The Free Music Friday flag has been flying at half-mast this week in honour of our fallen comrade George Byrne who wasn't all that gone on this internet malarkey, but was one of the most knowledgeable and passionate rock 'n' roll fans we've ever had the pleasure to meet. The downloads, streams, vids and trailers which follow are dedicated to the memory of gorgeous George who gets the full-blown tribute treatment in the next issue of Hot Press, out on Thursday April 16 and packed with festival-y goodness.
On the plus side this week, we got lots of sunshine and this gorgeous free download set from Death Cab For Cutie. Ben Gibbard & Co. performed two songs from their new album Kintsugi, and blasts from DCFC's past, 'Your Heart Is An Empty Room' and 'Passenger Seat'. Enjoy!

It's that wonderful time of the month again when we get to enjoy another free tune from Declan O'Rourke as part of his monthly singles club. A gorgeous old-timey country song with lashings of slide guitar and celestial backing vocals, 'Yellow Moon' is available from
[link]rimecoatlimited.app.box.com/s/mo0s0bqtpkx[/link]
Alt-J meet Nick Drake round at Peter Gabriel's gaff on Home, a stunning full-length freebie from Portland, Oregon's Josh Garrels. Also new and tasty this week from Noise Trade are a four-track introduction to The Gray Havens, a Lumineers-esque Illinois duo and an album sampler from Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, a Michigan collective peddling what they call "post-Motown folk rock." And rather jolly it is too!




To the streams now and Toro Y Moi, Josh Rouse, Doldrums, New Madrid, Turbowolf, Male Gaze, Ryley Walker, Jesse Malin, Houndstooth and The Go! Team are among the healthy [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/albums.html[/link] crop; [link]www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] pitches in with newbies from Dwight Yoakam, Lowland Hum and Calexico; if you and your device are in the right place, Oh Wonder, Justice, Rebecca Clements, Doldrums, Aidan Baker, Paul Weller, American Wrestlers, Lee Harvey Osmond, Lord Huron, Gabi and Say Lou Lou await at [link]albumstreams.com[/link]; Stornoway is the current [link]www.theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams[/link] offering; [link]www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/premiere-stream-the-self-titled-new-album-from-art-punk-legends-wire[/link] has the killer new record from punk survivors and thrivers Wire, and [link]www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] will sort you out with the latest from Ava Luna, a band who more than live up to the paper's "early Talking Heads in a messy mood" description.
Mixtape of the Week goes to G-Unit spitter Young Buck whose 10 Bullets is a funky little divil. With titles like 'Dope Boy', 'Hoes & A Ounce' and 'Craccin' and Poppin'' it's all a bit lyrically yawnsome, but, wow, the delivery!

Also hitting the hip hop spot this week is Clockers Vol. 1, the new 15-tracker from the self-proclaimed 'Black Johnny Cash', Johnni Chavo.
Ohioan-born but Brooklyn-based, it's a whole lot of bassbin-rattling fun.

Johnni Chavo - Clockers Vol 1

Team Hot Press are still on a high following Courtney Barnett's awesome Irish debut last Saturday in Whelan's, which was a sardine-room only sell-out. We've done a little bit of trawling and come up with these goodies, which include an acoustic set that's begging to be iTuned and a SXSW concert vid, which confirms her live awesomeness.



It's impossible to completely recreate the visceral wonderfulness of their recent Vicar St. show - our man Edwin McFee is still in a state of religious rapture - but this [link]www.npr.org/event/music/388196234/live-tuesday-sleater-kinney-in-concert?autoplay=true[/link] vid of Sleater-Kinney letting rip in Washington's 9:30 Club is pretty damn awesome!
Noisey has posted the first part of There Will Be Quiet: The Story Of Judge, the documentary account of NYC straight edge legend Mike Judge who went MIA during the '90s, but re-emerged a couple of years to the delight of the numerous hardcore outfits who formed in his image.

The UK Green Party treat us to simultaneously the worst/best electoral ad ever with their 'Party Political Harmony'  boy band vid and free download.


Red Empire have come up with this striking promo for 'Michibiki', a tune that the Dublin/Athlone quartet very impressively perform in Japanese.

Not wanting that Dave Grohl fella to have the last word, Jack White is teaming up with T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford to produce American Epic, a three-parter "following the trail of record company talent scouts from the late 1920s", which will air this autumn on BBC Arena. The likes of White, Beck, Nas, Alabama Shakes, Merle Haggard, Elton John, Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Raphael Saadiq, the Avett Brothers, Los Lobos, Bettye LaVette, Steve Martin and Edie Brickell will get to perform songs old and new using authentic period equipment, with Third Man Records releasing both the soundtrack and a companion series of archival recordings. Sounds like a surefire winner to us!

Finally, for Mr. Byrne, we have the promo that accompanied The Go-Betweens' 'Streets Of Your Town', one of his all-time fave tunes and for good reason!

Whatever the weekend holds in store, have a blast and keep those links coming to @stuartclark66