Bandcamp Picks of the Week 4/20/16
夕方の犬 – OCT16. 1964
Genre: Ambient
Favorite Tracks: “Oct16. 1980,” “July29. 1996”
A haunting and resolutely understated release, 夕方の犬 (Dog in the Evening)’s OCT16. 1964 is an ode to death, loss, and the pain of loving that which has passed on. As history tells it, in 1963, 100 countries agreed to cease atmospheric nuclear testing. However, a year later, on October 16th of 1964, China instituted independent testing that would continue for the next 32 years. Largely undocumented, this testing is purported to have untold negative effects on the environment, and Dog in the Evening composed five pieces corresponding to dates that the Chinese government is known to have enacted tests in an effort to shed light on this nearly entirely unheard of atrocity. The listener is best advised to not come into the release expecting bombast and strong, definitive character. Each track slinks and slides amorphously through time and space, slowly trickling down to envelop the listener in a melancholic blanket of those that history has willfully chosen to forget. There is beauty here, but it is beauty on the brink of disruption, the beauty of an innocent community the evening before they’re to be decimated. You can listen to it here.
SPORTS – SUNCHOKES
Genre: Indie Rock, Garage Rock
Favorite Tracks: “Clean Jeans,” “You’re So Sorry”
Rocketing by on a bite-sized morsel of bratty indie pop punk, SUNCHOKES is the kind of record meant to be listened to in a sweaty East Coast garage, with everyone in attendance swilling craft beer and perpetually moving their head from side to side. The similarities to Diet Cig cannot be denied; I guess I have an affection for this kind of thing. In any case, what’s most memorable about SPORTS is the highly affected and somewhat off-putting style in which Carmen Perry delivers her scathing one-liners. Somewhere between an emo whine and a Southern twang, Perry is elevated to a position of extreme agency, easily sneering and posturing across each and every energetic guitar riff thrown her way. The music isn’t structurally complex, but it doesn’t need to be; wrapped up in a vague and optimistic naivety, the quality of melodies are what’s paid the most attention to here by the band, and it should be appreciated accordingly by the listener. You can listen to it here.
Thomas Seraydarian
Crossfader is the brainchild of Thomas Seraydarian, and he acts as Editor-in-Chief.
