Snooping the Bandcamp

8/14/26.

I really don't do this as much as you might think, or as often as I should. This post was motivated by looking at my record collection. This morning I hovered over the beginning of the M section, thinking I might see a record by the M's. Instead, I saw two records by The Mantles (Oakland, California). This made me think of Michael Olivares. So I sat down and typed his name into a Discogs search.

Turns out he still musically active along with Virginia Weatherby. They're up in Bellingham, Washington, recording as Tangle Map. There's only two songs, so this detour led me back to The Mantles.

I realized two things: (1) That I never gave The Mantles their own post, and (2) I don't own "All Odds End", their last album (Slumberland). Once The Mantles ended, Michael Olivares went on to make a couple of singles and a full length LP as Michael O. He came to Davis and played an amazing show with Dick Diver.

8/13/26.

"Sanctuary", along with Luft's "Something On My Mind" might be the songs of the summer for me. It immediately gives off Electrelane and Memorials vibes. That harmonium.

Paris Rebel Richens, the songwriter behind P.P. Rebel, is best known as a member of Parsnip and Heirophants. "Devotee" appears to the band's second full length following a cassette only debut on Anti Fade in 2019. Since that debut, P.P. Rebel has found inspiration from Kriya Yoga.

According to the Bandcamp write up, that influence has filtered down to the music which "Draw[s] on both Eastern spiritual traditions and Western influences such as The Incredible String Band, The Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett, and Skip Spence." I can also hear Speed the Plough and The Trypes.

8/12/26.

Unbelievable. It was over a year ago that I posted Jens Lekman's wonderful “Songs for Other People’s Weddings”. I went to his concert at The Independent in San Francisco last November and was enthralled. About a month and half ago, I learned that Jens was releasing a companion album, "Other People, Other Wedding Songs (Music from the book 'Songs For Other People’s Weddings')", and that it would be available for purchase on his summer website. I was late and it sold out.

But Secretly Canadian is releasing it via their Secretly Society Club, so if you're a member, you've got it. If you're not, you can join the club or wait to get it on Discogs, or (gasp!) buy it digitally. It's stripped down Jens Lekman (Sweden), what's not to like.

8/11/26.

Day two of Darla Records posts. I listened to The School because of this one sentence: "Led by Liz Hunt, the Cardiff [Wales] outfit [The School] perfected a magical formula: reviving the legacy of Phil Spector’s wall of sound, the charm of 60s girl groups, and the luminous melancholy of Camera Obscura or Belle and Sebastian." Other releases on Darla mention The Supremes, The Pipettes, and Françoise Hardy.

8/10/26.

These next two days are posts that come from bands I learned about through Darla Records. First, The Room (Liverpool, England) are a band that formed in the late 1970s and according to Darla "may have sprung from the time of Josef K, The Fall and Magazine" but today they "they fit right in with bands like Home Counties and The Cool Greenhouse".

"Bitter Reaction" is their debut cassette on Box Records. It definitely sounds more like The Fall and Magazine. Interestingly as the 1980s wore on the band smoothed out and gave off more of a sophistipop/Prefab Sprout/Friends Again vibe. I just listened to the 2 album compilation "Nemesis" which contains "Clear!" and "In Evil Hour" and just fell in love.

8/9/26.

A couple of months ago we posted about the Rob & Ellen cassette on Oakland based label Take A Turn. Now the label has recently released "On A Dime" by Oakland based band DUM1.

DUM1 is the vehicle for the music of Mack Narragan (CVCC). According to the bio provided by the label, he quickly wrote "Mercury Sabre" and "Pacing" after the loss of a close friend and several family members. As we all either know or can understand, music serves as a method of catharsis, and clearly that was the case with these two songs for Narragan. He posted the two songs on Bandcamp, received positive feedback, wrote more songs, formed a band, and recorded this album.

I thought that "On A Dime" would fit nicely next to the power pop of Southjaw or Mod Lang. But at the same time I can't help but feel that it has a Dick Stusso (if he ever played power pop) feel to it.

