ALL THINGS MUSIC
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 5
Bandcampin’: Good stuff for your ears
BY BEN SALMON • For The Bulletin
B
andcamp is an online music platform used largely by independent artists and record labels to stream songs and sell merchandise. For listeners, one of the
coolest things about it is its robust discovery component, which allows you to browse the site by genre (punk, folk, jazz, classical and so on, plus endless sub-
genres), format (digital, vinyl, etc.) and location (featuring big cities and small towns around the world), as well as best-selling releases and new arrivals.
This week, I chose to write about three al-
bums I found by searching the best-selling
releases in the “devotional” genre. None are
truly devotional — these aren’t hymns or reli-
gious works, they’re just cheekily categorized
— but they are great.
growing its post-grunge roots and moving
into a more psychedelic space, and because
it contains one of the best songs of the era,
the radiant “Sonic Bloom.” If you accom-
plish nothing else today, at least go listen to
“Sonic Bloom,” all the way through to its
soaring final section. You’ll be glad you did!
TRIPPING DAISY
GERYCZ / POWERS / ROLIN
“Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb”
“Beacon”
The Dallas, Texas band Tripping Daisy is
best known for its 1995 hit “I Got A Girl”
and for evolving into chamber-pop group
The Polyphonic Spree after the death of gui-
tarist Wes Berggren. But this 1998 album is
a fun listen because it finds the band out-
Shout out to the great state of Ohio!
Jayson Gerycz is the excellent drummer for
Cleveland-based punk band Cloud Nothings,
while Jen Powers and Matthew Rolin of Co-
lumbus are, together, the Powers/Rolin Duo,
wherein they make shimmering, transport-
ive instrumental music using the hammered
dulcimer (Powers) and the 12-string guitar
(Rolin). On “Beacon,” the three team up to
make music for levitating. The user reviews
on Bandcamp say it best: “Gorgeous acoustic
psychedelic improv drone” ... “A secret door
into a world of (its) own” … “The musical
equivalent of those ThunderShirts they put
on dogs to calm them during storms.”
THE HOTELIER
“Home, Like Noplace Is There”
The second album from Massachusetts
band The Hotelier might be tagged “devo-
tional” on Bandcamp because of the fer-
vent adoration the group inspires in its fans.
Or perhaps it’s because singer-songwriter
Christian Holden’s gut-wrenching lyrics
about death, destruction, transformation
and redemption feel so intensely personal
and cathartic. Either way, it’s a better tag
than “emo revival,” which is what many
people have called The Hotelier, much to
the band’s dismay. It suffices to say that if
you like your rock ‘n’ roll built on jangling
electric guitars, memorable melodies, occa-
sional howls and deeply felt feelings, “Home,
Like Noplace Is There” may be for you.
e e
Ben Salmon is a Bend-based music journalist and host of
Left Of The Dial, which airs 8-10 p.m. Thursdays on KPOV,
88.9 FM and streams at kpov.org. You can find him on
Bandcamp and Twitter at @bcsalmon.
The Junebugs
Livestream series continues
TONIGHT at 6 PM
The trio returns for another
night of fi ery bluegrass and
rockin’ renditions of the
American songbook!
Next stream:
April 15
Links and info at