Bandcamp Picks of the Week 4/6/16
The internet is basically a dude you meet with a magical basement with every record ever made stored inside. When you get down there, however, you find that this guy has a deranged method of organizing all his records and tends to leave a lot of his tentacle porn scattered between all the albums. Bandcamp Picks of the Week is a fantastic key to safely sort through the Internet’s insane collection without having to get routinely poked in the eye by unwanted tentacles. Check out some of our favorite stuff floating around Bandcamp below.
ORI – UNWIND
Genre: Neofolk
Favorite Tracks: “Wish,” “Haman,” “Behind Your Back,” “2010”
This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique Bandcamp bedroom projects you can find. There’s an endless spontaneity and creativity on display here, from how Ori will structure his songs to how he will digitally manipulate his acoustic instruments, particularly his own voice, to completely change their original tones, rhythms, and effects. What makes all this manipulation particularly interesting is how it actually feeds into a propagation of organic, earthy rhythms and textures. Despite all the digital artifice, there’s a clear connection to the majesty and power of nature throughout this EP. This ends up culminating in a subtly powerful commentary on man’s relationship with technology versus his relationship with the natural world. The album’s themes are summarized explicitly on “2010,” where Ori samples poet Jack Hirschman reading his poem of the same title; “What’s that look under your eyelids, as we go forward into 2010? Why don’t you know? Haven’t you guessed? It’s the look of those living out the true lie, best.” You can piece together what that means for yourself here.
PCPC – RAMSGATE
Genre: Post-Punk, Experimental
Favorite Tracks: “Fell into the Wrong Crowd,” “I Know (You),” “Lost in the Drain”
Here we have some music that is truly unafraid to be strange and unpredictable. Posers Corrupting Punk Credentials, or PCPC, are here to tear everything to the ground, most of all tired conventions of punk music. There’s danger and paranoia lurking in almost every note on this record, enough moody atmosphere to suffocate even the brightest day, but equally enough to revel in on an already dreary one. Album opener “Fell into the Wrong Crowd” really does a fantastic job establishing PCPC’s absolutely bleak mindset perfectly. A squealing, dying saxophone bleats over an unrelenting droning of bass and drums, complemented by layers and layers of fuzzy guitar feedback. The song will lurch with sudden manic bursts of energy, but never long enough to satiate, always falling back into a depressed groove just when it seems to really be getting started. This depressing embrace of chaos and unpredictability comes across as punks as fuck, while simultaneously refusing to conform to the formulas of writing traditional hardcore punk that have become so stale. If you’re looking for a nice Black Flag and Nick Cave inspired record to smash your pathetic face against a brick wall, look no further.
Carter Moon
Carter Moon grew up in the desolate Evangelic capital of the world and responded by developing a taste in counter culture, which eventually bloomed into a love for filmmaking and screenwriting. Carter has average opinions on most things, but will defend them adamantly and loudly until no one else wants to bother speaking up. He runs Crossfader's podcast, IN THE CROSSHAIRS.
