Bandcamp.com might be my favorite website. In its version of a free market music economy—which is free to use, requires no subscription and lets anyone upload music—objectively superior music rises to the top of the pool, as popularity is controlled entirely by listeners, not big-time record labels. Every week I scour this site, looking for not-yet-famous artists making stellar sounds. Here are some of my favorite new releases:
Tightrope, by Boat To Row (Feb. 10)
The quintet Boat To Row hails from the English city of Birmingham. Their recent seven-inch release, Tightrope, contains only two songs, “Tightrope” and “Heavy Was The Night” but each exemplifies how tightly-rehearsed ensemble folk creates a soul-moving atmosphere. These are songs for 11 p.m. in your room with the lights off.
Now That I’m Here, I Can’t Imagine Being Anywhere Else, by Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers (Feb. 4)
OK, I’m obsessed with Count Your Lucky Stars, because, well, everything that label puts out is so damn good. This album is no exception.
Dear all Neutral Milk Hotel fans (I know you’re still riding the high from their Feb. 8 show), you better give this album a listen. There is definitely some wonderful overlap between them and Warren Franklin & the Founding Fathers. Oh, this album is ‘name your price,’ so you can pay whatever you want for it (and yes, that can mean nothing if you choose that route). There are no downsides here.
BOSH!, by Cleft (Feb. 10)
It would take more than all my space to describe this record in full detail. The most important thing to know is that it kicks ass. Riff-oriented, but not in an obnoxious way, BOSH! is a collection of heavy, but also technical guitar and drum awesomeness. It’s not Hella- or Lightning Bolt-esque. There’s less grind and more playful experimentation. Some of the guitar lines are indirectly reminiscent of Jack White. Stumbling across this band was a pleasant surprise.
This is the first installment of a weekly Bandcamp feature highlighting great albums and artists just waiting to be discovered, listened to and loved by you, the reader. If you have a Bandcamp to suggest to Andy, don’t hesitate to email him a link with more information at holsteen@wisc.edu
