Bandcamp Blitz - February 7th, 2019

The List:




The Bogart Jones Band - 14th & Willow
https://thebogartjonesband.bandcamp.com/album/14th-willow
(Mighty fine tunes. Classic/funk/blues/soul, good-timey, hard livin', grit-infused, down home, heart-o-gold Southern rock & roll. A little something for everyone. Been a fan of these dudes for a while, and looking forward to what's next. I might have to mention the family ties, as my uncle plays the keys in this band, but the only bias here is the fact that this rocks, plain and simple.)

Sam Hoffman - Fair Weather
https://sam-hoffman.bandcamp.com/album/fairweather 
(Awesome psychy power pop! Just the sound I love and want when it comes to "power pop". No punky stuff here, no whiny lamenting... Just straight songwriting, groovy vocals, layered harmonies.)

 Half Stack - Quitting Time
https://halfstack.bandcamp.com/album/quitting-time
(Wonderful little discovery. Country Psych/Cosmic Americana. So good, I shared this with everybody I thought would appreciate it. Another album from last year that I feel like I missed out on when it came out.)

PowerPlant - EP
https://hailtheplant.bandcamp.com/album/ep
(Grungy stoner doom from Szczecin, Poland with some psych influences. A fine EP, with lots of depth, lots of groovy riffs, head nodding heaviness.)

Roger Røksund - Roger Røksund
https://roksund.bandcamp.com/album/roger-r-ksund
(Smooth proggy pop rock. Not in the sense you're thinking of. This isn't Toto. This is a little John Grant, a little Floyd. Coming in from Norway, we, of course, have some really interesting stuff going on here. The vocals are truly top notch (one of the strongest parts of the album), the songwriting is pleasantly plump, with wonderfully orchestrated instrumentation. Can get over the top for the sake of it, but never sounds like stunted grandiosity. Fine music.)

Knivderby - Den första skörden
https://knivderby.bandcamp.com/album/den-f-rsta-sk-rden 
(Really good, powerful indie rock! A little power pop thrown in for good measure... Sung in Swedish. For those that don't speak the language, it's easy to enjoy this without knowing what they're saying. We're talking some serious songwriting here. According to the description, this is the band's 9th and last album. 9th album? Wow. Quite a dynamic band with a nice little history. Worth a listen.)

- Andy Benson

Bandcamp Blitz - February 3rd, 2019

The List:


Galaxy Chamber - Millennium Madness 
https://galaxychamber.bandcamp.com/album/millennium-maddness-ep 
(Avant Garde, bizarre, psych rock blowout. Wacky in all kinds of good ways. Bordering on horror film score-ish-ness. A total head trip.)

Svarta Stugan -  Islands / Öar
https://svartastugan.bandcamp.com/album/islands-ar 

(Mighty, thematic instrumental indie prog post rock. The melodies are what struck me right off the bat. Heavier than most, without being too metallic. Conjuring pioneering bands like Earth, Pelican, June Of '44, and such, we're treated to the right concoction of melodic nuances.)

JARS - ДЖРС II

https://jars.bandcamp.com/album/ii
(Superb, angry, noise rock/post hardcore from Russian Federation. There are no light moments, no pretty things, and no sleeping on the job here. Just unrelenting brashness. Coming soon on Forbidden Place Records)

Holy Whale - Adrift Through The Storm
https://holywhale.bandcamp.com/album/adrift-through-the-storm 
(Grungy, stonery Ukrainian hard rock. A little touch of AIC & friends, a little smidgen of other various alt-metal bands here and there, pinches of various genres. Strong effort.)

Dark Numbers - If It Was It Would Be So 
https://darknumbers-nadinerecords.bandcamp.com/album/if-it-was-it-would-be-so  
(Megablast of powerful, epic proggy alt-metal. Ridiculous melodic hammerings, great female vox, superb harmonies, atomic-blast, this-is-your-doom riffage. This is like Yes-meets-Baroness in a dark alley, and subsequently melds into Helms Alee and White Swan. Looking forward to the rest of this album, for sure. Bring it on, folks. Bring it on.)

