Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes.jpeg

1. Michael Beach “Dream Violence”
2. Nat Birchall “Ancient Africa”
3. Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes “Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar more Songs”

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.

Michael Beach

“Dream Violence”

Welcome, readers, to what might just be the sneaky-awesome album of 2021. It’s by Michael Beach, who is definitely a person and might also be the name of a band. It’s hard to tell. Either way, he/they is/are responsible for a 10-track slab of taut-but-ramshackle sound that echoes all the coolest influences of the past half-century: Neil Young, the Velvet Underground, Nick Cave, and, according to Beach’s own bio, avant garde composer Glenn Branca, enigmatic Israeli guitarist and Memphis garage-punk giants the Oblivians. In other words, this is wild-eyed rock ‘n’ roll that’s agitated, jagged, charismatic and catchy as hell.

Nat Birchall

“Ancient Africa”

If you’ve been reading Bandcampin’ for the past year and a half, you can probably guess that jazz is not necessarily an area of particular expertise for yours truly. I’d love to do a deep, sustained dive into such a rich and rewarding genre, but I barely have time to brush my teeth as it is. Maybe someday, I’ll make the time. Until then, I’ll continue my simple “I know what I like when I hear it” approach to jazz, and I know I like English saxophonist Nat Birchall’s latest record, “Ancient Africa,” which blends the spirit and soloing of classic jazz with traditional rhythms and sounds of African music. The result is jazz that is vibrant and easygoing, deeply soulful and endlessly compelling.

Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes

“Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs”

Who picked two jazz albums for this week’s column? Oh right … that was me. “Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar more Songs” is a follow-up to a 2018 collaborative album (titled, as you might guess, “Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar”) from two Los Angeles-based musicians: Sam Gendel, who plays alto sax, and Sam Wilkes, who plays bass. Both of them take the resulting jams and dip them into a vat of hip-hop beats, experimental electronics and spaced-out production. What comes out is a bunch of woozy future-jazz bangers that are heavy on vibe and cooler than a cucumber. Jazz, man! It’s a big ol’ tent and there are treasures to be found in every corner.