As the drummer for Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death, Brendan Kuntz plays with a dense complexity and colossal precision. As Grass Jaw on the other hand, Kuntz is stepping out from behind the kit, performing all instruments and vocals, with a focus on earnest songwriting and gentle fuzz over anything too tangled.
Auckland, New Zealand’s Swallow The Rat have roots in both their current home town and as far away as Austin, Texas. Set to release their full length debut, Leaving Room, in April, the band have developed a style that knots together their NZ post-punk influences with shoegaze tendencies closer to the American underground.
Human Impact is chiefly Unsane's vocalist and guitarist, Chris Spencer, joined by Swans bassist Chris Pravdica, keyboardist Jim Coleman of Cop Shoot Cop, and drummer Phil Puleo, also of Cop Shoot Cop. If you were hoping for more Unsane's misanthropic, knives out dirges, you're unfortunately in the wrong place.
On 925, they’ve taken elements of many important UK bands of the recent past and put them in a blender. Despite containing so many styles, the record never sounds like a stale pastiche. By re-contextualizing and sewing these disparate influences together they’ve managed to make a record that both sounds totally original and comfortingly familiar.
Having shared their great first single “3 Segundos” with an equally great music video, we’re excited to premiere the band’s latest, “No Puedo Pensar”. While their lead single bounced with an undeniable kraut-pop energy, the follow up, while still motorik in rhythm, is a bit more subdued in it’s hypnotic groove… though only slightly.
Being in the same room while harpist and lead vocalist Lucia Stavros nimbly and precisely plucks her harp while simultaneously delivering a vocal performance that can quickly move from soft to powerful is, quite frankly, moving. The band released their long-awaited, self-titled debut album in late February.
The record opens up in mysticism, William Tyler textures meeting some other vision of sincerity. Ben Seretan is a phenomenal finger picking guitar player and it’s showcased across the board here. His previous release, My Life’s Work, is purely ambient music and these two sides of him meld together on Youth Pastoral.
“Nashville” is a nice representation of the quartet’s multi-faceted sonic palette and unique approach to making music. The lively song, which blends elements of punk, garage rock, grunge, and just a slight pinch of country, motors along with an electric rhythm and hooked-filled guitars that kick in right from the first verse.
There are literally thousands and thousands of records that deserve your attention on Bandcamp. We essentially recommend a few every day but we also understand that everyone has a limited income and you just can’t buy them all, at least not in one day. While my anxiety is at an all time high trying to decide what to recommend, we still wanted to recommend something.
For the past decade, Steve Hartlett has been the primary force behind both Ovlov and Stove, and repeatedly proven to be one of this generation’s best songwriters with a knack for combining grit and pop. There have been a lot of other who have tried to replicate his style but they fall short. While Hartlett has released several “solo” projects over the years, he’s never shared one under his own name, until now.
Space Camp is all encasing, engulfing you in sounds of synth sludge. The breaks are minute, only serving to build tension for the stress inducing verses. These songs were never meant for hardcore kids who just want something to mosh to. It’s music that tries to address and navigate the experience of non-men, using inorganic soundscapes as its delivery system.
