Hey everyone! Welcome to the sixth episode of Buried on Bandcamp the podcast with your host Taylor.

In this episode, we will discuss Cheekface, their music, and their unique lyrics.

Cheekface is an indie rock band hailing from Los Angeles. They formed in 2017 and currently consist of Greg Katz on vocals and guitar, Amanda Tannen on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Mark Edwards on drums and percussion. The most defining feature of their music is their dry and usually monotone vocals. This sounds like a bad thing on paper, but it’s really fun and entertaining! It’s the reason why I like them. Coupled with their lyrics about societal dread and anxiety in a strange roundabout way, it makes it even better. Their lyrics are my favorite part of their music, and I think I’ve laughed out loud at some before, that’s how good they are. Not to discount the instrumental, either- my favorite songs of theirs are the ones with a particularly catchy background. It’s just that, like with most music, the vocals are the main focus, and in this case, they’re what makes Cheekface unique. And what made them popular- sorry to go against the idea of this podcast, but Cheekface is a good amount less obscure than other bands I’ve covered here. Sorry!

I know I just said they formed in 2017, but they spent their first year of existence writing music. Their writing process was mostly just trying to make each other laugh with their lyrics. They regularly released singles before officially putting out their first album, titled Therapy Island, on March 20th, 2019. I really like all the songs on this, but I’d have to say my favorites are I Only Say I’m Sorry When I’m Wrong Now and Eternity Leave. No particular reason, I just think it’s catchier than the others. I’m pretty sure it’s the most popular on the album, too. They repeated the same process, releasing singles until the next album was released. The next album would be called Emphatically No, released on January 11, 2021. This is, I believe, their most popular album, and how I discovered the band. I don’t think there’s a single mediocre song on here, I like all of them. The song that introduced me to them was “Listen to Your Heart.” “No.” I think this is their most popular song as well? It’s very fun and catchy, and a perfect epitome of what Cheekface is all about. I’ll talk about that later. I also especially like (I Don’t Want to Go To) Calabasas, Best Life, and Don’t Get Hit by a Car, the third of which contains one of my favorite set of lyrics ever: 

“Sometimes I wonder if a single good thing exists on Earth, and then I eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch”

Absolutely fantastic. After that, they released a few more singles and B-sides of Emphatically No, aptly titled Emphatically Mo’, which I think is very funny. My favorites are Reward Points and Friend Mountain; I really like the backing vocals in these. After that was a few more singles and two more albums: Too Much to Ask on August 2nd, 2022 and Don’t Ask on November 2nd of the same year, the latter being the B-sides version again. When Life Hands You Problems is without a...

You are listening to Buried on Bandcamp the podcast with your host Taylor.

In this episode of Buried on Bandcamp the Podcast, we discuss the band Pretty & Nice, their work, and their unrelenting positivity.

Now, I have to start this episode off by saying I don’t know much about Pretty & Nice themselves and their background. Most of the information I’m getting is from their Bandcamp or what I assume to be unauthorized sources, so maybe take everything I say with a grain of salt. Their last release seems to be from a good while ago, back in 2014, and their website is now defunct. From what I can gather, the band consists of three members: Holden Lewis, Jeremy Mendicino, and Roger Lussier. They are a pop-rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, and they released music from 2006 to 2014. I don’t know what happened to them after they released their final album, since like I mentioned before, I don’t have a lot of info on them. This doesn’t stop me from liking them, though- I don’t see why it would. Their music is very post-punk, but they lean a lot into the experimental side, with electronic elements as well. And, as you can from the title of this episode, their music is very upbeat and fun, but we’ll delve into that in a later segment. For now, let’s actually discuss their discography.

Pretty & Nice’s first was release was on December 6th, 2006, titled Pink & Blue. (tangent starts around here!) I didn’t know about this and their other earlier work from the late 2000s, mostly because I just didn’t check if they had any other music than the album I first listened to. Luckily, I remedied that recently- very recently, maybe just over a week ago.

• Went to a hotel in Pennsylvania for my sibling’s birthday Veteran’s Day weekend
• On the ~hour and a half ride there, I binged whatever parts of P&N’s discography I hadn’t listened to yet
• And I really really enjoyed it! Their earlier work is much more rock-y than their later work
• I found myself listening to their earlier stuff, especially Pink & Blue, all the time throughout the weekend
• it was nice :) tangent over now
• My favorite songs are definitely Hey Hey Come On and Lazy Lazy Bumblebee. Both have a more? Emotional and dramatic vibe than the rest of the album? But that’s what I like about it. They’re also much louder and erratic, which I always find is a plus.
• After that was Blue & Blue, released in July of the next year, with one new song- Pretty Shells- and remixes of songs off Pink & Blue.
• I’ll be honest, I don’t really listen to their releases where most of the songs are just remixes. Just not my thing, personally
• So I’m afraid I won’t be talking too much about those in depth....

You are listening to Buried on Bandcamp the podcast with your host Taylor.

In this episode of Buried on Bandcamp the Podcast we discuss: the band Angel Electronics, their album Ultra Paradise, and their usage of juxtaposition.

Angel Electronics is a duo from Los Angeles. It consists of Ash Nerve on lead vocals, songwriting, piano, and drum programming, and Ada Rook on vocals, songwriting, guitar and bass, and drum programming. Ada Rook is what brought me to this project- I really enjoy her music and would really love to do a future episode on her but given reoccurring subject matters of her music, I don’t think I could on this school-friendly podcast. And Ash Nerve I hadn’t heard of them before discovering Angel Electronics, but I greatly enjoy his presence in the band, and I’m definitely checking out some of his other work soon. The duo specializes in a genre they call “brutal euphoria wave,” which sounds confusing but if you listen to their music, you’ll find it’s a perfect descriptor. Their music is fun, optimistic, and sweet, while simultaneously loud and messy, but it balances perfectly. We’ll discuss their album, Ultra Paradise, after this short commercial break.

https://angelelectronics.bandcamp.com/

Alright, welcome back to Buried on Bandcamp. Time to talk about Ultra Paradise. This is Angel Electronics’ only album at the moment, released January 23rd, 2023, but it certainly packs a punch. The first thing I noticed when listening was the religious themes in their work. There are many mentions of angels, even in the name of the band itself. The next thing I noticed is how optimistic their work is. Most of their lyrics are so sweet and charming and paired with the electronic background it seems even sweeter. You’d think that makes the loud and messy parts stand out like a sore thumb, but it doesn’t. I’ll talk about that more in a bit.

My personal favorites off the album are One Thousand and One Nights, Evil Behind You, and Party Girl. One Thousand and One Nights was the first song I heard from Angel Electronics, and I was immediately hooked and went to listen to the album in full immediately afterward. It’s not as sweet and optimistic in the lyrics as some other songs on the album, as it discusses regretting treating a former significant other wrong and missing them badly. But it’s still catchy and the instrumental is still upbeat and fun. Evil Behind You is also a very fun and unique song, especially since even less sweet and silly seeming. A hint of hope and optimism can be gleaned in the lyrics, though- trying to break free from the titular evil behind you. To quote the song, “It doesn’t die / but you don’t have to keep it alive / there’s an evil behind you / but you can leave it behind you.” The guitar in this song is fantastic, and the synths add a layer of determination- it’s great. Around two-thirds into the song, the main melody drops out and the guitars really kick in, with Rook bringing screamo in the background while Ash keeps up the main vocals. It’s an...