Ryan Holweger - Gunmetal Sky
https://ryanholweger.bandcamp.com/album/gunmetal-sky
(Another little alt-country album that was real sneaky about it. Just came out of nowhere for me. Kinda swooped in like an intervention. Ryan Holweger, long-time member of the alt-country band The Western Fifth, stands out like a beacon on his first full-length solo work. With the help of a few buddies, he's created quite a stunning collection of tunes. A real keeper, this one.)

- Andy B.

Bandcamp Blitz - January 31st, 2019

Bandcamp Blitz

The new year has really kicked off well. In the short amount of time that has passed since the last list, it's become clear to me that this year is not going to let up.

It's Winter here at Nerve Salad Central. Normally, this is not that big of a deal, but we've achieved record lows this time around. We could officially say that we were colder than Antarctica. I look outside, and I see all of these woodpeckers fluffed up, all of the trees frozen over, the snow covering the ground is a solid sheet of glistening frost. It's -23°F. It's snowing again. I'm not going anywhere.

The List: 

Mooner - O.M.
https://moonerobr.bandcamp.com/album/o-m 
(This is some of the most driving heavy psych I've heard in a long time. I'm super glad I found these guys (and gal) when I did. FANTASTIC heavy psych, with a serious GO! GO! GO! attitude that I like. Perfect for cruising. Every song packs a wallop of riffs and psych-y noodling. Many flavors = Tasty Treats.)

Fauxhalla - Fauxhalla EP
https://fauxhalla.bandcamp.com/album/fauxhalla  

(When a pal of yours has an awesome psychedelic dream pop band and you don't know about it, you buy their stuff on Bandcamp immediately. Very diggable, lush, '80s electro-poppy pair of tunes perfect for getting lost in the woods.)

The Delines - The Imperial
https://thedelines.bandcamp.com/album/the-imperial 

(Such a fine collection of classy tunes. One of those last-minute discoveries for me. Cool band, great lyrics, smooth sound. Always has that "rainy-day-at-home-alone" feel to the tunes, giving the whole album a blissfully gloomy vibe that's hard to escape. An album full of "feels". I'm finding myself liking this band more and more as time goes by. Boone's lyrics are fantastic portraits of hard livin', poor choices, and empty dreams, among other tastefully dreary stories. I like to call this "24-Hour Laundromat Country Blues". Full album can be found streaming on other platforms, but just buy this one, and you'll get the full album.)

Heron Oblivion - Heron Oblivion
https://heronoblivion.bandcamp.com/album/heron-oblivion 
(Tasty experimental pop psych with touches of krautrock, noise, acid rock freakouts, and '70s prog. An album I kind of missed out on when it released. Likely something I would have jumped around about had I been on top of it.)

Strand Of Oaks - Eraserland
https://strandofoaks.bandcamp.com/album/eraserland  
(Strand Of Oaks is a nice little project by singer/songwriter Timothy Showalter. He's been around the block a time or two. Previous albums are real jewels. He's been in league with the likes of Jason Isbell, and the Magnolia boys. This album is not yet out, but this track alone shows so much promise, it's worth getting the ball rolling.)

The Watch - Seven 
 https://thewatchprog.bandcamp.com/album/seven
(Italy's finest reincarnation of early '70s Genesis. As a follower of these guys for many years now, it's obvious when they release an album, you are going to get the sound you come to know and love. They are extremely good at it. Complete with a Steve Hackett appearance.) 

Prehistoric Pigs - Dai
https://prehistoricpigs.bandcamp.com/album/dai  
(After their first recordings, a split with Electric Taurus, and the following album, it was time to check in on the Pigs. Dai is as you would expect: Fuzzy psych, hallucinogenic jams, and wild riffage. Good stuff.)

Snog The Dog - Toxic Shock
https://snogthedog.bandcamp.com/album/toxic-shock
(Funk alt-metal extravaganza. Catchy tunes, heavy riffs, sweet leads, nice vox. A band that could go places with the right audience. Some little bump in the right direction would turn these guys into stoner rock heroes. A little Faith No More mixed with your Hendrixian panache. Truly something to be experienced rather than described. A real freakout, evoking memories of '90s grunge, and '70s hard rock. Turn this one up.)

