Less Stoner-ing and Doom-ing, more chilling this time around. 2019 has turned into a year that has been impossible to keep up with. Every single day, some awesome albums get released. I've got to calm down a little and learn to juggle some things around in life. Since 2019 refuses to let up, I'm keeping it down to the very nitty gritty of albums that are on the Nerve Salad radar. Of course there are tons more I could be ranting about, but let's keep this simple before I completely go mental...
Cloudkicker - Unending
https://cloudkicker.bandcamp.com/album/unending
(Insta-buy! Man oh man... we've waited a long time for this one. Incidentally, Cloudkicker was the reason I joined Bandcamp in the first place, so I could buy the LPs and have them show up in my collection. All new post rock from the mind of Ben Sharp.. brilliant! Just what the doctor ordered! Heavy and beautiful, bright and grimy...)
The Revenants - Dreamland
https://therevenants1.bandcamp.com/album/dreamland
(Such impressive music from what is, to me, a total enigma... Eliot Wilder, a person with Robert Pollard Syndrome in the absolute most incredible way possible. Shine on, man.. shine on...)
Reader - Engrams
https://readerseattle.bandcamp.com/album/engrams
(I'm afraid I didn't give this a proper introduction before. A Nerve Salad first. I'm RE-doing a Blitz from before. This album... how can I begin to describe it? Mathy, nasty, noisy, melodic, twisted-up, tied-up, bound-up, spastic bombastic flakes of watery, crunchy sounds. I must say, this is likely one of the most compelling albums I've heard in a while. Lots of twists and turns, gravitational pulls, stark robotic landscapes filled with tributaries of shimmering metallic lines and jagged edges, but a bunch of birds and butterflies and bees all hang out in a paisley pasture, doting on purple blooms... Noisy melodic math rock.. maybe like Meat Puppets and Yes get together and form a band. Super super!)
RF Shannon - Rain On Dust
https://keeledscales.bandcamp.com/album/rain-on-dust
(Gorgeous. Eight fantastic tracks of spacey Psych/Americana, complete with a layer of "yacht rock"-esque sensibilities. Shows the band in fine form, a little tighter, a little peppier. This band has grown on me immensely in a short couple of years.)
Owel - Paris
https://owel.bandcamp.com/album/paris-2
(Owel's music ebbs and flows through emotions. Since their debut, they've been quite a captivating band. Having seen them live a few times, it turns out they have quite the knack for recreating the sound of the album on the stage. They've been around for a while, making dreamy pop/alt-rock with very bright arrangements and a melancholy vibe. A hard-working bunch, this latest album, released in March of this year, shows the band in their element once again.)
https://thedustypockets.bandcamp.com/album/dp-ep-vol-1
(Montana's Dusty Pockets return with another fantastic album! Country/soul/r&b/rock. A really good time wrapped up in a little package of 5 killer tunes.)
- Andy B.
