Bandcamp Friday

Watching the "Selling Right Now" stream on the Bandcamp homepage on Bandcamp Friday is a little headspinning. After all this time, people still like to buy music. Good for everybody. Except for people who hate the intersection of art and commerce, I guess.

I'll be on KPISS.FM tomorrow at 5PM Eastern, playing some of the stuff I'm going to pick up on Bandcamp tonight, so do tune in and just listen to KPISS.FM in general. When there's not a DJ I'll use Radio Garden to find a cool station broadcasting out there, and I humbly suggest you do the same. The streaming services have their place -- I'm a big Pandora user, myself. But live radio is where it's at.

Here's some stuff to check out and maybe purchase on Bandcamp Friday or just whenever you have some coin:

The Bordellos' The Sunday Experience was originally released as a one sided 10" vinyl EP on Benevolent Antenna Records, I'm not sure the original release date, but now it's available as a pay what thou wilt download and it's 8:47 of good old fashioned Bordellos bliss:

Memphis three-piece The Wirms have a new full length, Wirms III. Great garage punk:

New punk duo, also from Memphis, Little Baby Tendencies have a full length available that came out late last month called "Bad Things." Sounds right to me, heavy y noisy:

Italy's K. Board & The Skreens (also a duo?) are back with Metal Postcard release Microdoze, and it's a doozey:

Also from Metal Postcard, the epic New No York comp has finally landed. I've been waiting on this for a while, and it does not disappoint -- hit after hit, from tip to tail, from Neon Kittens, Salem Trials, Lucy & The Drillholes, and The Clickbaiters:

I'm a big fan of Shit Present's 2016 EP Misery + Disaster, and after 6 years, they're back with a new single, and it absolutely rips:

Dykeritz submitted this with just the Bandcamp link, no EPK, no hello would love if you listened...I respect the audacity of the simplicity of the submission. The song is a bright, electro-pop single, apparently a remaster from a 2019 release from the New Jersey artist:

UK indie artist Marek Kubala has a new 4 song release called Satellite/Ramjam on Shore Dive Records. The EP is composed of dreamy "Satellite" and the more rocking "Ramjam," plus two extended mixes of "Ramjam." I like it:

DAFAKE is a minimalist, experimental electro-acoustic composer from Paris. Their newest album, Quiet Geometry, will be released on Discreet Archive on March 4. In the meantime, check out dsrpt -- two 16 minute improvisations, based on feedback loops and manipulated electromagnetic field recordings, recorded live in June 2022:

Finally, Tuscon's Class has a new 6 song album out you can order on cassette, called But Who's Reading Me?. I enjoyed their self-titled release from last year, and this sounds equally as good so far:

Step Below (London); Montel Palmer (Cologne, Germany); Girls Against Bots (Dallas, Texas); Science Man (Buffalo, NY); and selections from Tetryon Tapes (Buffalo)

Ukraine invasion is a wild thing. Pray for peace - that's always worked before.

Step Below is a hardcore band out of London, and it seems like I don't get too many straight up hardcore submissions from England, so that's interesting. Their single "Walk Away" is a minute long blistering blast, I dig it. They have a 5 song EP called S.B.H.C. coming out March 4 that will be available on Bandcamp and streaming platforms. Check out "Walk Away":

Montel Palmer is a three piece electro-outfit from Cologne, Germany. Their new album Catastropheland is nine tracks of experimental, ambient, dub-inspired synth. Pretty cool and available on vinyl on their Bandcamp page. Here's a video for the track "Cross Eyed," off the album:

Buffalo NY's Science Man has a new album called Nines Mecca available for pre-order on their Bandcamp page. The two singles available on Bandcamp are my type of hardcore garage punk. The full album will release March 18. There's vinyl co-released by Swimming Faith Records and Feral Kid Records, and also a VHS tape featuring videos, which I've already ordered and am excited about. We hooked up an old VCR/DVD combo late last year and have been having fun with it.

Feral Kid Records is also based out of Buffalo, and they have a tape subsidary called Tetryon Tapes. I did a deep dive through their catalog a few days ago and had a lot of fun. Here's some of the coolest stuff. All available on cassette, as Tetryon Tapes' name implies.