8/8/26.

I really thought that The TSG "Skydiver" 7" was going to be yet another chapter in my power pop Los Angeles/Long Beach hashtag sub genre. In 2026 alone we've posted Softjaw, Flyboys, and Uni Boys - and that's just the Southern California power pop. The TSG sounds like it belongs right next to those bands.

But The TSG is really the Taylor Stewart Group (UK), and Taylor Stewart is the drummer in The Tubs. Joining Taylor are Max Warren (also from The Tubs and Sniffany and the Nits) and others from various other London bands. The Bandcamp page states that the music "is good old fashioned beer music, in the Guided by Voices live set, inflexible high kick sense."

8/7/26.

Woolen Men were a staple of mine over 12 years ago. Then for some reason I stopped buying their new releases, and then the band stopped making new music.

Now, in the space of a couple of months we have two new releases from two former Woolen Men. I'm partial to The Grebes (Portland, Oregon), and if you read the Bandcamp page you'll know why. The following bands are thrown out as inspirations for the band: Love, The Index, Red Krayola, Black Flag, and Dead Moon. Listening to the first song "Still Flowers" does indeed recall at least two of those bands, but also The Shins.

The band also features member of Lithics and The Spatulas. Fred Thomas mastered this. It looks like The Grebes self-released this.

8/6/26.

Radical Friendship Theory is the vehicle for the music of Robert Rotifer who clearly is a bit of an indie pop savant. I listened to the four-way split "House of Four" release in 2024 so much that I received the dreaded "The time has come to open thy heart/wallet". I usually solve this problem by posting about the album, but for some reason I didn't. That release had songs from Rotifer, Andy Lewis, Popincourt and Papernut Cambridge.

According to the Bandcamp release page, Radical Friendship Theory "is not a band. It's a lovingly realised set of songs in a wide range of styles and arrangements, from baroque pop, to psych, from country rock to bookish indie, sung by a circle of friends."

Those friends are an impressive cast: Kenji (co-inventor of GlasGoesPop), Ian Button (currently in Railcard), and Helen McCookerybook (The Chefs). This has a Matthew Sweet quality to it's pop sound.

8/5/26.

I can't remember when I bought the K Records 2 LP retrospective "Sooner or Later" from Neo Boys, but it was certainly pre-blog. While Neo Boys have had a couple of mentions over the years the number is woefully low.

The band formed in Portland in the late 1970s and definitely have snarling punk sound from the time, they also have a riot grrrl feel that predates that sound by over a decade. They regularly shared the stage with The Wipers, opened for Nico, and one of the coolest facts, their first show was opening for Television.

Their sound is closer to The Raincoats, Kleenex/LiLiPUT, and The Slits. I was just listening to Moss Lime the other day, and I can't imagine Hélène Barbier wasn't listening to Neo Boys at some point before or during that bands time. And let's not forget Vomit Launch who came on the scene in Chico, California not long after Neo Boys left the scene.

8/4/26.

Over a month ago, we posted about The Hobknobs "Helmets Off" LP on 12XU. The band has one member of Lewsberg.

Well, here is Ebby, another band from Rotterdam, Netherlands that has another member from Lewsberg (Michiel Klein on guitar). However, this band really is the vehicle for the music of Doortje Hiddema who has been in several bands, most notably Rats on Rafts. And actually, "abcde" was originally released under the name band name Euroboy. Casper van der Lans plays bass here - he was previously in Pip Blom.

8/3/26.

Fans of Arthur Russell take note. Nirosta Steel "represents 40 years or so of works, re-works and works-forever-in-progress of one Steven Hall, aka Nirosta Steel — son of Scotland; step-son of the United States of America; adopted Daddy of Taiwan; Five-Star General in the Buddhist Army; legendary horndog stickman (we have pics!); friend, neighbor, collaborator and co-conspirator of Arthur Russell." The co-conspirator release is called Foxy Pup.

