Bandcamp Picks of the Week 7/5/17
We’re back for another high-octane, seat-of-your-pants installment of Bandcamp Picks of the Week
Gold Casio – FEVER DREAMS
Genre: Nu-Disco
Favorite Tracks: “Socialites and Singer Types,” “Colors on the Wall””
FEVER DREAMS balances the tightness and sleekness of good disco with the bombast of house music. It’s frustratingly short (seven tracks and one of them being a one-minute interlude), but what’s here sounds fantastic. The singers, both male and female, bring a boldness and personality that doesn’t get lost in the shimmering synths, bass licks, and synthetic percussion, and everything has a sly, winking seduction that is sexy as hell. Take it from someone who doesn’t like a lot of modern dance music: if the bassline and hook on “Socialites and Singer Types,” or the dramatic, synthetic strings of “Colors on the Wall” don’t hook you into kinetic motion, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you. If you have a high tolerance for a band claiming to be so awe-inspiring that they cause their listeners to, “relinquish the curtains of this reality,” this will serve you well on the dance floor. [Blake Michelle]
Michael Sarah – FIVE SONGS
Genre: Folk, Acoustic
Tracks: “family of fish,” “banksy boys,” “back 2 liquor”
Some people get record deals and a room full of producers and create first albums only a quarter as honest and confessional as Denver folk musician Michael Sarah. So often in the pursuit of beauty, songwriters forget the need to also be truthful. Born Sarah Mandabach, she simply sings her heart out over an acoustic guitar, serving as a reminder of just how effective that can be when in the right hands. “Family of Fish” opens the EP and perfectly demonstrates her style of personal songwriting that seems to come entirely from the gut. “Banksy Boys” demonstrates her cutting sense of humor and intolerance for insecure, pretentious boys’ bullshit. She’s a fantastic singer, but her voice alone isn’t what carries these five tracks—it’s her biting, personal point of view that really makes them stand out. It’s not very often that people are willing to share themselves like this, and it makes for the kind of music that simply cannot be manufactured by any industry. Sarah’s work is a reminder of how great independent art can be, in addition to what the joys of simple music can be, and you can listen to it here. [Carter Moon]