I ordered these on Feral Kids' Storenvy page, got a confirmation from Storenvy but haven't been notified when they'll ship yet. It's only been a few days, tho. I did unfortunately have to sign up with a storenvy account and immedietly regretted it as I got inundated with their spam trying to sell me macrame backpacks. I unsubscribed but have still been getting them. Goes on my list of Modern Life Greviances I'm keeping. O well, at least I don't currently reside in a warzone:

This Erik Nervous release Bugs!! is probably my favorite of this batch from Tetryon Tapes:

Finally, Dallas, Texas' own bedroom midi-core artiste Girls Against Bots, who also happens to be me, has a new single called "Jade Armor," as well as a lesser freak out called "Moon Dung." Is it just me foolin' around with a midi controller, or an act of unmitigated genius? Maybe it's just unmitigated foolin' around:

Thanks for reading. Stay safe. Don't inundate yourself with Twitter-fied terror-porn. Drink lots of water. Support these musicians, if you got spare cash to throw around.

A.N.J.A. (Belfast), Bill Horist (Seattle), and Harmonica Lewinski (Rochester, NY)

Been waiting a while to share this. A.N.J.A. is from Belfast and her new fuzzed out single "Monoxide" is boss. 13th Floor Elevators-inspired goodness:

How are you set for a 45 minute long prepared guitar driven dystopian soundscape? Improviser, composer and performer Bill Horist is from Seattle, and his new album, "Tastemaker Epics," is more than likely what you've been waiting for. Available on cassette from Cudighi Records for $7 plus $4 shipping in the US, if avant-garde instrumental weirdness is your bag, you gotta check this out:

Rochester NY spooky surf rockers Harmonica Lewinski have a new Youtube video out, the second installment in their "home video-style diy live sessions," filmed at their rehearsal warehouse in Rochester. Bad ass, inspiring, DIY film-making and music. This only has 162 views and 6 thumbs up. I feel like if this had been released 25 years ago, it would've been on Matador and a must-have video cassette. But, perhaps it will take the world 25 years to catch up to Harmonica Lewinski. My criticism is the lead singer's got a fun voice, and it's pretty buried here, but such is DIY. Take 15 minutes out of your day and make yourself a pleasure on the screen with this fun as hell video:

Predator (Atlanta); Heavy Metal (Germany); Trzpiot (Poland)

Predator is punk out of Atlanta, and they've got a new 11 song digital album called "Spiral Unfolds" due out May 28 from Total Punk Records. I've had a sneak peek at the full album and can attest to total radness through the length of the album:

Also got a sneak peak at Heavy Metal's "V: Live at the Gas Station Fighting the Devil," a 12 song digital release from the German band, also on Total Punk, and due out July 23. I wanted to like this rock'n'roll more than I did -- it's not bad, has some hits and misses -- the singles available for listen, "Motorbike" and "I Am Something" are swell, but the punky cover of "Burning Love," ("Gebrannte Amore") isn't as fun as the band thinks it is, and as the album was wrapping up I was kinda ready for it to wrap up. My favorite was "Centipede Venom," a brut piece that stood out from all the ironic garage punk pranksterism.

New CNQ fave Syf Records has been crankin out the hits, here's the latest, a two song digital release of lo-fi lovin':

The Ducks (UK); The Slime (Canada); Mustat Kalsarit (Finland); ✞ 𝕸𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖔 𝕴𝖉𝖎𝖔𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖔 ✞ (Japan)

Brighton weirdo two piece The Ducks have a new video, check out this punky freak-out, "Hypno Dim Sum":

These two hc singles from Toronto's The Slime are like, the most, man:

Finnish garage rock four-piece called Mustat Kalsarit -- you can get a limited cassette or the album on digital, from an LA label called Cudighi Records. I was immedietly taken by the first of the three songs available on streaming, "En tahdo astua pimeyteen," and when the second, "Uimaan" started, I was sold. Then there's the last song available for listen without pay, "Puu" -- when was the last time I listened to a flute-driven psych freak-out??? A while ago, I betcha. Great modern day garage-psych that happens to be Finnish:

