Music

POWERLINES by Max Oakland

A labor of love. POWERLINES was recorded before the pandemic at Jake Whitecar’s Orangutan Sound in Missoula, Montana

From the Artist:
It was my first studio recording and I was excited and nervous. I think both of those feelings come through in the songs, which are poppy indie songs with hazy sounds that could almost have been found on a VHS from 1990 except for the futuristic touches here and there

I recorded these songs at a really hard time when I had to go to voice therapy because I had hurt my vocal cords and I was just recovering after a year wondering if I’d ever be able to sing again. I still hadn’t fully recovered during the recording process, but the result is cool because my vocals are a lot breathier than usual. My philosophy is: turn mud into gold whenever possible

This album comes with a beautiful digital lyric book with photos Max Oakland took which fit the atmosphere of this EP. It also comes with high quality digital copies of the front and back cover 

Purchase:
Vinyl EP | Waves of Gold Poster |

credits:

released June 24

_{Max Oakland – Songwriting, vocals, guitars, co-producer, programming
Jake Whitecar – Producer, mixer, bass, guitar, piano, synths
Jon Filkins – Drums
Amanda Ceaser – Background Vocals}

_{For fans of: alternative music, alternative rock, alternative pop, synth pop, indietronica, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, VHS pop, psych, psychedelic, guitars}

Sunset(s) by Sunset

From the band:
SUNSETS. About letting go. About moving on. About not being happy about any of these things. It’s so SAD how many people in our culture are lost at a young age to drugs and depression. I’m still angry about it, but this album was part of the process of healing from that loss. Again and again.

Goodbye, sunset.

Recorded during a turbulent time of ending relationships. This album is about letting go of the past, but not necessarily about embracing the future. 

I recorded it on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder and added some extra elements in garageband.

This download includes a lyric book with pictures I took on my journey and a really weird comic I made this winter!

credits:

released April 23

Cover art by Michael Hansen

Mastered by Scott Murphy at Playspace Studios 

Hole – Audio sample on “Electronic Music”

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, harmonies, sonic youth, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, noise folk, new weird America, folk rock, punk, punk rock, garage rock, country}

Flyover Country by The Peaches

From the band:
My brother and I have a tradition: every year: around Christmas time, we record an album. This album was recorded under strange circumstances. I was living at home, he was home for the holidays. I was feeling full of angst and confusion about where to go with my life. Making this album gave me some clarity, somehow.

It’s weird to be from a place that most of the country considers to be useless, just fields of corn to fly over. But there are people there and I was one of them, for most of my life

The Peaches recorded this album in their basement over the winter of 2012 and 2013. We recorded it on a 4-track, not that you really cared to know that. We had a lot of fun and a few fights and hope you enjoy it.

This download includes a copy of the handwritten lyric sheet.

Also, how many connections can you find? There are plenty.

credits:

released May 31

MO, AK

_{For fans of: alternative, experimental music, experimental folk, freak freak, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, noise folk, new weird America, folk rock, punk, punk rock, garage rock, country}

Scramble Me by Douglases Rocks

Douglases was (and maybe still is) a concept project where randomly assorted musicians would play improvised music at high volumes at unexpected places in Missoula, Montana

They performed under a bridge, in an alleyway, on the side of a road, at a bar. In places where buskers traditionally played acoustic instruments, they rented a generator and played loud electric guitars and drums. It was a fresh and wild idea that resulted in great music

This EP is a bit different. It’s a two piece of Gavin, the creator of the Douglases concept, and Patrick, a skilled drummer. Both have played in various Missoula bands, including The Skurfs.

credits:

released August 15

Gavin McCourt, guitar
Patrick Kirkley, drums

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, ski rock, folk, indie, indie rock, lo-fi, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop,, punk, punk rock, garage rock, garage psych}

[Untitled] by Hot the Cat

This was recorded on a little Tascam four-track in the basement of a big house in Missoula, MT. This is the first album by the artist Hot the Cat. Hot is a red cat making strange sounds. Sometimes, he’s joined by other animal friends in a band called The Kitchenette.

