A while back, I stumbled across Bandcamp’s Artist Index page. They don’t seem to do much to promote it, but it might be my favourite spot on the site — it’s nothing but a bare-bones, unfiltered, up-to-date list of everybody who’s just joined the platform. More importantly, it’s a virtually bottomless well (or pit, depending on your view) of undiscovered music. Spoiler alert: A lot of it deserves to stay undiscovered. But not all of it. Here are some goodies I found today, for instance.
Knife For An Eye
Damnation Rock ’n’ Roll
I have long been of the opinion that you can basically go to any town or city in any Nordic country, grab four or five random longhaired dudes off the street, give them Les Pauls and Marshall stacks, put them in the studio and they will emerge with a killer album of high-octane, high-voltage, high-velocity guitar-rock and punk. These Swiss speed-demons do absolutely nothing to prove me wrong. Plus they have the good goddamn sense to put some lightning bolts and a picture of Chuck Berry on their album.
Gota Inst
Japanese Steel
Some things in life are just a mystery. Like this oddball album. Some of it is old-school distortion-pedal punk rock. Some of it is minimalist roto-techno. All of it is surprisingly listenable. I have no idea if it’s one guy or a band or what. But apparently it comes from Brazil. And it’s 25 years old. Which might explain why the cover pic seems to be some tiny old jpeg. Or maybe there’s another explanation. But I doubt I’ll ever find out. And that’s OK. I don’t really care one way or the other.
Bogavante
Bogavante
Where can I find some an EP of laid-back, hypnotic Afrobeat played by a Swiss sextet that includes a clarinet player? Asked no one ever. But if anyone ever does, here’s where to send them. In the meantime, you might want to visit yourself. Just so you know what you’re recommending and all. And trust me, you will recommend this to people.
XIII
Mechanical Bull
Near as I can tell, XIII is essentially a one-man-band that consists of some Australian guy named Dan Sanders. It looks like he’s made one album and a few singles. Mechanical Bull is the latest — and as of this writing, the only thing you can actually listen to on his Bandcamp page. But that’s OK, since it’s an inspired grunged remake of Stella Donnelly’s Mechanical Bull. If his originals are this good, I’ll go along for the ride. Assuming he ever decides to post some more of his stuff.
El Sav
Dreamin Of A Summer Vacation
El Sav looks like he’s some rando white hip-hop kid from Ohio. And this is the only song on his page. But it’s an undeniable winner — a lazy, head-nodding groove that flows along as he unspools some simple bars and a chorus that will be stuck in your head for days. I Googled it and couldn’t find another version, so I presume it’s not a cover. Either way, it’s a perfect little single that sums up what everybody is thinking these days. More please.
