Bandcamp Friday Recommendations for March 2021

Photo by Andres Duarte

It's Bandcamp Friday, which means it's time to open thy wallet! Need help figuring out what to purchase today? Below is a list of independent artists that deserve your ears and your support.

A. Iwasa's Picks
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​Arte, Cultura y Resistencia - Sin Orden
Genre:  Razacore 
This is not the full album, but a great sample!  Latinx hardcore punk trailblazers Los Crudos deserve all the respect they get, but if you watch Crudos’ frontman Martin Sorrondeguy's film, Beyond the Screams, all the way to the end past the credits you get to see about 30 seconds of Sin Orden and are just as good as any of the more prominent bands in the film.

​​https://sinorden.bandcamp.com/album/arte-cultura-y-resistencia-lp
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​Guv I - Young Guv
Genre:  Rock ‘n’ Roll
One of the last bands I got to see last year before everything shut down because of COVID.  I can’t emphasize how glad I was to have this on CD to get through some of the times I couldn’t consult the oracle during lockdowns. I wasn’t surprised at all to read Guv frontperson, Ben Cook was in a hardcore band in the ‘90s.  It’s rock, but has that edge. Not too happy, nor angry. 

https://youngguv.bandcamp.com/album/guv-i

​First Two 7” - DBFOS
Genre:  Punk
When people think of punx with accordian, they probably don’t think of Suicidal Tendency type bands, but leave it to Tucson to give us DBFOS. 
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https://mdhm.bandcamp.com/album/first-two-7s

​Sacred Objects - Long Sought Rest
Genre:  Folk punk
Normally not my thing, but I love this band.  Intelligent lyrics and lively shows, I’ve been able to see them at house shows in both a co-op in Eugene and a fundrager for Black Mesa in Olympia.  Reminds me of that last summer and fall before COVID still hoboing around the west coast, literally and figuratively, with lyrics most people who have traveled hard in the US should be able to identify with. 

https://longsoughtrest.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-objects
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​Summer 2016 Demo - False Figure
Genre:  Post-punk
Tucson ex-pats from Truancy, Ian of The Tics and Honey Badger  and Shane of Man Bites Dog moved to the San Francisco Bay area and started this band with a fellow bike messenger.  Almost noise in the reverb department, but they don’t lack structure.   
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https://falsefigure.bandcamp.com/album/summer-2016-demo

Parisa's Picks
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All new music from within the last year to dig into!
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River Sisters - Siostry Rzeki
Genre: Polish folk
A environmentally conscious release from the Polish folk trio, celebrating “folkloric traditions, nature, freedom, feminism, and sisterhood.” The name Sutari means “to harmonize” which is fitting, considering the absolutely stunning harmonies these women present on this new album.  A sonified version of soaking your feet in a river and feeling a cold breeze pass you by.
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https://sutari.bandcamp.com/album/siostry-rzeki-river-sisters
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Legacy + - Femi Kuti and Made Kuti
Genre: Afrobeat
A double album release featuring Femi Kuti's Stop The Hate and Made Kuti's For(e)ward, a generation-spanning album that connects the past, political legacies of afrobeat to the future generation. As expected, high energy and phenomenal instrumental work from beginning to end.
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​https://femikuti.bandcamp.com/album/legacy-stop-the-hate
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La Dolce Vita - Zopa
Genre: New York rock ‘n roll
A fantastic new album fronted by Michael Imperioli, harkening back to the punk attitudes of '70s New York but with an entirely unique perspective of the modern age. The album explores loneliness, bereavement, anguish, and ultimately, emotional surrender, a theme very much brought on by Imperioli's Buddhist influence. Read my interview with the frontman himself here, talking Zopa, philosophy, sound vibrations, and more.

https://zopa.bandcamp.com/releases
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The Third Chimpanzee - Martin Gore
Genre: Industrial
A new, 5-track EP from songwriter and founding member of Depeche Mode, Martin Gore. Great industrial textures and primal, pulsing melodies that any modular synth nerd would be stoked to hear.

https://martingore.bandcamp.com/album/the-third-chimpanzee-e-p 

Only Ever - Mute Swan
Genre: Shoegaze, dream pop
A killer new release from local Tucson, AZ dream pop rockers. Lots of experimental production techniques used here, like mellotron and omnichord sampling and re-recorded instrumental melodies fed through tape records, resulting in a gaze of auditory illusions. Almost like a crossover of My Bloody Valentine with Boards of Canada.

https://muteswanmusic.bandcamp.com/album/only-ever

Collapsed in Sunbeams - Arlo Parks
Genre: Indie pop
An immediate top record of 2021 right here, folks. I’m not usually a fan of soft indie pop, but this album blankets you in poetic lyricism, intimate instrumental stylings, and all the right hooks. As she said in our interview, if this album were a tea it would be “chamomile, lavender, Manuka honey. Soothing, earthy, reminiscent of golden hour and summer.”

https://arloparks.bandcamp.com/
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S/T - Optic Sink
Genre: Post-punk
Optic Sink makes noise between the spaces of synth punk and cold wave, with a good dose of Dadaist influence. The unaffected vocals and alien electronic landscapes would fit right into the Liquid Sky soundtrack. 
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https://opticsink.bandcamp.com/album/optic-sink

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Drone Relief - noisepoetnobody
Genre: Drone
Some minimal, experimental drone music focusing on the tanpura, an Indian instrument that “does not play melody but rather supports and sustains the melody of another instrument or singer by providing a continuous harmonic bourdon or drone.” ‘Cause sometimes we all just need a little drone relief, ya know?
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https://noisepoetnobody1.bandcamp.com/album/drone-relief

Holy Vore - Blue Ox 
Genre: Hardcore
An album to unite hardcore punks, thrash metalers, and grindcore crusts once and for all! It’s even got some doomy riffs thrown in there to invite the stoners too. 

https://blueoxmpls.bandcamp.com
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S/T - Mortiferum / Hyperdontia
Genre: Doom/death metal
A short split doom-ridden death metal EP filled with disgusting riffs, guttural vocals, and ominous atmospheres. Seriously filthy sounds achieved by both bands, an absolute ripper of a collaboration. 

https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mortiferum-hyperdontia
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“Alien 3” - Gary, Indiana
Genre: Experimental
Only just found out about this group yesterday (thanks Violet!), but if you’re looking to purchase a single that’ll get you stoked for what’s going to be an incredible experimental electronic release, check this out. This song somehow balances this cool, calm, collected attitude with manic and heavily experimental rhythms. The kind of song where you don’t know if you want to dance to it or have an anxiety attack, but why not enjoy a little bit of both?

​https://garyindianaband.bandcamp.com/track/alien-3
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