Well, it’s October. I trust you celebrated Limbeck Day (the first day of October, after a line from “The Sun Woke The Whole State”) appropriately by listening to some good music. After monthly posts for the first half of the year, I’m now playing a bit of catch-up, squeezing the best music released from the past three months into one post.
Between coming back from an unexpected trip to California this summer, moving into a new house, and beginning a new school year in a new grade level (4th) at a new school, I haven’t been as active patrolling bandcamp as I was earlier this year. As such, there aren’t many super obscure bands here, and only a few that I hadn’t heard of previously, so if you know of something I missed, definitely reply in the comments.
July:
Kiteflighter – Минулі Часи (July 6th, self-released)
Hands down my favorite emo band from Ukraine, Kiteflighter put out a killer full length in 2019 and this three-song EP is the follow up. Really like these guys, remember contacting them on Facebook to order a shirt, but even though it was only $9 USD, it was like $30 for shipping. I don’t know the title or lyrics to any of these songs, but still very enjoyable.
Descendents – 9th & Walnut (July 23rd, Epitaph Records)
I am a very very casual Descendents fan (I wasn’t a big video gamer in high school, but “I’m The One” was a jam that my friends told me about after playing Tony Hawk), but they were my first show of 2021, so I had to check this one out to get ready. It’s good but not great, and I won’t pretend to know where it ranks among their discography, but definitely worth a listen. The live show was great, first time seeing them and (surprisingly) my first time to Stubb’s in Austin. Milo forever.
The Raging Nathans – Bring Me The Head of Betsy DeVos 7″(July 23rd, Rad Girlfriend Records)
I was raised in an ultra religious and conservative household, but up until the former guy was elected, I was pretty apolitical. I mean, I laughed at Jon Stewart a little when I was in college, but didn’t really pay too much attention. Privilege and all that. But Betsy DeVos getting the Education Secretary nomination was the thing that forced me to pay attention. I know plenty of teachers who are conservative (basically one-issue voters, with that issue being abortion), but all of them knew that she was an idiot. I remember having a big long Facebook argument w/my dad who knew nothing about her but defended her because… well, that’s a story for another blog. But yeah, fuck Betsy DeVos.
Vacation – Existential Risks and Returns (July 30th, Salinas Records)
Salinas Records is so good. I’ve become sort of email buddies w/Marco, the guy that runs the label (who also happens to be a public school teacher), and in the past year, I’ve accumulated a pretty decent chunk of their catalogue on vinyl. A slight departure from their last record, which my buddy Steve described as “shittily recorded to perfection”, it’s lo-fi (but not like, *super* lo-fi) garage rock that sounds old and new at the same time and idk I just dig it.
August:
Liquid Mike – Stuntman (August 23rd, self-released)
This was really the only album I came across in August that I liked. This band reminds me a little bit of the Fountains of Wayne self-titled record or a new band I like called Camp Trash. This is a fun record that I’ve listened to a lot even though I haven’t seen literally anything about this band anywhere.
September:
Wayfairer – Wayfairer (September 3rd, CPRW Records)
Wayfairer is the solo project of… uh, one of the guys from Modern Shakes (I looked it up, it’s Ian), a punk band from the UK. I dig those guys and even though this is a little different, I dig this too. A little more mellow, bedroomy sound while still sounding like a side project of a guy in a gruff punk band (in a good way).
The Violent Hearts – Everything and Nothing (September 3rd, self-released)
I already mentioned my buddy Steve on here, and I’m going to do it again, since he posted about The Violent Hearts on his blog and that’s how I found out about them. He does a Top 5 or 10 every month when he’s not on vacation, and these guys were his number one for September. And usually I dig through the other stuff he links to and find things I like better than his first choice and I tell him that he’s wrong, but this month he nailed it. Well done Steve. And well done Violent Hearts, who don’t sound particularly violent but very hearty in a good post-punk kind of way.
Sincere Engineer – Bless My Psyche (September 10th, Hopeless Records)
Rhombithian, the debut of Sincere Engineer that came out in 2017, is still in pretty decent rotation (“Overbite” is an incredible jam, as is “Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7” and “Shattering”). Took a while for Bless My Psyche to finally emerge, but dang, it is good. I remember hearing that the best way to get rid of the blues is to play the blues, which I never really understood, but a good way of not feeling so depressed is knowing that Deanna Belos has felt how you feel and will sing you a depressing song that will make you feel better. Lots of mental health themes in here. It’s an easy top 5 record for me, gonna call it right now (with like, three months left in the year, probably not a super bold prediction). Oh, also Franz Nicolay from The Hold Steady plays keys on it and really takes it to the next level. Can’t say yet if I like it more or less than the first one, but really good regardless.
No bandcamp link, so go check it out where you listen to music, I guess.
Face To Face – No Way Out But Through (September 10th, Fat Wreck Chords)
Face To Face is still on my “need to see them live” list, and I was gonna cross em off but the pre-SXSW show in Austin 2019 turned out to never happen, so I’ll havta wait a little longer. My general take is that they’ll never top “Blind” or “Walk the Walk”, but it’s still good and what you’d expect from a band that’s been doing the same thing for about three decades – loud and fast and themes of overcoming stuff. To be honest I haven’t listened to this one too much because I can’t update my music library to my phone and I don’t like streaming while I’m driving, so hopefully I can remedy that soon.
Elway – The English Wishbone (September 24th, Red Scare Records)
I haven’t really gotten into Elway until now, mostly because I’m an idiot. This is definitely in my wheelhouse and hopefully they put out more music soon, but if they don’t that’s fine because I need to go back through their catalogue and listen to everything else they’ve put out. It’s on Red Scare so you know it’s good, RIYL Lawrence Arms, Sincere Engineer, etc.
Thanks for reading, here’s the playlist, be sure to listen and support artists by finding good music and then buying it.
Radio Marcus 