- Music
- 18 Sep 15
Bronzed from a week of Cretan beach-lazing we've delights from Leon Bridges, Glen Hansard, Angel Haze & more...
Having had the temerity to go on holiday for a week - Crete was great, thanks for asking! - Free Music Friday is back with a suitably suntanned collection of downloads, streams, trailers and vids. With so much catching up to do, let us dive straight in at the deep end...
Our favourite FMF thing this time out has to be the killer acoustic session from soul man of the moment Leon Bridges.
Also tickling our collective fancy is 'Baby Ain't Made Of China', a new freebie tune from Wolf Alice who are maturing into one hell of a band.
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Glen Hansard's PR offensive for his most excellent Didn't He Ramble album included a concert-length visit to KCRW's Santa Monica studios this week with a killer string section in tow (the rest of the band were no slouches either!) There's also a halftime interview in which Glen confesses that "at one point last year the producer, Thomas Bartlett, pulled me aside and said, 'Glen, the record's no good.' I was like, 'Eeeeeurrrrgggggh!' The reason it hurt is I agreed with him. And so I went back and I fixed it up."
The fixing up worked a treat, with Didn't He Ramble a genuinely stunning collection of songs.
This week's streaming action kicks off with the latest from Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller; returning Tex-Mex heroes Los Lobos; white hot Brooklynite rap duo Underachievers, and Swedish psych-rockers Dungen.
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Robert Forster fans should make an immediate dart to [link]theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/sep/09/robert-forster-songs-to-play-exclusive-album-stream[/link] where the Go-Betweens legend is previewing his Songs To Play solo collection - but not for long!
Hot Press fave Angel Haze steps up several gears with Back To The Woods, her new mixtape which pulls absolutely no lyrical punches.
KEXP's Seattle studios have recently been graced by Wilco, Father John Misty and SOAK who was all over Cretan radio last week.
Muse don't so much whet as overload appetites for their Drones World Tour with this retina-searing trailer. As revealed earlier in the week by hotpress.com, you can catch the chaps in the Dublin 3Arena and Belfast SSE Arena on April 5 and 6 respectively.
One thing's for sure; it's going to be spectacular!
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Toronto's very fine Paper Bag Records treat us to a fall (it's autumn really!) sampler that includes the likes of The Acorn, Young Galaxy, Hey Mother Death and the particularly tasty Princess Century. Also new - but feel free to tip! - this week from Noise Trade is an Alt-J reconfigured version of Masakichi's 'Spring', and an introduction to her fellow Londoners Passport To Stockholm who sound like Ed Sheeran and Marcus Mumford's love child should that be biologically possible.
Def Leppard trail their first studio album in seven years with 'Let's Go', a classic glam stomper that could easily have graced Hysteria or Pyromania.
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Also getting us in the mood for her new album is Nicole Dollanganger whose 'Angels Of Porn II' has been bigged up by kindred spirit Grimes.
In Their Thousands have premiered the video for their new single, 'Four In The Morning', which is out today and underlines what accomplished songwriters they've become.
Making its Netflix Ireland bow today is Under The Influence, an extremely tasty looking Keith Richards documentary that ties in with the solo album of the same name. "You never grow up," cackles Keef who makes for the most engaging of subjects.
Hozier has taken to performing The Beatles' 'Blackbird' on the current leg of his never ending American tour. And damn fine it sounds too!
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And that ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls is your Free Music Friday lot for another week. We're looking forward to a quality weekend of World Cup Egg Chasing and three more points for Roberto Martinez's brave Everton boys. In the meantime keep those links coming to @stuartclark66