Bandcamp Donating Their Share to Transgender Law Center All Day Friday. So Are Lots of Bands Like Algebra II, TV Tramps.

Algebra II at The Asbury

...or Just Buy from Your Old Faves

Until midnight PDT, Bandcamp will be donating their entire share of sales at Bandcamp.com to the Transgener Law Center. The TLC "works to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression." We -- this site included -- have a long way to go before the voices of our trans siblings are properly represented in our media and in our society as a whole; and, as we all work to do better, organizations like the Transgender Law Center are digging in and getting their hands dirty in an effort to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to live an authentic life.

Several bands have jumped on board with Bandcamp and are donating all of their own proceeds as well. Just two of the many, many bands standing in solidarity with Bandcamp today are our friends Algebra II and TV Tramps who both released something new today.

Algebra II, Milkshake Summer

When Algebra II heard of Bandcamp's fundraising effort, they decided to go ahead and make Friday, 8/4, the release day for their four-song debut EP. It's only taken four years, but we now have some Algebra II recordings to vibe out with for the rest of the summer.

Recorded, mixed, and produced by Joe Michelini (American Trappist, River City Extension) at his studio, The Abbey, in Gibbsboro, NJ, Milkshake Summer shows flashes of 1950s pop ("Cool Girl"), early-aughts indie ("Hatches"), 1990s alt rock ("601"), and even some surf ("Spoon"). It all hangs together nicely and makes a convincing argument that a cello can totally rock out.

Milkshake Summer is out now, and you can grab it over at Algebra II's Bandcamp page. Algebra II play Asbury Park Yacht Club tomorrow night, 8/5, with Holiday.



TV Tramps, "Keep Your Mouth Shut"

Asbury Park punks, TV Tramps, recently made new video for their Rip It Up track "Keep Your Mouth Shut." They worked with Viva! La Hara Films on the clip, which features charismatic frontperson and fashion icon, Joy Vay, and the rest of the band getting together to pick out some outfits for their next gig.

The video is as frantic and fast-paced as the song. Check that out here. Then head over to Bandcamp to purchase "Keep Your Mouth Shut" with all proceeds going to TLC.



...and I'm sure many of your favorite bands are also participating in today's fundraising activities. So head over to their Bandcamp pages and stock up.

Honeydrum, Stranger Calls / Do U Party?, 2012

Sunday Bandcamp Discovery Album Review

I get myself into ruts.  As far as this blog goes, fanboyism, laziness, and just allowing myself to get caught up in the hype and promotion that floats around the blogrockisphere day after day sometimes cause me to focus a little too heavily on the "mainstream indie" part of this blog's stated mission.  I decided, therefore, to dig through some of the Bandcamp stuff I've downloaded over the last several months in an effort to pick out something new to review.  Then I remembered Honeydrum.

Honeydrum are a New Brunswick, NJ quartet who have been releasing singles and EP's digitally and on cassette (a format whose revival I'm still not understanding) at a furious clip since 2011.  Honeydrum's songs are short, lo fi / experimental pop confections that generally clock in at under two minutes.  Their Stranger Calls 7" / Do U Party? CD EP is an eight-song collection that comes in a few seconds shy of thirteen minutes.

There are obvious comparisons to make between Honeydrum and L.A.'s Ariel Pink.  "Stranger Calls" and "Oh Donna" stack up well against some of Pink's most infectious pop, and they manage to do that while sounding as though they're coming out of a broken radio or, more appropriately maybe, a cassette player that's seen better days.  Following the slow-grooving sound of "Let's Make a Holiday," the final cut on Stranger Calls, Honeydrum's sound changes.  Do U Party? moves into Murmur-era R.E.M. territory with "Girls on the Radio" and "Can't Wait to Meet You."  The lo fi production remains, but the sound on Do U Party? is slightly darker and less reminiscent of 1970's radio.

I've had Stranger Calls / Do U Party? on repeat all afternoon; and even though the songs are short, they're dense with contrasts between melody and dissonance, the familiar and the surprising.  It will be interesting to see what Honeydrum does on a full-length LP in terms of both sound and the number of songs they'll be able to squeeze into the format.

I really have no excuse for getting into a musical rut.  Even if I restrict myself to New Jersey bands, Bandcamp alone contains enough music to keep me interested for quite some time.  And Honeydrum, along with many others I'm sure, prove that New Jersey music is about much more than punk and straight-ahead rock and roll.

You can check out Stranger Calls / Do U Party? along with quite a bit more from Honeydrum over at the band's Bandcamp page.  If you prefer physical media, you may still be able to get that over at AMDISCS.

Athletics, Who You Are Is Not Enough, 2012

Busy Sunday When I Didn't Run Bandcamp Discovery Album Review

Busy, busy weekend.  Friday night saw CoolMom and me heading into NYC for WoodyFest.  Then I was up at 5 on Saturday to take CoolDaughter #1 to the first day of her two-day swim meet at Princeton University.  Saturday night:  roller derby in Asbury Park.  Sunday morning:  more meet, during which I had the heartbreaking experience of consoling CD #1 after she missed her first chance to go to the NJ Junior Olympics by 0.7 seconds.  I think I also assembled some knock-down patio furniture in there somewhere.

All of this is meant as an excuse for my not going for a run at all this weekend.  Add to that that I really didn't know what to review -- I mean, really, am I going to add anything to the conversation around Dirty Projectors or Frank Ocean? -- and I was in a bind.  Then I had an idea that I think could grow into a semi-regular feature here.  You can do this, too.

I went over to Bandcamp and clicked on the "New Jersey" tag.  The first album (I think I sorted on "popularity") listed was Who You Are Is Not Enough by Athletics.  The tag list for the album reads: "alternative rock alternative ambient indie post-rock rock Asbury Park."  Sold!

Athletics are a five-piece band based, you guessed it, in Asbury Park.  Who You Are Is Not Enough consists of five songs, titled with Roman numerals I-V, spanning about thirty minutes.  The five tracks chronicle the experience of losing a loved one to illness and, likely, correspond to the five stages of grief.  Lead singer Garrett Yaeger takes listeners through each of those stages, noting hopefully on "I" that, "You're breathing softly, but so much stronger on your own," blaming himself on "II," wishing he had more to give on "III," hitting bottom on "IV," and finally admitting, "I would have died for you," on "V."

Thematically and musically, Who You Are Is Not Enough had me thinking of The Antlers' Hospice -- Hospice if it were, maybe, performed by Meadowlands-era Wrens.  The first four tracks contain lots of swirling, cresting, dream poppy guitars.  "V," the "Acceptance" track, is quieter, mostly piano and vocals.  John Cannon's drum work holds everything together nicely.

Who You Are Is Not Enough isn't what I would go to first to pick myself up out of the doldrums, but it features some excellent musicianship.  CoolMom just left for a business trip, and I think this album will go nicely with my just-put-the-kids-to-bed-and-the-house-is-quiet glass of whiskey.

This was fun.  I think I'll do it again soon.  You can still come here to get my take on all the music that Pitchfork, Stereogum, and BrooklynVegan are saying is worth hearing, but I'm going to make more of an effort to branch out and give some of these hard-working, local bands a listen.

You can check out Who You Are Is Not Enough for free and then "name your price" to download it from Bandcamp.