✞ 𝕸𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖔 𝕴𝖉𝖎𝖔𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖔 ✞ -- A little over one minute of weird noise from Toyko. If you wanna be cool, you should probably check it out:

Roland Bruno (Argentina); Palberta and Sunk Heaven (New York); The Ducks and Salem Trials (UK); Call In Dead and 2Amature (Florida); The Shifters (Australia); Franck Racket (France); and Adam Holtz (Alabama)

Back in 2016, Buenos Aires based Roland Bruno released a 7" single called "Cumbia Reaction." Apparently Switzerland's Voodoo Rhythm will have a new release from Bruno soon. Absolutely rad Latin garage psych:

Is "rhythm" the weirdest word in the English language or what? I find it impossible to correctly spell it the first or second time. It never looks right.

On May 7, at 7PM Central, Palberta is doing a livestream on Bandcamp where they'll play their new album Palberta5000 in its entirety. Ten bucks, and an electro-noise artist called Sunk Heaven will also be playing. I've got my ticket, and got an e-mail from Warf Cat Records today letting me know my Palberta5000 record has shipped. They still have vinyl for sale on Bandcamp:

On May 19, 7PM GMT, Brighton two-piece The Ducks and something called Super Nothing TV will present "The Ducks Will Fxck You," "a live stream set from The Hope & Ruin in Brighton, a collection of sketches and music videos." I'm intrigued:

Also from the UK, prolific CNQ faves Salem Trials have a rad new track on Soundcloud:

SalemTunes · In the Future lies the Past

Released today, DCxPC Live Volume 1 Presents: Call in Dead and 2AMature Live at the Danger Room in Orlando, FL, is the first 45" put out by new punk label DCxPC. Limited to 200 copies, you can get one for $10. The Call in Dead side is a mishmash of hc and pop punk, crust/screamo, metal, and unfortuntely, a little bit of ska ("Summer Camp"), but despite the skanin' in "Summer Camp," it's quality r'n'r. The 2Amature side leans towards pop/surf but has an edge, and the whole live split is a success at capturing the sound and energy of a kinetic punk show. Recommended:

It's quaint to say I miss going to live shows, but I do. I know some folks have already started going back to live events, but I'm not ready for it.

The Shifters - Live In Gaul was recorded live (on an iPhone!) back in 2019, and put out on cassette this year by French label Arvo Disques. The cassette has already sold out, but a repress is on the way. Meanwhile you can listen to the full thing on Bandcamp. Fun, jangly, lo-fi rock'n'roll, and it's nice to hear a crowd having fun:

Also from France, Franck Racket is a grungy two-piece and their 5 song release Dark Ages is available digitally or on CD. I've been on a '90s hard rock kick lately and this release from back in February hits in that spot:

Finally, longtime CNQ fave Adam Holtz has a new song and video he made called "You." Always a pleasure to hear a new song from Adam:

Harmonica Lewinski and Billy Dunz's "Mr. Disco Pants"

Harmonica Lewinski is from Rochester, NY. A great band name and the video for their song "What's Behind the Veil" is the f'n s.

"What's Behind The Veil" is off their 10" "Human BBQ," physical copies still available on Bandcamp. Human BBQ was released back in April, 9 tracks, a little over 20 minutes of weirdo lo-fi surf-and-psych-tinged garage rock...highly recommended, and looks to be their first release since 2018.

This great Tarintino inspired stop-motion video is by Billy Dunz, the creator of a web series called "Mr. Disco Pants." I've never heard of it, so I watched the first episode. Mind. Blown.:

Two New Lo-Fi Punk Releases: Alien Nosejob from New Zealand and Dead Ghost from Canada

Got some new Adam Holtz coming up.

This year, instead of doing New Year's Resolutions that I'm never going to keep up with all year, I'm doing micro-resolutions month to month, and allowing myself to fail and get back up again, instead of, if I mess up, just scrapping the whole resolution. So far it's worked well and I recommend it.

Keeping up with CNQ more was not one of my micro-resolutions. For the one or two of you who read these posts, I'm a broken record, I know. I say "I post when I feel like it and don't do reviews" quite a bit. I'll put it in the blog description and maybe that will help me remember to talk about something else every once in a while. But yeah, as soon as I feel like I have to do this (or anything), I immediately do not want to do it anymore.

