9 Bands to Support This Bandcamp Friday

Bandcamp has been waiving all fees for artists once a month since the start of lockdown.

Waiving fees one day a month isn’t exactly going to make a big difference for many indie musicians, but it continues to be lightyears ahead of Spotify’s laughable approach towards paying artists.

Here is a list of hand-picked bands the Mad Indie Media team has been listening to lately.

This list will feature music new & old from various genres. All of these artists bring something unique to the table and deserve a bit of your sweet sweet stimulus …assuming you didn’t already blow it all on limited edition vinyls or something like that 😅.

Teenage Halloween – Teenage Halloween

FFO – PUP, Worriers, Bomb the Music Industry!

While this album was released in fall 2020 and was included on many “best of” lists at the end of the year, you might have missed it if you aren’t following the NJ and Brooklyn DIY scenes.

This Bandcamp Friday is a great time to revisit their full-length debut after their performance on Audiotree Live this past Monday, March 29th.

Teenage Halloween covers a plethora of themes from gender euphoria to mental illness to envisioning a world without government.

The only downside of this NJ-based group’s debut: they don’t cover the Silver Shamrock theme.

Best Hit TV – Being Emotionally Manipulative Isn’t Very Punk Rock of You

FFO – Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, Animal Collective

Released in March of 2020 this DIY album stays true to its ethos by being entirely self-recording and produced by members of Best Hit TV. 

Best Hit TV is a Jersey City-based Indie rock band drawing inspiration from many jersey greats such as Yo La Tengo and The Feelies while also paying homage to indie rockers from the 2000s including Animal Collective & Rilo Kiley. 

Being Emotionally Manipulative Isn’t Very Punk Rock of You was recorded by bandmate Andrew Fredericks and mastered by bandmate Elaine Rasnake at Daughterboard Audio. 

This album is supremely chill and filled with soft, sleepy, soothing sounds perfect for relaxing and chilling out.

King Strang – The Second Coming

FFO – Bridge City Sinners, Lightning Luke, Rail Yard Ghosts

King Strang brings us all back to the olden times with their unique take on classic ragtime.

You can just imagine some old-timey cartoon characters getting down to this good ol’ fashioned stomp music when listening to the latest release by King Strang. 

Lighting Luke joins King Strang on this album adding a dynamic swing element to the bluesy, rock n roll stylings of King Strang. 

The Second Coming which was distributed by Flail Records was released on March 20th, 2020.

Although this release is more collaborative than the more stripped-down 2018 release Sad Boy Stomp, King Strang primarily operates as a one-man-band out of Portland, Oregon.

SnailMate – Donuts in the Rain

FFO – WIFS, Daft Punk, LMFAO

Blending an interesting mix of dance/EDM, rap, and hardcore Arizona-based synth duo, Snailmate makes you feel like you are one seriously fucked up rave in the best way possible. 

Imagine Eric Nalley from Foxy Shazam’s early work sprinkled throughout the lyrical comedic relief and dance-oriented sounds of LMFAO. 

This strange dichotomy brings us great delight as all genres are beautiful, especially ones that blur and cross lines in a spectacularly creepy way like SnailMate does with their latest track. 

Their latest single Donuts in the Rain is incredible so much so that it had to be our April Music Video Of the Month.

Mikaela Davis – Delivery

FFO – Elliott Smith, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus

The 2018 release Delivery by Mikaela Davis is a must-have album full of impeccable songwriting spanning different genres including, rock and funk & country adjacent pop. 

Mikaela Davis is an accomplished harpist fronting her band with the beautiful instrument playing many popular stages and giving live performances at venues such as Audiotree Live & Sofar Sounds.  

Now it could just be the harp and her angelic voice but there is a very strong possibility that Mikaela Davis is a real-life angel. Although she is classically trained Mikaelas’ music is defiantly original.  

Anyone that covers multiple Elliott Smith songs is considered pretty cool in our books; her unique rendition of Smith’s Twilight is guaranteed to send chills down your spine in the best way possible. Mikaela Davis has found success in the vast music & art scene of upstate New York.

Future Teens – Deliberately Alive

FFO: Modern Baseball, Michael Cera Palin, Hospital Bracelet

Released March 12th, 2021, Deliberately Alive is the second EP from Boston-based “bummer pop” group Future Teens.

This release continues the band’s trend of delivering incredibly specific yet ultimately relatable lyrics over catchy indie-pop melodies, with songs covering the difficulties of transitioning into adulthood during the twenty-first century and battling with depression while trying to make a living in this wild world.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Future Teens release without some lighthearted fun included: the EP concludes with a beautifully arranged cover of Cher’s “Believe,” vocoder not included.

Sawce – Sawce

FFO – Via Luna, Invalids, Tera Melos

NJ-based instrumental math rockers Sawce have been crafting math-inspired fire since their 2017 self-titled album, Sawce. 

The band has been making waves recently boasting their forthcoming collaboration with Anthony Green which is currently being worked on. We can only hope Anothny Green reconsiders naming this collab Salsa Verde. 

Sawce was courteous enough to make a guitar tab book of their self-titled album; the tab book is available for purchase on their website. 

The intricate math-driven riffs offered up by Sawce are most delectable and can be enjoyed by a wide range of music fans; they also score a few bonus points for being from NJ. $20, regular, cash.

SEED – Dun Pageant

FFO: Eyehategod, Acid Bath, Bongripper

Mad Indie Media readers will remember last month’s Bandcamp Friday coverage included the LA-based all-woman doom group Faetooth, and SEED is another group working to make the doom metal scene more inclusive.

Hailing from Boston, SEED is an all-queer experimental doom band whose goal is to make space for queer and trans people within the broader metal scene.

Additionally, SEED is just an all-around killer group that takes the “experimental” moniker seriously, with influences as wide-ranging as classical music to progressive rock.

Their debut album, Dun Pageant, was released on March 5, 2021, and is a great listen from front to back.

Body Hound – No Moon

FFO – Death, Igor Stravinsky, Meshuggah

Do you like prog music? Do you also like heavy dissonant music? Then we’ve got a treat for you. Competition Marin, UK-based BodyHound’s 2019 release No Moon is all that and much more. 

This instrumental band brings the technical proficiency prog and math fans enjoy while adding their own distinct edge making their music sharp and vast in a dynamic way. 

Among Body Hounds’ influences are Messugah and Igor Stravinsky. The intricacies in their riffs and grooves will have you wishing for more music. 

Sadly we likely won’t be hearing any new music from Body Hound as the band recently announced they are ceasing operations as this group. The good news is the band is offering 50% off their physical merch also available on Bandcamp.

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