Saturday, October 20, 2012

BANDCAMP FINDS: Robby, Mark, and Kyle Go Deep


Bandcamp is an awesome website with tons of awesome undiscovered music on it. This (hopefully regular) feature is just our attempt to share some bands/album with you that we found while surfing around Bandcamp. We hope you enjoy!

--

Half Moon Run

Admittedly, I had heard of Half Moon Run before poking around Bandcamp, but Bandcamp ended up being the kick in the pants I needed to actually listen to them, and I'm really happy I got that kick in the pants. When I first started listening to their debut album Dark Eyes it screamed Grizzly Bear to me, but after listening some more they definitely aren't a complete ripoff. While I do think that Half Moon Run present some interesting melodies like Grizzly Bear, this album is drenched in an eerie creepiness that reminds me a lot of Patrick Watson's darkest moments. The vocalist for Half Moon Run also sings with so much soul that it keeps me captivated. Dark Eyes just ended up being a really ethereal, beautiful and downright haunting sounding rock album for me. I think the vibes fit perfectly with the time of year right now when days are getting shorter and colder. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for what this Montreal band does in the future. -Mark



Cheap Dinosaurs

I don't claim to know a lot about chiptunes/8-bit music, but what I can say is that most of it is fun as hell to listen to, and Cheap Dinosaurs are no exception. Cheap Dinosaurs' self-titled debut album was released in October 2011 by Philadelphia experimental composer Dino Lionetti. Listening to this album really brought me back to when I was about 10 years old and obsessively playing Pokemon on my Gameboy, and for good reason, because this album was indeed composed on a Nintendo Gameboy. So if you're a fan of this type of music then I'd say this album is at least worth a shot. A lot of the 9 tracks on this album have some really nice grooves and melodies that will hopefully get stuck in your head. If you're really keen on the album and want to buy a copy you can even order some plantable album art that comes with a download code.      -Mark



--

MOTHS

We at YPOIW are generally wide spectrum music nerds that sometimes just need to know if a certain combination of sounds exists. This endless search to find new and interesting sounds is exactly how I stumbled upon MOTHS. I am a noted hater of all things ambient music as someone who prefers more actively engaging music and this has led to me gravitating towards more abrasive genres in recent years. As a joke I put "ambient skramz bandcamp" into the magical search engine we call google and this Houston based band was the first result. Surprisingly this band delivered what I was looking for but a lot more as they incorporate elements of noise rock, drone, and thrash styles into their unique sound. If that sounds insane to you, that's because it is... and I'm not sure in all the years I've been listening to music that I've found a band who sounds remotely like MOTHS. Their big trick is to sound like half a dozen different bands in a short amount of time. It's pummeling, it's pretty, it's weird, and it's the most engaging and exciting new band I've discovered in quite a long time. -Kyle



Roger Bryan & The Orphans

Full disclosure: Roger Bryan & The Orphans is a local band, so I'm cheating a little bit by picking them but hear me out. Their sound is folk and Americana influenced but still noticeably in a modern indie rock package. Their career highlight is their last full length album entitled 37 which is expertly paced as a perfect road trip album with as many peaks and valleys as can be expected in a 31 minute running time. The band's sound isn't a terribly unique one but the record is so beautifully arranged with 3 guitar tracks and electronic organ showing up throughout. This band is exactly what fans of The Rural Alberta Advantage and The Walkmen should be listening as the emotional resonance of Roger's powerful voice and songwriting style is similar to those bands. They have 3 albums and multiple EPs but I recommend you start with 37, which is embedded below. -Kyle


--

Crowhurst

Crowhurst, a.k.a. Jay Gambit, is a noise/drone/ambient producer who recently followed yours truly on Twitter. Normally acts that look for attention via Twitter are, frankly, largely uninteresting but this guy has something going for him. On his most recent release No Life to Live, supposedly his 19th release of 2012, Gambit puts together an incredibly ambitious set of noise and ambient tracks, featuring over a dozen guest musicians, which adds up to around 90 minutes. If you can't take that time out of your day, then I suggest you at least try out some of his longer tracks, because those are the most rewarding, in my opinion. No Life to Live is embedded below, and you can go to Gambit's bandcamp and listen to more of his releases. -Robby

3 comments: