10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #7: Floating, Coilguns, Skyjoggers, In Lieu, Gift, Porch Coffin
Strapped for cash but hungry for great music? Don’t worry, The Bad Penny has your back. Here’s a rundown of 10 rad releases, most of them recently issued, that we came across on Bandcamp this week.
(Note: If you do have some green to spare, please show your thanks to these deserving artists and labels.)
1. Various Artists’ Transcending Obscurity 2026 Label Sampler
Mumbai, India-based Transcending Obscurity, which The Bad Penny profiled extensively last year, has outdone itself with this year’s edition of its annual label sampler. The freebie corrals 26 blistering songs by extreme-metal bands from across the world, not the least of whom are Veilburner, Haxprocess, Endspace, Verdun and Death Obvious.
2. In Lieu’s Failing in the Right Direction
Our ears are still ringing from listening many times to Hooligan, the solid record that Minneapolis noise-rock band In Lieu unleashed upon the masses in October. In delving deeper into the group’s catalog, we discovered their debut record, Failing in the Right Direction, which the band made when it was only a two-piece. Sure, it’s not as well-crafted as Hooligan, but given that vocalist/guitarist Nicole Post and drummer/bassist Lucas Margulies were basically kids when they made the record, it tickles and titillates.
3. Floating’s Hesitating Lights
Arguably the strongest band affiliated with the aforementioned Transcending Obscurity, the enigmatic Floating are uniquely incapable of crafting a bad song. The Swedes mix just about every metal subgenre into their cauldron, and it tastes so delicious you’ll beg for seconds.
4. Coilguns’ Lost Love EP
Hailing from Switzerland, Coilguns’ entry in this edition of The Bad Penny‘s Bandcamp roundup is one of the most recent, having only arrived in September. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around the two tracks, produced by the esteemed Scott Evans of Kowloon Walled City and Ghoul note. So we’ll let a statement from the band do the explaining: “These two lost poems showcase Coilguns at their saddest. Faintly suspended amidst ominous clouds, they aim to depict our relationship with belonging. They lament the pain of returning alone to an empty flat after pointless tours and question the sanity of working from home during lockdown in a patriarchal society where family tensions have reached boiling point.”
New York’s Gift – or should we say a gift to New York? – have cranked out 12 releases after this introductory single, which came out in May 2020. The neo-psychedelic garage-rock “Strange” lived up to its name, but that doesn’t mean the band is kidding around. The lucky bastards are touring Europe from April 13 through the 27th. Long may they reign.
6. Skyjoggers’ Fuzz Lightyear EP
Finland space-rockers Skyjoggers provide levity in both senses of the word: They play with a sense of good humor, while the songs they create do inject the listener with a sense of transcendence, if not airiness. Released in September 2017, this EP has stood the test of time and, in hindsight, demonstrates they had the stamina to keep treating psych-rock fans with joy-inducing tunes year after year.
7. Tumbleweed Dealer’s TDIII – Tokes, Hatred & Caffeine
Montreal, Québec’s stoner-rock stallions started off strong in 2012, churning out an impressive amount of songs that were equal parts funky and droney. But after this 2016 release, their pipe was cashed, sparking them to take a step away from the band until Tumbleweed Dealer (great band name) reared its head again in February. We haven’t heard their comeback record yet, but that’s fine; we can groove to TDIII – Tokes, Hatred & Caffeine all day long.
Orlando, Florida’s Porch Coffin are either starting their career sneakily or lazily – we can’t quite tell. During their roughly four-year existence, they’ve notched three EPs under their collective belt, but nary a full-length. We’re not disparaging them; quite to the contrary, in fact. Porch Coffin have conjured a punk-meets-shoegaze sound that will have you scratching your head for RIYLs if you’re asked for a frame of reference for this overlooked crew. Here’s to pushing the envelope even further.
9. Stranguliatorius’ Demo 2012
No, you’re not seeing double; earlier today, we premiered a new song by Stranguliatorius, who must be one of the only death-metal bands in Lithuania. Demo 2012 takes us all the way back to the five-piece band’s crusty roots. Until fairly recently, it wasn’t easy to come by their first foray into recorded material, as the demo was issued as a limited-edition cassette tape. But now it’s hear for your listening pleasure – and, like all the releases showcased here, at no charge.
We’ve written lots about Jute Gyte – fitting for such a prolific project – but we’d be remiss if Synthemata were omitted in our roundups of Bandcamp gems. The one-man endeavor offers all his releases in a pay-what-you-want capacity, making this 16-track compilation of synth music he wrote between 2019 and 2022 an absolute steal (although it’s available for free, of course). Whether or not you download this gem, be sure to read our compelling interview with the generally reclusive Jute Gyte, as he doesn’t give many of them.
Go here, here, here, here and here for the previous collections of The Bad Penny‘s recommended free downloads on Bandcamp.
The Bad Penny (beta) 
Leave a comment