Bandcampin’ Good stuff for your ears
Published 1:30 am Thursday, October 15, 2020
- Supercrush.jpg
Bandcamp is an online music platform used largely by independent artists and record labels to stream songs and sell merchandise. It’s also a vibrant virtual community teeming with interesting sounds just waiting to be discovered. Each week, I’ll highlight three releases available on the site that are well worth your time and attention. If you find something you dig, please consider supporting the artist with a purchase.
Fleet Foxes
Trending
“Shore”
With 2008’s self-titled debut and 2011’s majestic “Helplessness Blues,” this harmony-happy Seattle band is responsible for two of the 21st century’s very best albums so far, and 2017’s “Crack-Up” found core creative force Robin Pecknold wrestling with self-doubt and indulging his avant garde interests. On the other hand, Fleet Foxes’ fourth album, “Shore,” is a warm and breezy balm in an otherwise increasingly rugged world. Here, Pecknold reins in his experimental tendencies and refocuses on his primary strength: ambitious, expansive folk-pop-rock packed with gorgeous melodies and harmonies that stretch to the heavens. Pecknold is one of the world’s great songwriters, and it’s always nice to have new music from him.
Exploding Flowers
“Stumbling Blocks”
Exploding Flowers are not here to play or hard-to-get. They’ve been around too long for that stuff, having played in acts like the Alice Bag Band, the Lassie Foundation and Cody ChesnuTT. No, the four folks in Exploding Flowers lay out their modus operandi right there on their Bandcamp profile: The band’s brand of “jangle pop is akin to ‘70s-era Chilton/Bell, mid-’80s New Zealand guitar pop, L.A.’s Paisley Underground and ‘90s noise pop,” it says. If that all makes sense to you, great. If not, I’m here to translate: Exploding Flowers are for lovers of classic, catchy pop-rock, especially the kind tinged with buzzing keyboards, head-bopping rhythms, ringing electric guitars and psychedelic vibes.
Supercrush
Trending
“SODO Pop”
The main man behind this Seattle-based melody machine is Mark Palm, who came up in the punk and metal scene. But with Supercrush, he has turned his attention to pitch-perfect power pop filtered through his strong DIY ethos. After four killer 7-inch singles over the past few years, the band has released its debut album, a wonderland of candy-coated pop songs that are equal parts strummy and crunchy and hooky and dreamy in all the right ways. If you have a persistent itch previously scratched by pop perfectos like Teenage Fanclub, Sloan and Matthew Sweet, Supercrush is the band for you.