  

Wulfhound - EP
https://wulfhound.bandcamp.com/album/ep 
(Really great stoner doom with underwater vox. The fuzziness is unrelenting, the doom is impending, and the darkness is just around the corner. I dig the "silver lining" in the open spaces. Lots of bass boomy fun for the AM routine)

  

Harmony Rockets w/ Special Guest Peter Walker - Lachesis​/​Clotho​/​Atropos
https://tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com/album/lachesis-clotho-atropos
(Nifty side project/supergroup, full of sounds. Another one of those "listen instead of try to describe" albums. Lots of psych jams, raga rock, ethereal explosions, all put into one spacey affair.)

Bandcamp Blitz - January 16th, 2019

The List:

The Tunnel - The Blood EP
https://thetunnelsf.com/album/the-blood-ep

(Here it is... the new Tunnel EP! Killer deathrock with unrelenting noise rock punishment. 3 songs made to flay you in twain. Take your beatings now.)

 Vertical - Vol. 3

https://verticalrockband.bandcamp.com/album/vol-3 

(Holy ballsnuts, holy ballsnuts, holy ballsnuts!! These riffs! Those vox! This groove! So good, I could scream. This album hammers it down in ways I think I must have needed right now. This does not let up for one second, and completely shreds out melodic riffs, unrelenting groove, and class. Screw your morning coffee, this will wake your ass right up.)

 

 

 

The Torcido Monkey Dream -Kikazaru EP 2018

https://thetorcidomonkeydream.bandcamp.com/album/kikazaru-ep-2018

(They have to be dreaming about monkeys, because this music is bananas! Literally the most jarring, yet satisfying listening experience I've had in a while. Stoner/noise/metal/groove/junk rock. Has the occasional "proggy" thing happening here and there, but this ain't no Yes album. This more in line with Bungle or some other whacky Patton project. This is bananas AND nuts with a swirl of headshots.)

 

 

 

Wooden Dinosaur - Working Weather

https://woodendinosaur.bandcamp.com/album/working-weather 

(This little gem just jumped out at me whilst simply playing around in the Bandcamp sandbox. Enthusiastic, mature, catchy, bright and uplifting Americana/folk/rock. Some soul, some fire, a bunch of groove, a touch of Gospel. Bravo!)

 

The Hanging Stars - Songs For Somewhere Else

https://thehangingstars.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-somewhere-else

(Brilliant! Exceptional Cosmic Americana with a few nods to the Paisley Underground, and 60s psych. Just the way I like it.)

 

 

 Imperial Jade - On The Rise

https://imperialjade.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-rise

(Really fine classic rock! So much talent going on...  There's something special in the water in Spain. You want something influenced by Led Zep and the like, but does not sound like a ridiculously boring, weak clone? This is your band!)

 

 

This Pine Box - The Way Out

https://open.spotify.com/album/1ZblBJ41tFl9wyIUoAJMbd

(Indie rock with lots of '70s classic rock peppered in for good measure. If this band keeps the heavier tunes going, they'll get my eternal seal of approval. Good stuff. No Bandcamp for this album [yet?], but you can find it here and there.)

 

 

Best Of 2018

Here we go. I actually already hate myself for this list.

2018 was INSANE! There was more good music this past year than in most years. Albums I had waited for had come out. Albums I didn't know I was waiting for came out. Albums I didn't know I needed in my life suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The year really threw me for a loop in terms of what to expect.
I did my utmost at compiling the best of the year for me. I had the break it down into a few categories:

• Did I listen to it in the car?
• Did it play it during dinner?
• Did it get played more than 9 times?
• Did it get played on road trips?
• Was it a part of my day at some point?
• Did I get it on vinyl?

 This was hard. I happened upon some albums in 2018 that I did not hear in 2017. I listened to those a lot.
Many thanks to those bands in the list that got a hold of me, chatted, or whose shows I went to. It was a killer year for music, and 2019 is bound to be even better.
Without further ado, here's the list I'm already beating myself up over, in no particular order of importance other than when I thought of them:

2018 Best Of

1. Orango - Evergreens
https://orango.bandcamp.com/album/evergreens


2. Facing New York - Dogtown
https://facingnewyork.bandcamp.com/album/dogtown

3. Manchino - Artificial Love EP
https://manchino.bandcamp.com/album/artificial-love-ep 

4. Chesty Vulva - Subjects
 https://chestyvulva.bandcamp.com/album/subjects

5. Saint Jude - Six
https://saintjude.bandcamp.com/album/six

6. Rectangle Shades - Mystical Numbers
 https://therectangleshades.bandcamp.com/album/mystical-numbers

7. Crypt Trip - Rootstock
 https://crypttrip.bandcamp.com/album/rootstock

8. Rope - Come Closer Now
https://holyroarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/come-closer-now

9. The Sheepdogs - Changing Colours 
https://open.spotify.com/album/7oibvoJKJp8KecLeA86yjc

10. Kai Danzberg - Pop-Up Radio
https://kaidanzberg.bandcamp.com/album/pop-up-radio

11. The Boxcar Suite - Further In And Farther Out
https://theboxcarsuite.bandcamp.com/album/further-in-and-farther-out

12. Glanville - First Blood EP
https://glanville.bandcamp.com/album/first-blood-ep

13. Crazy Bull - The Past Is Today
https://crazybull.bandcamp.com/album/the-past-is-today

14. Dommengang - Love Jail
https://dommengang.bandcamp.com/album/love-jail

15. Under - Stop Being Naive
https://understockport.bandcamp.com/album/stop-being-naive

16. Church Of The Cosmic Skull - Science Fiction
https://churchofthecosmicskull.bandcamp.com/album/science-fiction

17. Earthless - Black Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py4excFPdVI

18. Last Of The Easy Riders - Unto The Earth
https://lastoftheeasyriders.bandcamp.com/album/unto-the-earth

19. Mt. Mountain - Golden Rise
https://mtmountain.bandcamp.com/album/golden-rise

20. Leif De Leeuw Band - Live In Concert
https://continentalrecordservices.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-concert


(Honorable Mentions + Last Minute Additions)

Manthra Dei - Bipolar Bears
Turtle Skull - self-titled
Calliope - Chapel Perilous
Hippo Campus - Bambi
The Soulbreaker Company - Sewed With Light
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers - Years
Scott Hirsch - Lost Time Behind The Moon
Lord Vapour - Semuta
Wizard Must Die - In The Land Of Dead Turtles
Gloria - Hey Gyp EP
Moves - Moves
RF Shannon - Trickster Blues
The Clouds Will Clear - Recollection Of What Never Was
Jeff Tweedy - Warm
Chelsea Lovitt & The Boys - You Had Your Cake, So Lie In It

There... I did it. I'm done. These are the albums I listened to a bunch this past year. Now let's see what 2019 has for us...

Facing New York - Dogtown

Eight or nine years ago, I stumbled on this album that I couldn't get out of my mind. It literally became a fixture in my daily listening. It hit me so hard, I listened to it for days on end, and still found things about it that I didn't notice before. The album was full of hipster anthems, tongue-in-cheek youthful exuberance, wild rhythms and time signatures, crafty, well-thought out & personal lyrics, proficient instrument-wielding, sparkling songwriting, punchy riffs, snarky melodies, and blistering grooves.

I played this album on every car trip I took. It hung out with me on hikes. I pulled it out during gatherings. It never ended. It was and is, in my opinion, still a crazy masterpiece that adheres to you like urushiol and itches into your bones.

That album is Facing New York - Get Hot.

Fast forward to 2018. Ten years after the release of their second full-length album Get Hot (following the 2005 self-titled album, and the 2004 EP Swimming Not Treading), Facing New York comes back with a bang.
I had heard many rumors about the band.. sources saying they broke up a year or so after the last album. I was prepared to let Get Hot become another one of those genius one-off LPs from a band that had gone the way of all flesh. I heard they were getting together from time to time, and doing single shows, maybe once a year. I watched as many YouTube videos as I could find, absorbing the live shows, watching the band footage in whatever form I could find it.
The news of a new album was something I was pretty much unprepared for. I had already gone through my Best Of 2018 list little by little, chipping away at the insane amount of music of the year... lo and behold, Facing New York comes in with an explosive couple of new tunes in November. I lost it. There was the beginning of Dogtown.

I was not ready to believe it.

Here we are, December. Dogtown is out, and it's killer.

First track opens up strong.. the title track leading the rest of the pack like a boss. True FNY-styled madness.