Meanwhile, artists and bands, feel free to send me your tunes, I'll happily listen, and if I like it, I'll share a song and a link and probably talk about it a little. But I'm not a music critic, just a fan, and I generally don't do reviews. Occasionally I'll break that rule, but in general that's how CNQ operates.

So let's see what's going on with some Bandcamp e-mail updates. Geeze, I get a lot of these.

Burger Records sent a link to Shindig! Magazine's premiere of Dead Ghosts' new video for a song called "Drugstore Supplies," off their new album "Automatic Changer," due out April 24. I liked Dead Ghosts' "Can't Get No," which came out in 2015, and I like Burger Records. Shindig's a neat magazine and I wasn't aware of their web presence until I got that Burger Records e-mail update. I listened to about half this 3 and a half minute song and I'm like, ya know, this is the same garage rock that every Burger Records release sounds like. It's fine, but frankly I'm a little bored by the formula.

Holy mackerel, I think I just did a critical review. But what do I know? I can only strum three chords. Here's the video. Like I said, the song is fine. But it sounds like so much of what Burger Records puts out, and stuff that sounds like what Burger Records puts out, that I can't really get excited about it:

The Youtube video on the Burger Records channel has 29 thumbs up and no thumbs down as of 9:47pm on 1/16/2020. I've always wondered what kind of asshole thumbs downs a video. I'm not gonna be that guy. If there was a "meh" icon I'd click it, maybe.

The Ausmuteants' Jake Robertson has a new solo album, "Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud," out on Anti-Fade Records (in Australia) and Drunken Sailor (in the UK). The solo project is called Alien Nosejob, and I love it. I'm pre-disposed to the "Devo-core" sound of Ausmuteants much more than I am the surfy garage sound of Burger Records releases, but it's not like Robertson is just re-making Devo songs. He's using that sound as a jumping off point to make some inventive, highly listenable, synthy garage-pop/off-kilter rock'n'roll that is worth purchasing so you can be cool and own it, and he can continue to do it. You can get it on black vinyl (red sold out already) from Anti-Fade for $25 AUS dollars, and from Drunken Sailor for a little cheaper -- shipping to the US is cheaper via Drunken Sailor too. Both sites have it available for $12 to dl digital via Bandcamp. Great album:

New Rock'n'Roll from Philly, France, and Germany

Here's some new rock'n'roll I think is cool. I see headlines for think pieces about how rock'n'roll is dying. You know the old chestnut, "live everyday like it's your last?" It occurred to me this morning, you know, on the last day of anything, most people just half-ass it.

Well.

I dunno if any of the bands below half-assed it, but if they did, good for them, because it's all rad as the af, like the kids say.

Chained Bliss is new punk rock out of Philadelphia. Their first release, Stained Red Promo CS, is available digitally now on Bandcamp for pay what thou wilt, and a cassette is due out soon from Where's The Pleasure Records, which I couldn't find any info on. The four track release is garage punk "influenced by The Vicious/Red Dons/Jay Reatard." I'm not familiar with The Vicious or the Red Dons, but I did get to see Jay Reatard play at a bar in Memphis back in '98 or '99, so I'm still cool, right?

It's a fun 10 minute listen, check it out:

I stalked Chained Bliss a little and found this band Neophobe, with band members in common. Neophobe S/T was released in 2017. Crazy garage punk. The cassette has sold out, but you get the 5 song EP for NYP on Bandcamp. Great stuff:

Trigger Cut is a three piece, noisy post-punk outfit from Germany. My love of Jesus Lizard extends to things that remind me of Jesus Lizard, and this definitely reminds me of Jesus Lizard. Playing in the vein of a popular band without directly apeing them is a tightrope walk, but Trigger Cut seems to pull it off. Released back in May of this year, their 10 song album Buster is available for 8 euros digital, 14 on CD and 18 on vinyl. Highly listenable. Here's the 2nd track, "Blind."