Listen to more of Hot’s music on his Bandcamp

credits:

released July 15

_{All tracks written and performed by Dan Hansen, except 4 featuring the Robot Jared, 9 featuring Jon Filkins, and 12 featuring Joe Nicolini.}

_{For fans of: folk, psych folk, freak folk, blues, psych blues, freak blues, experimental, experimental folk, experimental rock, jazz, free jazz, singer-songwriter}

Color Was Everything

From the artist:
Recorded in peace freak’s basement in early spring. This album was about a transitional period, where I was trying to let go of negative things and desperately trying to find positive momentum. There was a lot of force, a lot of effort, a lot of mistaken choices and frustrations.

I look back on that time as something I would never like to revisit, and something that lead me to better things. I look back on this album as one of my favorite things I have created.

My friends said “I wish it had more songs!” I do too, but this was all I could manage to finish at the time.

Some covers were recorded but can’t legally be included.

credits:

released March 22

MO

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, experimental folk, freak freak, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, lo-fi rock, psych folk, psychedelic, noise pop, grunge, new weird America, folk rock, punk, garage rock, country}

Comfort Food by The Peaches

An album by the peaches. first one.

recorded in a basement in illinois during the christmas season. christmas spirit. spirits. different meanings of the word spirits. some haunting, but save that for later days. some rosy cheeks and a lot of warm, fattening comfort food.

This is another In the Junipers classic that was recorded on a cell phone in a basement. It’s not as lush as Windodio, which had many musicians playing at the same time. But it does have some catchy songs and more of a punk vibe.

credits:

released March 15

AK, MO

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, experimental folk, garage punk, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, noise folk, folk rock, punk, punk rock, garage rock}

Laugh Track by Sunset

From the artist:
I gave it out as a single track to my friends, who had very vague opinions about it. I used to think of myself as a peace freak until I started hating everyone. But all that changed when I decided to move forward in life. To that ghostly fog on the mountains.

But this was before then.

Piece —> Sunset

Laugh Track is a very weird album. Genreless in the extreme. There’s synth pop and noise rock on here. Strange emotions being expressed and repressed. Samples from places you’d never expect.

credits:

released December 7

Piece/Sunset

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, 8-bit music, freak music, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, synth pop, synthpop, abstract rock, punk, punk rock, synth punk, hyperpop}

Rubber Ducks/Farkies Split

From the band:
Most of these songs were written and recorded in one day, taking turns, to pass the late summer days between looking for jobs in our new home.

They had just moved halfway across the country (the United States to be specific) to Missoula, Montana and were starting their new lives.

It was a rather frenzied burst of creativity. A group of friends writing and recording 18 songs at breakneck speed. And the songs sound great! From punk to psychedelic to country and a few surprises in between

credits:

released November 27

DH JF CP RJ JW SM

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, experimental folk, freak freak, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, country rock, psych folk, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, noise folk, new weird America, folk rock, punk, punk rock, country}

Scientific Music Industries

Scientific Music Industries is an experimental EP/Song that morphs and changes throughout. It’s an experiment in maximalism, with as many layers and ideas as possible. It was created by some very experienced musicians and other beginners and that creates something special

credits:

released November 11

JF, JN, DH, JW, PP, CP

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, indie music, indie rock, noise pop, psychedelic, psychedelic music, maximalist music, instrumental music}

Milkous Beats by Windodio

This album was recorded over the course of a few months right before the summer storms. It was recorded in a basement near Chicago on a cell phone and was not meant to become anything more than a bunch of friends having fun with music.

We decided to release it on here because there’s something special about it and we wanted to share it with the world. Underneath the lofi roughness is a spirit of freedom and joy that could be the rough start of an exciting new direction for music.

This album is very unpolished, very strange, and all over the place. It’s something to listen to when your mind is fuzzy and you want to make it fuzzier. Don’t expect poppy hooks or resolutions… some of these songs fall apart and some fall together.

It’s best to listen to the whole thing from start to finish. It’s more of a vibe than a composition. As my friend LL said after I asked her what she thought, “I kinda want to listen to it again…”

credits:

released August 5

PP DH MR JF JN JW SH

_{For fans of: alternative music, experimental music, experimental folk, freak freak, folk, indie, indie rock, indie pop, lo-fi, noise, noise folk, psychedelic, noise rock, noise pop, noise folk, new weird America, USA}