Janky Bungag’s DemoGrass Tapes Is a Twangy Slice of DIY Heaven
The Filipino-Canadian songwriter reimagines roots music with a lo-fi collection of country demos and oddball covers that just make sense.
by Hannah Harlacher
Vancouver songwriter Janky Bungag’s music is made to soundtrack golden hour. Imagine settling into lawn chairs in the tall grass, crickets chirping, a cold drink sweating in your palm, as Bungag’s lonesome banjo weaves through the air like a memory you forgot you missed. That’s exactly what you’ll get on DemoGrass Tapes, a wholesome compilation of demos and unexpected covers released via Bandcamp.
Infusing traditional country and bluegrass with his cowpunk spirit, Bungag blends tongue-in-cheek charm with a whole lot of heart. Every sound – from the warm acoustic guitar to the fast-picking banjo and bright fiddle – is played, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Bungag himself, giving the songs an intimate, personal feel.
The project opens with “Janky’s Reel,” a cheery instrumental that sets the tone with tight, intentional arrangements and storytelling with a bite. The songs are heartfelt, but not too heavy; it’s music you can laugh with, sway to, or even get a little misty over.
A standout on the album is “Mexico,” written by Janky’s guitar player Etienne Tremblay. The track sounds like something that John Denver might have written if he were a hipster cowboy from the Pacific Northwest reminiscing on a love lost. Every track offers its own tone and texture, yet is tied together by Bungag’s high-and-lonesome style and a sense of yearning that runs deep.
DemoGrass Tapes also features a string of genre-defying covers reimagined through the Bungag lens. Bluegrass classic “Lost (And I’ll Never Find the Way)” by The Stanley Brothers and folk-blues staple “I Don’t Love Nobody” by Doc Watson & Elizabeth Cotton sit alongside surprise picks like The Vengaboys’ “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!”, now transformed into a barn burner, or an infusion of heavy twang into SR-71’s pop-punk anthem “Right Now.”
Arriving just in time to soak in those sweet, fleeting moments of summer, DemoGrass Tapes is a sincere celebration of making music on your own terms. Janky Bungag reminds us that country music doesn’t have to take itself too seriously to mean something. If heaven ain’t the Kootenays, well… maybe it sounds a little like this.
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