Bandcamp Picks of the Week 6/15/16
Here are two more stellar records you should check out, brought to you by Bandcamp Picks of the Week
The Dark Skies Above Us Collective – RESISTANCE: ANTI-NSBM VOLUME 4
Genre: Black Metal, Crust Punk
Favorite Tracks: “Ker – Latibule,” “Danos – Fuck You from the Underground,” “Deafest – Precipice [Catamount]”
What an unbelievable find. The Dark Skies Above Us music collective is an anarchist, anti-fascist collective hailing from Athens, Greece, a country painfully familiar with modern fascism. In the battle against one of the most openly dangerous political parties in recent history, Golden Dawn, a remarkable amount of crust punk and black metal has emerged to articulate the populace’s anger, and this massive compilation is an incredible survey of that music. Is every track on this 53 track compilation perfect? Of course not, but there are incredibly satisfying gems sprinkled throughout, and it serves a veritable atlas of Europe’s current underground metal scene. Additionally, the compilation is name your price and all the proceeds go to paying for the funeral of the girlfriend of one of the collective’s members. There’s no reason not to give it a shot here.
The Switching Yard – YET AGAIN
Genre: Noise Rock, Garage Rock
Favorite Tracks: “Champagne Action,” “Hard Luck,” “Hank It’s Midnight”
Did you and your friends ever blow too much money on fuzz pedals from Guitar Center, set up to jam one Saturday afternoon, only to find that fat walls of distortion couldn’t mask what mediocre musicians you all were? The Switching Yard are what you and your friends all sounded like in your heads before getting gobsmacked by auditory reality. Heavily referencing the Superfuzz Bigmuff sounds of Mudhoney, this is lo-fi noise rock that thoroughly gets the job done. However, just because they draw influence from late 80s Washington grunge in no way means they entirely ape it, either. As the band expands into longer jam sessions over the course of the EP, there’s the distinct sense that they’re drawing on the sprawling Canadian wilderness surrounding them in their native Saskatchewan. For fans of Ty Segall who are bored by his many Burger Records imitators, this should be a rollicking breath of fresh air, which you can experience firsthand here.
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.
