Side Effects May Include [Weekly Mixtape 99]

S.C.R.A.M. • Garden Gnome • Zahn • Markus Floats • Yawning Balch • Gridfailure
Ed Schrader's Music Beat • Dave Neabore • ChiaraOscuro • Erik Wøllo • VEiiLA

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Psyched! [Weekly Mixtape 84]

Giöbia • Mars Red Sky & Queen Of The Meadow
REZN & Vinnum Sabbathi • radiant. • Saint Omen • East Of The Wall
Cinema Cinema • Nuzzle • Yawning Balch • Lanayah

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Bandcamp Picks - Earth, Yawning Man, Pelican, Odyssey, Pinkish Black

After a few years touring and recording on his own, Dylan Carlson has reunited with Adrienne Davies for Earth's ninth album. Full Upon Her Burning Lips captures Carlson's guitar in its full twanging glory, with a growing flair that separates the band's modern era from the austere doom/drone of its early albums. Meanwhile, Davies' minimalist beats give the riffs the somber foundation they need. The last Earth album surprised fans with the addition of vocals; this time around, the duo sticks to being strictly an instrumental band, but the beauty of Earth always was their ability to tell stories without words. [$9.99]



Before there was "desert rock" there was Yawning Man. Macedonian Lines shows that the veteran band's knack for crafting spacey instrumentals is as sharp as ever, with crystalline guitars snaking over distorted bass lines, splitting the difference between space rock, desert rock, and post-rock. Feet in the valley with eyes to the sky. [€8.50]



Pelican have been carrying the flag for indie metal longer than most. Written in tribute to Jody Minnoch of Tusk (the grindcore band that included members of Pelican), Nighttime Stories brings the band back to the heaviness of their first albums, embedding speedy drums and crushing riffs amidst the melody and atmosphere that made the band so beloved by Pitchfork and the like. They may not seem as revolutionary as they did in the previous decade, but few instrumental bands have managed to be as heavy and emotive simultaneously as Pelican. [$7.99]



It's been a while since I checked in on Spokane's Odyssey - they were one of my OG Bandcamp Picks, and I'm happy to say they're still active. The Swarm, the trio's fourth full-length studio album, is ultra-heavy, hammering that double-bass drumming through thrashing riff-fests and syncopated chugging. Putting the pedal to the instrumental. [$7]



We're in the midst of a synth rock renaissance thanks to Stranger Things, and few of those bands are as heavy as Texans Pinkish Black.  Concept Unification (an album inspired by ...wait for it ...the animatronic band at Chuck E. Cheese) takes its cues from Seventies horror soundtracks - particularly the work of Goblin and John Carpenter - using eerie keyboards as the framework for the band's doomy aesthetic, as well as a backdrop for Darren Beck's doleful monotone. Neon-tinted gloom. [$10]

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Bandcamp Picks - Brant Bjork, Yawning Man, Domadora, Great Electric Quest

Throw on some platform shoes and pull out the shag rug for the Seventies-riffic third solo album by stoner rock godfather Brant Bjork. Mankind Woman widens the scope of the desert rock style that Bjork pioneered with Fu Manchu and Kyuss, encompassing Seventies funk, Sixties psychedelia, and Motown. "Groovy" in every sense of the word. [€8.99]



Yawning Man also have roots in the desert rock scene, with members who served time in Kyuss and Fatso Jetson, as well as contributed to Josh Homme's Desert Sessions. So it's quite a surprise that The Revolt Against Tired Noises bears little resemblance to the fuzzed out sound they helped establish, opting for a spacey and crystalline style that has more in common Mogwai. A shimmering update of "Catamaran" (a Yawning Man song which Kyuss covered on their last album) only underscores the wide berth between their past and present. A relief for tired ears. [$8]



On the other hand, French instrumental quartett Domadora remain fiercely devoted to the heft and fuzz that the Palm Springs desert birthed. Born out of improvised jams, the four songs that comprise LACUNA veer from earthshakingly heavy to sublimely delicate, taking the listener on a wordless journey. Some stories need no narration. [€8]



If there's one band that's destined to be airbrushed on the side of a van, it's San Diego's Great Electric Quest. Chapter II - OF EARTH is a retro freight train making stops at early Priest and Sabbath's Dio period, terminating at Seventies metal Valhalla. Faith, meet your defenders. [$5.99]