Big Rev follows closely. A tune about expecting twins. It's got another one of those "snarky" riffs I've come to love and expect from the band.

Gods Of The Good Shit comes in, saying all the things about my own marriage, and the things leading up to it, I sometimes forget how to say. It's one of my favorite tracks on the album, with its faux-simplistic sound belying its true complex structure and subject matter.

Hail Mary rolls up in a minivan full of car seats, ready to trounce the kids on the home team with adult super powers from the days of yore. Or is it the other way around? Either way, we're looking at TRUE FNY style. A little groove, a little scathing derision held in the melody. A stand-out track.

Birth Of Venus wakes up with a raging hard-on, clinging a little more to the dawn with a doting wink at the one you cherish waking up with every day.

Trouble seeks to cause no trouble, or stir up any nonsense. We can only assume that everybody has their own issues to deal with, and very few actually have the time to be called on... This is a straight-up rock and roll tune. We're not talking about distant galaxies we've never seen.. we're not talking about dragons, here. We're talking about monkeys of all kinds on backs of all kinds, putting good people through more problems they can handle, while everybody else has some other monkey...

Shame is a real shame... following the exploits of a lost man...

Heaven Is High Hell Is Low... gut-wrenching hankerings to recollect what may or may not have been halcyon days....

Your Love prides itself in not not allowing me to fall too far as I'm falling too far.

I feel like I've waited years for this album. Wait.. I HAVE waited years for this album! Is it good? Is it what I hoped for? You better believe it! Facing New York, killing it once again. A band that grows up while you grow up. This goes into the Best Of The Year List without even thinking twice... Remember to RSVP to the release party at my house, whether the band shows up or not.

Your Ticket To Dogtown

Check out their faces in books



- Andy Benson

Bandcamp Blitz - December 13th, 2018

The List:

Gary Lee Conner - Unicorn Curry
https://garyleeconner.bandcamp.com/album/unicorn-curry 
(A corybantic gallop through vast psychedelic prairies, courtesy Screaming Trees guitar alum, also of the Microdot Gnome)

Scott Hirsch - Lost Time Behind The Moon
https://scissortail.bandcamp.com/album/lost-time-behind-the-moon-2

(What can you say about an album that's practically perfect all the way through? This is some of the finest Cosmic Americana around. Multi-instrumental, finely-crafted songs with influences swooping in from every which way. A real polished gem.)

Wizard Must Die - In The Land Of The Dead Turtles

https://wizardmustdie.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-land-of-the-dead-turtles

(This album broke the Holy Ballsnuts meter. AWESOME proggy stoner rock from France. A couple of songs in, and I was in for the ride. Plus, if this is about turtles, then it's even better. This needs the wax treatment, tout de suite)

leafdrinker - Settlers Of Kratom

https://leafdrinker.bandcamp.com/album/settlers-of-kratom

(Stoner/psych freaks take note. These NOLA dudes are catching up quickly to the rest of the pack. Scintillating, brainwave-interrupting, Chakra-tickling psych-y stoner rock. They've got a few other recordings under their belts, so these galactic messages are set in stone. RIYL music.) 

Facing New York - Dogtown

https://facingnewyork.bandcamp.com/album/dogtown

(I just want this album to hurry up and come out on vinyl.. tomorrow = release date for the digital, at which point I will sit by the computer until the wax drops.)

Foxwarren - S/T

https://foxwarren.bandcamp.com/album/foxwarren

(Indie Folk/Alt-Country/Pop/Americana from Canada [Canuckana?] Has a real Midlake feel, and a real roosty appeal. Lush vocals and instrumentation sets this apart from many in the genre)

Eats Batteries - Disguised To Sedate The Machines

https://eatsbatteries.bandcamp.com/album/disguised-to-sedate-the-machines

(Rollicking Drum & Bass duo, blending hefty slabs of meaty, cantankerous riffs with far out smatterings of interplanetary mooncheese psychedelia. Release soon on Forbidden Place Records)

Hot Ram - Where Light Goes To Die

https://hotram.bandcamp.com/album/where-light-goes-to-die 

(Stoner rock, stoner rock, stoner rock! Jams, riffs, spliffs, amps, sandy wheels, heaviness. You know what you're in for...)