A smorgasbord of Bandcamp buys (national jams)

Judy and the Jerks (from Goner Records Facebook)

Yesterday, I wrote (at great length) about the Baltimore bands whose music I picked up on Bandcamp. Now, let's talk (also at great length) about the various national bands I downloaded.

A note before I start: the day before the 1 May fee waive was announced, I ordered the new Coriky & Hammered Hulls from Dischord, and a pair of C.H.E.W. records from down the road at Iron Lung. I'm omitting them here, because I'll end up saying something about each of them in the coming days.

Gouge Away - "Consider" b/w "Wave of Mutilation" / "Stray"

Hey, new music from Gouge Away! I was really blown away by their last full length, "Burnt Sugar", after years of people telling me to check them out. Their new single popped up on my feed a few weeks ago, so I made a mental note to snag it when the opportunity arose. "Consider" sees Gouge Away moving farther away from hardcore into post-hardcore, but also remaining super political in this observation of white supremacy. I like this for the same reasons I like a band like Modern Life Is War; there's an obvious groove present in the song that not every hardcore band embraces. The B-side is a Pixies cover; they play it pretty straight, although there's a lot more guitar hijinx present here than on the original. There's a 7" release of these two songs through Deathwish, if you're looking for a physical release. As an added bonus, I grabbed the digital-only release of "Stray", which appeared in an shorter form on "Burnt Sugar". I like this expanded version; again, there's a Fugazi-like groove present that really grabs my attention.
American Nightmare - "Life Support"

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out that American Nightmare was putting out new music in 2020. I was aware they were still playing out, but here's their first recording in two years and it is...unexpected. The band first blew me away in 2000 has matured a lot, showing influence from both deathrock and Swedish power pop on this 7". The songs are still short, fast, and loud, but there are real tunes here. I think this is what I hope for when a hardcore band's sound evolves; their songwriting and performance progresses, while remaining true to the spirit that brought them to life. And, hey, there's a Lemonheads cover on the B-side!
Self Defense Family - "Leeds"
I really enjoy the sheer volume of music that SDF releases on an annual basis, and their willingness to experiment. SDF has been, in their words, "cleaning out our hard drives for your quarantine entertainment" for the past few weeks, as well as putting together some limited edition t-shirts inspired by the songs. There's no dating for these recordings; I'd guess they might have been recorded in the past couple years, since both evoke the songwriting on "Have You Considered Punk Music". I know most folks have a fairly binary opinion on Self Defense Family; you either loathe them, or you love them. I'm firmly in the second group.

Time Crisis - "Demo 2020"

I like taking wags on Bandcamp releases: I put in whatever (sub-)genre I'm feeling, look for something interesting, plunk down my $1-$5, and typically enjoy. That's how I found Denton, TX's Time Crisis. I've been listening to a lot of D-beat and crust during quarantine, so this is right in my wheelhouse. If you like Doom and Inepsy, you'll more than likely like this. I will say this is more blue jean crust than it is ropeleash crust, if that makes any sense at all. A track like "World Crumbles" takes on new relevance now. And how can you not love a pair of lines like "Everyone/Is so uptight/Everyone/Going to die"?

Judy and the Jerks - "Bone Spur"

I got put onto Hattiesburg, MS's Judy and the Jerks via 2018's "Dog City, USA" comp, provided by Robert at Terminal Escape. I hear good things about what's happening right now in Hattiesburg; I'm always interested in what's happening in smaller cities down South, considering that's where I grew up. And holy moly, I AM INTO THIS! If I had one adjective to describe these songs, it'd be "brash". If I could add another one, it'd be "snotty". These cats have a ton of attitude, but instead of it coming across jerky, it just sounds fun! JatJ cut these new tracks last September in preparation for their East Coast tour. $4 gets you four new JatJ songs, as well as an Urban Blight cover. I hope they're spending their quarantine writing new music, because I think I just got hooked on their junk.


And that's it. Just a metric fuckton of music. It should keep me occupied for at least a few weeks. Here's where I remind you that Bandcamp is doing this again on June 5 and July 3 (the first Friday of each month), and if supporting active artists and labels is important to you, it's a good chance to provide that support.