It is another Bandcamp Friday, the second of those special days when the most respectable music platform waives their revenue share to support those artists impacted by the pandemic. Numbers revealed by Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond showed that the previous time the effort led to a fat success. On a typical Friday an average of 47,000 items are being sold on Bandcamp, yet the first time around fans raised that number to approximately 800,000.
Bandcamp Fridays will return
twice more, on June 5th and July 3rd, 2020. It's not certain if we'd
be compiling spontaneous lists such as these first two for the
following dates, but this one was put together while the iron was
hot.
Here is another bunch of
exceptional releases we handpicked this time around.
15. DEAFKIDS: Live at Ljubljana 2016
We had previously known DEAFKIDS' Live at Ljubljana 2016 as Live In Slovenia 2016. The band recorded it on August 1st, 2016 at the local Gromka Club, and it's composed of ten songs, conspicuously closeing with a bonus number which hints at something that may sound a bit familiar.
14. Tamaryn: Led Astray Washed Ashore
Tamaryn's first album was originally a self- release, first time issued in 2008. The album was later out on vinyl via Troubleman, and it hadn't been anywhere available digitally before.
13. Jesu: Ascension (Deluxe+)
Jesu's great third full length, Ascension, from 2011 got the deluxe edition treatment, with new mixing and mastering of the original content, as well as three alternate versions of tracks from the album and an unreleased cut, all of which were previously available only on the Daymare Japan release of the album.
12. Mogwai: ZEROZEROZERO
Mogwai's new soundtrack for the series ZeroZeroZero will be available as a pay-what-you-can download for one week only, and half of its profits will go to Help Musicians and NHS charities.
No strangers to the scoring game, Mogwai deliver another work of entrancing, captivating musicianship to appropriately accompany the acclaimed crime drama.
11. Lustmord: Lublin
Lustmord's Lublin was recorded live at Spotkania Kultur in Lublin, Poland on December 10th 2016, and it presents the experimental/ambient musician's magnetic and absorbing live effectiveness in all its glory. Notably, the artist also released Berlin, another live set recorded in Germany two years later.
10. Cave In: Moonlight Mile
Cave In offer their own, heartfelt, heavy and overall fine take on The Rolling Stones classic, Moonlight Mile, originally on Sticky Fingers from 1971. The band recorded the song during the March and April 2020 lockdown at their homes in Ipswich MA, Salem MA, Cambridge MA, and Brooklyn NY.
9. Monolord: Empress Rising (Instrumental)
Swedish heavy rockers, Monolord, released an all-instrumental rendition of their 2014 debut, Empress Rising, presenting the album's strength through a different lens, as it still holds up firmly after six years.
8. Amyl And The Sniffers: Live at The Croxton
Raw and unrefined as it's ought to be, the Sniffers' Live at The Croxton contains only three tracks, yet it doesn't lack at all in might, and becomes a great complementary release to the band's powerful album from last year.
7. Spotlights: Wave Of Mutilation
Spotlights continue their intriguing series of covers through which they have previously offered their own takes on tracks originally by Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Shudder To Think, this time covering Pixies, leading to something very fine and heavy as expected.
6. Marissa Nadler: Covers 3
Cover expert, Marissa Nadler, has another set of thrilling takes of classics, this time trying her hand on songs by Bob Dylan, King Crimson, Metallica, Alex Chilton and Townes Van Zandt, and has an original piece to also present as a bonus.
5. Arab Strap: Sanitised Broadcasts 99-03
Scottish indie rockers, Arab Strap, haven't released a proper album since 2005, and are expected to do so this year. This collection of radio broadcasts spanning four years is a total treat, and includes Peel Sessions and various rarities which deserved to be unearthed.
4. METZ: Acid/Slow Decay
A pair of tracks by Canadian punks, METZ, recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, were unreleased pieces from the Strange Peace sessions, but they don't appear at all like outtakes that should have been rejected, as the band's sound pours forth great amount of energy like every time.
3. Drab Majesty: No Rain
The most recent D//E Album of the Year Champions, Drab Majesty, make a fine attempt for their own glistening synthpop take on Blind Melon's No Rain. This unreleased version dates back to 2013, it was mastered by Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv), and it was originally a Deb Demure bedroom recording committed to 4-track.
2. A Place To Bury Strangers: Rare Meat
Another great treat, Rare Meat collects a lot of noise and rawness in the form of demos and rare tracks by A Place To Bury Strangers vaulting over 2003-2017. It's been two years since the band's solid latest album, and this one doubles for a new APTBS release just fine, containing a sizable fifteen-track dosage.
1. The KVB: Live at La Cigale
Recorded on January 29th, 2020 at La Cigale in Paris, Live at La Cigale, showcases how sharp and accurate The KVB sound on stage, and how pungent their live act is. The album includes twelve of the band's greatest tracks, and it's resplendent with the band's multi-genre flair from end to end.
ZR