Whether your rugrats are back to school buildings or back to distance learning, it’s time to start planning your fall soundtrack. Support your favorite underground artists this Friday, September 4th, by making purchases from their bandcamp!
This month, instead of Ye Olde Editor hogging all the blurbs, our #bandcampfriday post was a collaboration. Check out recommendations from Duncan, Jessie, Rodey, and Nikita below!
Duncan’s Picks
Henry Derek Elis plays music that comes from the heart. He has been a member of various prominent bands on the metal scene, but his solo work is closer to Americana or country music. His rich voice recalls Tom Waits and his soulful and timeless songs contain a realness or duende that harks back via artists like Neil Young all the way to traditional Appalachian music and the blues.
Elis’ newly released EP All The Pretty Little Horses comprises four covers of songs that have meant something to him. The title track is a traditional American lullaby and it sits beside covers of Billy Idol, Danzig and Steve Young. Although these songs are not Elis’ own, he breathes his own life-force into them and utterly embodies them.
If your taste encompasses folk music and classic singer-songwriters as well as heavier styles, be sure to check this out.
Jessie’s Picks
This Bandcamp Friday, I recommend Night Goat! You may remember that Alternative Control premiered the video “Malachi” for this Canton, Ohio band last year. The noise rock outfit has their terrifying 2019 full-length Milk on bandcamp, as well as the 2017 EP Tria. If you’re ready to get your socks knocked off, give Night Goat a spin!
Not only is Night Goat a killer band, but vocalist Julia Bentley and guitarist Chris Bentley are fighting the good fight in #coronaworld, running their bar/venue/record store Buzzbin — it’s a serious task to keep patrons and employees safe, and keep the music playing. Check out Buzzbin’s online shop, which features cool t-shirts and prints of original artwork, to support this stalwart watering hole.
And sticking with Duncan’s theme of dark folk, I’m gonna throw one more rec in here: Covered Mirrors, the upcoming album from kariti. (Lower case on purpose.) To be released on September 18th via Aural Records, this is freaking creepy! Acoustic songs in Russian and English are centered around mourning, including a haunting intro of traditional Russian funeral music; in fact, the artist’s name is a translation of the phrase “mourn the dead” in the ancient liturgical language Church Slavonic. All in all, Covered Mirrors is an eclectic choice for your Halloween or Samhain playlist — or any time of year you want to think about what’s on the other side of the veil.
Rodey’s Picks
As the first signs of autumn steadily take shape, Minnesota based black metal enchanters Obsequiae are here to provide the perfect soundtrack for the upcoming season. Releasing their third album, The Palms of Sorrowed Kings, last year, the Minneapolis based trio weaves epic guitar work and howling vocals with haunting ambience and beautiful harp passages. The result is a musical journey through a forest of adventure, suspense and surreal sights.
Revisiting Aria Of Vernal Tombs, the band’s second record, you will easily pick up influences from Hammerheart era Bathory, Opeth, and the later years of Rotting Christ. What makes this album, and Obsequiae in general unique, is their medieval vibe, as heard in “Autumnal Pyre,” in place of something purely folk, viking, or power metal related. Think of the band as relating to Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales as you would Amon Amarth to The Lord of the Rings.
Whether you’re hiking in the woods or curled up with a good book on a rainy day this fall, definitely bring a copy of anything Obsequiae with you. Be sure to keep it handy too for when the snow melts and the spring rain brings new life to your favorite nature trails!
Nikita’s Picks
For this Bandcamp Friday I have a pair of different artists that I’ve really been digging this year. First up is an instrumental prog outfit known as Lost in Lavender Town, a UK based quintet that rips some mean shreddy riffs. Their most recent EP Season Two is like a perfect blend Dream Theater and Animals As Leaders but with a ton more fun. This band manages to perfectly balance impressive technicality with just plain wholesome fun to create a really deep yet light-hearted listening experience.
And along the vein of fun music, I’ve been all over Desired since I discovered Neoncity Records earlier this year. Totally different from rock and metal, Neoncity primarily releases “future funk” albums. Brimming with 80s nostalgia; Best Before 1998 is a spirited, bubbly dance marathon of an album. Combining elements of french house and disco with modern electronic songwriting, you’d be hard-pressed not to smile and jam along to these certified bops.
What are you picking up this #bandcampfriday, fair readers?? Leave a comment and let us know!
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