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1. “Luke Schneider Presents Imaginational Anthem Vol. XI: Chrome Universal – A Survey of Modern Pedal Steel”
2. Bootlicker “Bootlicker”
3. Celestine Ukwu and His Philosophers National “No Condition Is Permanent”

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 waiting to be discovered. Each week, I’ll highlight three releases available on the site that are worth your time and attention. If you find something you dig, please consider supporting the artist with a purchase.

Various artists, “Luke Schneider Presents Imaginational Anthem Vol. XI: Chrome Universal — A Survey of Modern Pedal Steel”

Since 2005, Tompkins Square Records’ “Imaginational Anthem” series of compilations has highlighted the finest underground acoustic guitarists alive, from James Blackshaw and Jose Gonzalez to Eli Winter and Matthew Rolin. The latest installment takes a bit of a detour, focusing on contemporary players of pedal steel guitar, whose sublime, swooping sound is often heard in country music and Hawaiian music. This collection, curated by Nashville-based pedal steel master Luke Schneider, features nine players representing a variety of styles, from beautiful ambient music to playful avant garde to more traditional sounds.

Bootlicker, “Bootlicker”

Last year, I was fortunate enough to compile a list of the best punk albums of 2021 for the online music publication Paste, and the list kicks ass — not because I made it, but because all the albums rule and the bands that made them rule. But said list did not include the self-titled album by Vancouver, Canada’s Bootlicker, which might just be the ass-kickingest album of last year. (Deadline came and went and I hadn’t heard it. It happens!) Bootlicker plays hardcore punk with uncommon ferocity, blasting through songs in 90 seconds with the pedal to the metal and the brakes disabled. The icing on this cake is the blown-out production style, which gives the band a raw and noisy edge.

Celestine Ukwu and His Philosophers National,

“No Condition Is Permanent”

Highlife is one of the major musical styles of Western Africa, marked by its upbeat sound that fuses African rhythms, plucked guitars, jazzy horns and catchy melodies. In the 1970s, Celestine Ukwu, a skilled musician and composer from Nigeria, started to bend highlife toward his own influences and taste, incorporating traditional Igbo music and taking a more measured and hypnotic approach to the sound. “No Condition is Permanent,” released by the essential Mississippi Records label, collects five of Ukwu’s tunes, as he performed them with his Philosophers National band. The result is a half-hour of mesmerizing music that will brighten any day.