Buddy Records is a rock'n'roll label out of Paris, France and has a bitchin' catalog you should check out. Their most recent release, from September, is Special Friend, a French-American duo with a 5 song S/T that you can get digitally for 3 euros and a 10" vinyl for 10. Highly enjoyable lo-fi pop:

In June of this year, Buddy Records released a 19 song primer for NYP called Buddy #6 - La Messe Est Dite:

To reiterate, the Buddy Records Bandcamp page is definitely worth browsing:

Post-Script: I was going back over old posts after posting the above (because I'm a narcissistic freak) and noticed that, weirdly, it has been exactly a year since I posted that I had put the podcast to bed, and put the blog on semi-hiatus. It is a testament to how much I enjoy doing this that I thought about it quite a bit over the year -- what I wanna do with the blog, I mean. I had some big ideas, relatively speaking. Yet here I am, back, just doing the same thing I've always done with it.

I had a blast listening to the tunes and making this post tonight. I've said it often enough: I'm no critic, just a doof who enjoys all sorts of music. I share what I like with a little color commentary and that, I'm afraid, is all you'll ever get from me. CNQ's never been a music review blog, and I don't think I ever presented it that way, despite numerous requests to review new sounds.

Feel free to submit your music to me -- matt at clean nice quiet dot com. If I like it I'll be sure to share, but please don't expect a full review. Unless I feel like doing it, to which I reserve the right.

Ha, ha.

If I don't like what you've submitted, you may or may not here back from me, apologies in advance. That's just the way I am.

Maybe I've had a few alkie seltzers, but allow me to post a manifesto for moving forward: CNQ is just a hobby blog, for me to share music I like and the occasional thought on this or that that I'm interested in or feel an emotion towards that is worth writing about. For in-depth, critical analysis of an album or a band or a song, you'll have to look elsewhere, friend-o.

But if you're ok with me just doing what I do, stick around and we'll rock some tunes.

Rock'n'Roll

I've been playing the fudge outta Conan Exiles on Steam the past several days. That's a great game.

Soon enough I'm going to put some of my cruddy paintings up on Etsy. Here's the most recent one I did, "Terrorist."

Tonight we listened to all but one side of Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? and it's as awesome as ever. The side we didn't listen to was the first side of the second disc. It's got a lot of excellent songs on it:

I got my Chronic Anxiety cassette in the mail the other day. 11 lo-fi lady-fronted noise punk tracks. A must have:

I think it's great Bandcamp is helping people register to vote. Voting is super-important. The system is rigged, but a large portion of that rig is only to make you not vote. If you can get past that rigged part and get your vote in, you may be able to help shit not be so fucked up. If you're able to vote but don't, you're only enabling the fucked-up shit that is going on.

I'm 42 years old, and while I'm a dummy in more than few regards, I'm not a complete moron. So that's fucking wisdom. Get registered. Fucking vote in the mid-terms. If you're young, there's a lot of you, and you can make a difference if you're interested in freedom, equality, and the opposite of future dystopia.

Register To Vote.

I'm keeping my hopes grounded for a blue wave. At best we may end up with a stalemate between progressives and regressives. At worst, elections are suspended and The Purge is approved by the Supreme Court.

Good four song garage EP from Spain:

From Orlando, weirdo electro-punk, absolutely:

Bizarro-Pop from Oklahoma, Garage Punk from Chicago

One of my favorite games ever is Rome: Total War. The original one, I just can't stop playing it. I saw tonight that I've been playing it since 2014. Jeeze. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.

I got another podcast and the annual CNQ/Adam Holtz team-up in the works.

I go through phases. HC, grindcore, metal, garage punk, etc. Sometimes one genre or another appeals to me more than another. Sometimes I'll discover something I never heard before, wetcore or some shit, and be into that for a little while. Sometimes I get to feeling that everything sounds like everything else. Then something surprises me and I am reborn.

This Bizarro-Pop is super-cool, from northwest Oklahoma. My frame of reference for this is No-Rave a la Simo Soo, and Dan Deacon type stuff, I dunno what else sounds like this, but I guess they're referencing someone if it's not those guys. Really into this:

Raw garage punk from Chicago:

New HC from Bandcamp

Posting more on the blog wasn't one of my 2016 resolutions, but I should do more of it anyway.

