Thursday, March 25, 2021 • ThE BuLLETIN
ALL THINGS MUSIC
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 5
Bandcampin’: Good stuff for your ears
andcamp is an online music platform
used largely by independent artists
and record labels to stream songs
and sell merchandise. It’s also a vibrant vir-
tual community teeming with interesting
sounds just waiting to be discovered.
Each week, I’ll highlight three re-
leases available on the site that
are well worth your time and
attention. If you find some-
thing you dig, please con-
sider supporting the artist
with a purchase.
SILICONE PRAIRIE
“My Life on the Silicone Prairie”
into mainstream success in the 1980s. These
days, there are DEVO devotees scattered
across the world, including fellow Midwest-
erners Silicone Prairie, who hail from Kan-
sas City. On the project’s debut full-length,
main man Ian Teeple pumps out 13 tracks
of jittery rock ’n’ roll that half the time
sounds like it’s playing at 1.5x speed,
and the other half sounds like it’s
been left in the back seat of a
1978 Chevy Impala to melt
under the summer sun. This
is weird, cool stuff for minds
warped by distinctly Ameri-
can ennui.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“The Sound the Hare Heard”
If you’re going to worship some-
thing, there are worse things to worship
than DEVO, the Akron, Ohio-based art-
punk band that somehow turned its combo
of synth-rock and oddball visual aesthetic
The Kill Rock Stars record label
is known for its fiercely independent, of-
ten Northwest-flavored punk and indie
rock. But in 2006, the Portland-based tas-
temaker released this crucial compilation
BY BEN SALMON
For The Bulletin
B
of 21 tracks that could generally
be categorized in the acoustic,
folk and/or singer-songwriter
vein. “The Sound the Hare
Heard” is a generous col-
lection chock full of beau-
tiful tunes, starting with an
uncharacteristically mel-
low lullabye from Chicago
power-pop enigma Devin
Davis. From there, highlights
come one after another, courtesy big
names like Laura Veirs, Sufjan Stevens and
Colin Meloy, as well as lesser-known artists.
The tie that binds them isn’t just Kill Rock
Stars’ blessing, but a consistently inven-
tive approach to stripped-down music that
breathes life into the style.
SUGAR STEMS
“Only Come Out At Night”
You’ve probably heard this one before,
but seriously: The Sugar Stems may be the
best rock band you’ve never
heard. They’re based in Mil-
waukee, fronted by a pow-
er-pop powerhouse named
Betsy Heibler and haven’t
released any music or played
any shows for years. But that
doesn’t change the fact that
back in the summer of 2014,
the Sugar Stems released one
of the best power-pop albums in
recent memory, called “Only Come
Out At Night.” At 12 tracks and just under
40 minutes long, it’s a model of hooky song-
writing and tight performance, not to men-
tion shrewd sequencing, since the songs seem
to get better as you go along. Here’s hoping
they’re not done for good, and are somewhere
working on the follow-up!
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.
Larry Carlton
Masterclass
Learn improvisation, rhythm
playing, and soloing skills
with one of the all-time
greatest guitar players!
March 27 • 3 PM
Links and info at