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1. Fruit Bats “The Pet Parade”
2. Mamman Sani “La Musique Electronique du Niger”
3. Mesh “Mesh”

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.

Fruit Bats, “The Pet Parade”

With downtown Bend’s annual pet parade canceled yet again, “The Pet Parade” — the 10th album from Eric D. Johnson’s wonderful Fruit Bats project — will have to suffice as a replacement. For two decades, Johnson has been one of the best singer-songwriters working in the world of indie-folk-pop-rock, thanks in large part to his honeyed voice and his seemingly endless supply of lovely melodies. This is perfect sunny summertime hangout music; it’s a balm in a world that feels harsher than ever. Put it on when you need something unhurried and uncomplicated and unassuming and reliably, relentlessly beautiful.

Mamman Sani, “La Musique Electronique du Niger”

I’m not going to tell you that I knew the name Mamman Sani, or that I knew he’s a legendary avant garde musician from Niger, or that I knew he’s a pioneer of electronic music in West Africa. I didn’t know any of that until the Portland-based Sahel Sounds record label told me. That’s the cool thing about labels like Sahel: They’re out there finding new and old music by far-away artists like Sani and delivering it to ears around the globe. Sahel is one of the best, and so is “La Musique Electronique du Niger,” which was originally released in 1978 and still today spills over with minimalist electronic music that merges traditional Nigerien melodies and once-modern organ buzz.

Mesh, “Mesh”

Over the past couple of years, buying music on Bandcamp has significantly expanded my collection of cassette tapes. For smaller bands and labels, producing a run of cassettes is a lot less expensive than pressing to vinyl, and as someone who wants to own my music if possible … well, I buy their tapes. The latest is this EP from the Philadelphia punk band Mesh, which has only five tracks — all killer, no filler. These folks mix a bit of Devo influence into their sound but unlike a lot of their peers, they don’t overdo it. The result is a set of songs that are weird and fidgety, but still sturdy and awesome.