This 3 song EP from a Parma, Italy hc garage punk band was originally put out on 7" back in April of '16. It sold out and now they've got a re-release available.

This 2 song EP from Shitty Life is due out on 7" from Euro Trash Records in March 2017:

From a 2 song sludgecrust effort, Black Aspirin are from Prague:

Podcast coming up later this month will feature some obscure vinyl as well as more recent material from the recently defunct OSR Tapes label.

New From Bandcamp - Punk: Hardcore, Powerviolence, Garage, Weirdo

Per their Bandcamp page, The Puking Toms formed in Franklin, Massachusetts in 1997, released 2 demo cassettes, and played a lot of shows in different places. This is their first recording, from 1997:

This is new from Abnormal Broadcasting, out of California. The band is called P.E.A.R.L. and their new 4 song demo is the type of raw hc I'm really into. Their Bandcamp page says "This is for the queers who have had enough of that trans misogynist bullshit. No one deserves to be left out. Fight back till you die." Which I think is cool but tbh I dunno what "trans misogynist bullshit" is. I'm gonna assume it's something non-inclusive and that I would be against it.

Here's the first song off the EP, they've got cassettes available on the page:

Six song album "Joy of Life" from Polish powerviolence band Low Standards. Heavy as the af, I'm into it:

And here's Iron Filth, Indonesian powerviolence! This song is called "Lumut Kemunafikan Dunia," and it's off Iron Filth's six song effort "Lethargic Dialogue" originally released back in 2014 but due out on cassette soon.

The Nods are garage rock from Salt Lake City. This is the b-side from their new cool 2 song 7":

This is from a crazy little six song demo from Olympia, Washington's Scrivener. A lo-fi Devo devotional, reminds me of the Ausmuteants, but the best parts of it remind me of early Gene Ween. Completely enjoyable demo:

Rock'n'Roll Round-Up

This is from a three song EP from a Chicago band called The Speed Babes. Lo-fi garage punk:

Iowa's Workerbee Records is putting out some sweet lo-fi punk, check out their Ugly Singles Club Series. Here's a band called Skeptics in that series, from France:

From a new 13 song post-punk album called "Form & Zweck," by German band Human Abfall. Put out by German label Sounds of Subterrania:

Dinoczar is from Boston, this is off their new 10 song cassette release "Sick Wind." Gold shelled cassette! Noisy guitar rock:

And from Montreal, Jef E. Barbara, whose new 7" "Sexe Machin/Sex Machine" is available courtesy Montreal label Fixture Records. Ordering the 7" on bandcamp also gets you a Jef Elise Barbara lapel pin. Very cool electro-pop:

Rock'n'Roll from Bandcamp

Some albums and a couple of singles with accompanying b-sides for me to listen to tomorrow. I don't feel like typing tonight so if you're interested in any of the tunes, follow the appropriate link over to Bandcamp to find out more about it. Engage lazy blogging:

35 Denton Festival: Sunday

If you're still in town Sunday afternoon for 35 Denton, you might want to check out Drone Church, an afternoon showcase featuring different experimental electronic musicians, at Sprockets Bike Shop. Might be interesting. Meanwhile, here's the last of the Fest's bands that worth checking out:

Male hip-hop from Denton:

Female hip-hop from Dallas:

LA's Son of Stan is cool:

Rock'n'Roll from Philly:

Rock'n'roll from Denton:

Garage rock from Louisville, Kentucky:

Rock en Español from California:

Indie rock from New York:

Nervous Curtains are a post-punk band from Dallas and I've featured them on the blog before:

Post-punk, also from New York:

Post-punk from Cophenhagen:

Jazzy singer-songwriter stuff from Denton. This is from 2012:

Country-rock from Texas -- everything I've heard from Ratley so far I've enjoyed:

Shoegaze/dream pop all the way from Israel:

Garage psych from Norman, Oklahoma:

Here's something different from Denton, experimental, instrumental, kind of like score music for a film:

Anyway, so, there's a lot more bands playing. Some bands I couldn't find online and others I wasn't as into as the ones above. Biz Markie's playing at 8:30. Denton's a fine town. Have fun, and don't litter!

