Hello and welcome to FTA’s list of what we are excited for this Bandcamp Friday, aka every music nerds favorite day! A bunch of us weighed in on what we’ve been into lately and we’ve got plenty of goodies old and new for you to dig into over a wide range of genres. But don’t take our word for it, dive into these tracks/albums and judge for yourself. Feel free to let us know what you think and tell us your suggestions.
Check out some of our past lists here: April 2022, May 2022, June 2022, September 2022, October 2022, November 2022, December 2022, February 2023 and March 2023.
Kate Hoos- Editor In Chief
Bad Waitress– No Taste. I went to see my friends Gustaf in the UK around a year ago and they were on tour with the Toronto based band Bad Waitress, who I had not previously been familiar with but who turned out to be the 90s throwback alt rock band of my dreams. Very much looking forward to seeing them in NYC.
The Dog Indiana– Burnt Ends. I’ve really been into heavy, noisy shit lately and this Vancouver, BC trio scratched that itch big time for me. Their new album Burnt Ends was released right in the middle of a really thorny and difficult time of loss and confusion for me; the sludgy riffs, mondo screams and bulldozing drums gave immediate sonic identity to how I was feeling, a rageful salve to help process some difficult and confronting emotions. Another Canadian band I need to head directly to NYC ASAP.
Happy Death Men– Famous Plane Crashes. I discovered this band very recently and once I heard the frayed riffs of “Kyle,” with its high distorted bass clamoring out on top while the vocals scream What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? What the fuck do you mean? before the song skidded roughly to a stop, I was instantly hooked. This is their debut EP and while it just came out, my greedy ass is already ready for a full length. Let’s make it three for three and get this crew to NYC too.
Chantal- Contributing Writer
Chime School– Chime School. Hooky, jangly pop out of San Francisco.
Daktyloi– Stucco Beach (Facade B). This new experimental piece is out on Endogenic Records.
Ossifer– Suppressed Mirth. Alt rock from “a trio of old school Tallahassee weirdos.”
Jenifun -Webmistress
In honour of Adwaith and Panic Shack recently playing SXSW/US dates (see our coverage from New Colossus Fest and SXSW), I have decided to prepare a Welsh list. | Er anrhydedd i Adwaith a Panic Shack oedd yn chwarae yn yr Unol Dalethiau dw i wedi dewis i baratoi rhestr o fandiau Cymreig.
Adwaith– Bato Mato.
Boxcat– Something.
The Bug Club– Green Dream in F#.
Gwenno– Y Dydd Olaf.
Neon Neon– Praxis Makes Perfect.
Obey Cobra – Oblong.
Panic Shack– Baby Shack.
9bach– Tincian.
Kate Bell-Contributing Writer
Eyelids– A Colossal Waste of Light.
Fever Ray– Radical Romantics.
Kilynn Lunsford– Custodians of Human Succession.
Sex Tide– Ohio.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs– Cool It Down.
Kyle Ostrander- Contributing Photographer.
Bongripper– Hate Ashbury. An instrumental album that’s been on HEAVY rotation for me lately. This one is in the doom metal genre.
If These Trees Could Talk– Red Forest. I love instrumental post-rock, and over the past few weeks I’ve listened to this album on an almost daily basis.
True Widow– AVVOLGERE. I’d classify them as “heavy slowcore,” and I always find myself coming back to their music.
Mike Borchardt- NYC Scene Editor
Desert Sharks– The Tower.
Leathered– A Reckoning.
Nara’s Room– Gnaw (Live Sessions).
Pseudo– Renovations.
Ray Rusinak-Contributing Photographer
Ellie Turner– When the Trouble’s All Done. I knew next to nothing when I stumbled upon Nashville artist, Ellie Turner’s most recent effort, When The Trouble’s All Done. Honestly, I still don’t know much about her besides the fact that she has put out an album that reminds me of sitting on the front porch with a couple of old friends, strumming guitars and singing songs on a warm summer’s night. Those times when you play through the mistakes, ignore the gaffs and just play for the sake of playing. That’s the kind of folk album that Trouble’s is. Recorded live in the studio, Turner says that her and producer Jack Schneider recorded the album direct to tape, playing each song until they felt they got the right take. In this case the right take might not have been the perfect case but in true unadulterated folk music, perfection is rarely a prerequisite but sometimes it just happens. Turner has succeeded with this collection in offering up a perfectly imperfect set of heartfelt, inspiring and moving folk songs.
Purling Hiss– Drag On Girard. I remember seeing Purling Hiss at the original Brooklyn Bazaar back in the day and being bowled over by Mike Polizzi’s ferocious attack on rock and roll. I’d go as far to say that back in 2013/2014 I freaking LOVED this band. And then pooof! They kind of fell off my radar to the point that I’d kind of forgotten them. Then low and behold out pops Drag On Girard and all those former feelings towards the band are back like they’d never been gone in the first place. There’s no new ground broken with this one but that’s just fine. Girard is the kind of album that sounds and feels like it was recorded literally in somebody’s garage. And that’s by no means a slight on what I hear. Quite the contrary, it’s a compliment to Polizzi and crew that they can still make in your face, tried and true garage punk rock with no pretentious posturing. Rock and roll the way it was originally meant to be, loud, rambunctious and rebellious. I can almost hear somebody’s father somewhere yelling from his recliner in the living room to “turn that noise down!” Fuck that, TURN IT UP!
The Reds, Pinks and Purples– The Town That Cursed Your Name. The Reds, Pinks and Purples is the latest incarnation of San Francisco musician/artist, Glenn Donaldson who has been putting music out in various guises for some 30 years now. He started releasing music under the RP&P moniker in 2019 and has released six full length LPs since then. This latest effort picks up right where last year’s Mountain Lake Park left off. Donaldson’s output with RP&P is always very cinematic in nature and this one is no exception. It’s melancholy and sweet and flows like a rose petal down a babbling brook in the springtime. It’s lush and ephemeral and at points just plain beautiful. As I’ve already mentioned with Donaldson’s prolific output and the cinematic atmospheric feel of each recording, I’m at the point where I like to think of the Reds, Pinks & Purples as the aural equivalent of a long running binge worthy streaming television series. With each LP building off of the last, taking you to places you’d not thought of before. This latest one proves that Donaldson has plenty more to say and do with this project and we are lucky that this is the case.
The Whiffs– Scratch ‘N’ Sniff. The Whiffs’ second LP proves that a band doesn’t have to be from one of the coasts to be making really good punk/indie music. Hailing from that hot bed of rock and roll, Kansas City, MO, The Whiffs’ new one is a straight up, in your face, hard edged punk power pop collection. They self describe themselves as “RIYL to The Rubs and The Replacements,” which I can’t argue with but to my ears, the sound the first sound I hear is that of former Brooklyn band Nude Beach, and that quite honestly is one heap of praise.