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1. Melissa Carper “Daddy’s Country Gold”
2. The Broken West “I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On”
3. John R. Miller “Depreciated”

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.

Melissa Carper, “Daddy’s Country Gold”

Country music has always had a sense of humor, although you don’t hear too much of it these days in the mainstream stuff coming out of Nashville. But Texas singer-songwriter Melissa Carper understands the tradition, and she echoes it expertly on her 2021 album “Daddy’s Country Gold.” While her band deftly re-creates the jazzy sound of classic Western swing, Carper delivers songs that are campy and fun and full of lyrics that will make you smile. This one’s a hidden gem, friends!

The Broken West

“I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On”

The Broken West were a band that should have been bigger than they were. They had the right label (big indie Merge Records) and killer songs (written by a guy named Ross Flournoy) and they even scored a few prominent pop-culture placements, i.e., a song featured in a buzzy TV show or whatever. Alas, it was not meant to be. The albums endure, however, and The Broken West’s debut full-length, “I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On,” is packed wall to wall with pitch-perfect power pop that soars despite its own melancholy.

John R. Miller, “Depreciated”

The underground country pipeline has delivered a bunch of good artists in the past several years, like Sturgill Simpson, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers and so on. Next up is a fellow named John R. Miller, a top-shelf guitar picker, singer and songwriter from West Virginia whose songs echo the twangy sounds of the past. His voice feels lived-in, his lyrics tell familiar stories and his easygoing style is a welcome contrast to the try-hard nature of so much music these days. If country is your thing, then “Depreciated” is for you.