35 Denton Festival 2016: Saturday

Some bands and such you might want to check out on Saturday, if you're up there:

Folk rock from Akron:

Rock'n'roll from Denton:

Fun punk...from Monaco!?!

Post-punk from Houston:

This is an old video/song and the sound is pretty low, but Cornhole should be cool to catch. Their album "Hornswoggled" is on Google Play Music so probably on Spotify too; worth checking out:

From Monroe, Louisiana, one man band who, according to the bandcamp page, wears an alligator mask and plays with three inanimate objects. Here's a song he wrote about Slayer's Jeff Hanneman:

Shoegazey alt from Brooklyn:

Pretty tune from Argentina:

Singer song-writer rocker from Denton:

Relaxed indie pop from Denton:

Grungey rock'n'roll from Beaumont, Texas:

Bluesy alt-rock from Fort Lauderdale:

More rock'n'roll, this from New York:

Indie rock from Dallas:

This is what's up -- KBD-esque punk from Denton:

I'm into this electro-punk from California:

Finally, soul from Brooklyn:

Whew! That's not near all the bands playing on Saturday, just the ones that appealed to me.

35 Denton Festival 2016: Friday Evening

Denton 35 is focusing more on local music this year, with a lot of bands playing around the square (that's the downtown area to you and me) of that Texas college town this Friday-Sunday. Here's some bands you might check out Friday night.

Pearl Earl plays fuzzy garage psych, they're from Denton:

Tacocat from Seattle you know about already, assuming you're hep. They've got a new album due out in April, here's a couple of tracks from it:

Experimental punk from Denton:

Odd indie-pop from Denton:

I'm excited to finally get to see Dallas' synth-punkers, seres, who sing in Spanish:

Singer-songwriter duo from Denton:

Alt-Country from Denton:

More Americana/singer-songwriter stuff, from Dallas:

Rock duo from Denton:

More rock, also from Denton:

File Under: Better Late Than Never

Here's a best-of-January collection of EPs and one full length from labels and bands I follow on Bandcamp.

Sauna Youth's song Transmitters, off their 2015 album Distractions, was one of my favorite songs from last year. These two songs are off a new 7" you can purchase from Upset the Rhythm. The A-Side, The Bridge, is from Distractions but the B-side, Blurry Images, is new to me:

This is neat, from Atlanta's Chunklet Industries, a four song 7" from various artists, "one of a small stack of random copies left over from the pressing," with only 5 left at this writing, per their Bandcamp page. The Black Lips, Baby Shakes, Gentlemen Jesse and His Men, and Coffin Bound. From 2009:

From Minneapolis, this is the first song off a new 5 song cassette put out by Lawn Chair Records:

21 song comp from Portland's Resurrection Records:

Fun French punk from French DIY punk label No Glory Records:

And that's my best of Bandcamp updates from January. I know it's March. What do you want from me?

Cassette Revival!?

If you thought the new CNQ podcast was fancy, I'm pleased to announce Clean Nice Quiet is doubling down on fancy with the addition of old time buddy Kale Ogle to CNQ as creative director, blog contributor, and general purveyor of with-itness and heptacality. We've got some cool stuff planned for CNQ so stay tuned.

I've been resisting it for a while but Kale's convinced me to get back into cassette tapes. I ordered my first one in forever a few weeks ago -- Wondercat's Ocean Maniacs, put out by GutterLoon Records in Florida. It's 9 songs worth of outsider gold. Here's their rad cover of Icona Pop's Then We Kiss:

I'd never heard of Icona Pop before, but apparently they're a thing. So I guess I'm not that cool.

Anyway, in honor of the resurgence of the cassette tape, here's new stuff available on that format via Bandcamp. First up is a song off the debut album from Cincinnati's Bummer's Eve. I've been following them since they put out a 2 song 7" last year. The new self-titled is also available on vinyl and CD. This song rules:

This is 3 live songs from a band called Teenage Chainsaw, off a 24 band live compilation called Live at Second Empire Philadelphia, put out by Philly's Mace Canister Recordings, which is new to me.

Mexican punk on a Canadian label called Runstate Tapes:

Also from Runstate:

More punk from Canada:

Distorted d-beat hardcore from Italy: