the blog for self-promotion, but y’know what? My bands have a new release and a preorder going this week, so screw it.
The Shoutbacks just put out our Trouble At My Door EP — it’s our first release in eight years, a great addition to any folk fan’s bandcamp collection if I do say so myself. 😉
Turkey Vulture is releasing Time to Pay on July 31st. Recorded by Dave Kaminsky at Studio Wormwood, it’s safe to say that this 4-track EP is our most hi-fi release thus far. “Age of Resistance” should be streaming tomorrow on The Ripple Effect, so stay tuned…. And preorder yourself a CD or digital copy!
Plus, Owl Maker still has plenty of stoner rock grooves for your listening pleasure, released in 2018 and 2019. Did you like Vestal Claret? Well, the guy who writes and plays all the music for Vestal Claret is the singer and guitarist of Owl Maker. #justsayin Get on it.
Finally, the blog has its own bandcamp! Many bands have donated music to us over the years to help raise money for the site. Any proceeds go directly to the “pay GoDaddy to host this website” fund, so your purchase makes a difference in our tiny corner of the interwebs.
Thanks for reading and for supporting Alternative Control! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, and bandcamp. Plus, follow our 2020 coverage playlist on Spotify!