Similar to the work of Arthur Russell, this can be experimental but there is always a sense of pop at its center. The album is being released by Ulyssa, a label based in Mexico. I love that right after they state the LP will ship in August, they state, "please be patient with us we're just a brokeass lil tape label <3". The first tape they released was a live set from John Mellencamp where he called one Lou Reed on stage. Wow.

8/2/26.

Carla J. Easton is a Glasgow based musician who has been at it for 30 years. She's played as a member of Poster Paints and Lovechild. Her music was front and center in the band Ette. She's worked closely with Paul Kelly (The Martial Arts) over the years.

"I Think That I MIght Love You" was announced as her "guitar" record that was a "pop album at heart." Those two descriptions plus the fact that Monorail had an exclusive made me pre-order the LP along with Radhika and Rose McDowell. That package finally arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I've had time to digest all the LPs thoroughly.

I will readily admit that had I been able to listen to the entire LP, I don't think I would have bought "I Think That I Might Love You". I like it well enough, but I wouldn't exactly call it a guitar record. It's definitely a pop record (with assists from many musicians including Paul Kelly, Stevie Jackson of Belle and Sebastian).

8/1/26.

Well, this was a wonderful surprise. I do really enjoy everything I post here, but I honestly don't expect yagada. I used to write this word on releases that made me go gaga on first listen when I was a DJ at KDVS. Flora "Five Years" is one of those rare albums that you sit back and go "yagada" on the first listen.

I learned about it because Mawkish Twaddler (who will be back on the radio: KVMRx 105.7 FM Grass Valley/Nevada City and at kvmrx.org) bought this.

I, of course, thought of Look Blue Go Purple right away. But the more I listened to this, the more I realized, there's so much more. I would add Memorials, Pool Boys, Thibault, and Parsnip.

7/31/26.

The Smashing Times are reissuing their debut "Come Along With Me" (2019) on vinyl via Perennial. This was originally issued a few times on cassette.

It's a wonderful, ramshackle affair that is a clear harbinger of what was to come. Comet Gain, Television Personalities, Mick Trouble, Saturday Looks Good To Me - these hallmarks are all there in all their lo-fi glory.

And - this pressing features "newly unearthed tracks [from] deep within the tea chest."

7/30/26.

Micah announced that Mazarin "We're Already There" was being reissued on vinyl in 2020. In his write up, Micah declared that this album is one of his favorites from the aughts. I completely and wholeheartedly agree. And I'm bummed that I didn't buy the LP reissue - it has long sold out.

LP reissue label Dust and Memory (an offshoot of Meritorio Records run by Álvaro Lissón) is reissuing this gem (again) in all its glory. I was reading some reviews as I was listening. I had never thought of The Flaming Lips until reading these reviews now, but a lot of reviews do reference the Lips. Second, I didn't realize the key guest appearances on the album - Kurt Heasley (The Lilys) and Walter Martin (The Walkmen) - both play on this. I do hear both those bands on this release.

7/29/26.

I've been sitting on this post for over a month. Prophetic Justice Ministry "Key To World Peace" is another great release from Night School - Michael Kasparis' label based in Glasgow, Scotland.

Prophetic Justice Ministry is Australian via New Zealand musician Sam Perry whose work tends to atmospheric folk. The following is from the Bandcamp page's, description of the first two songs. This excerpt certainly won't clear up what the album sounds like, but I need to include it:

Swirling in a psychedelic fog with dry iced chords falling down like melting stars, the album pulses with an ominous, distorted intro that sculpts air into blocks of sound before Psyop offers a glimpse through the gloom at the artist navigating through crushed, shoe-gazing chords, singing a consolation into an abandoned building.

Perry is also known for his work as Who Cares?, and his work producing fellow Australian band Synergy Trilogy, whose album fits nicely into the above paragraph's description as well.

Now that Cindy Lee has taken the world by storm, it's easy to hear Patrick Flegel's album in a lot of other work, and that is certainly true here, but there is much more folk at work here than in Flegel's work.