- Music
- 11 Jan 13
Matthew E. White unveils his album, Willow Smith samples Radiohead and Tom Waits and Keith Richards play at being pirates. Plus plenty more free stuff from the likes of Pere Ubu, Solange and J Dilla...
Winter may have Ireland in its icy grip, but it hasn’t affected the hotness of this week’s Free Music Friday tunes, which are guaranteed to warm even the frostiest of cockles.
To Holland first where there are streamable treats from Pere Ubu, Tape Cuts Tape, Solange, Wooden Wand, Geppetto & The Whales and Raime. Head on over to the always reliably jam-packed [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link]; [link]music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/1[/link] has newbies from Dropkick Murphys, Less Than Jake, The Last Royals, Snuff, Sunrunners and The Coasts; [link]music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/1[/link] is the go-to place for Hollywood Undead, Midian and the Tron: Uprising soundtrack and [link]www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] has first listens to Pantha Du Prince & The Bell Laboratory, The Lone Bellow and 4AD signings Indians whose Somewhere Else is a big FMF office fave.
You can also download the latest of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, which features Lucius – a Boston group who sound like Emmylou Harris if Phil Spector had got his hands on them.
Free Music Friday’s favourite things this week include ‘Barriers’, the first taster from Suede’sBloodsports album, which is available for [link]suedebarriers.viinyl.com[/link] download; the jingly jangly, somewhat Smithesque tune hip Londoners Life In Film are gifting us at [link]www.facebook.com/lifeinfilm/app_369196676483003[/link]; Camper Van Beethoven’s first new tune for eight years which is residing at [link]stereogum.com/1232412/camper-van-beethoven-someday-our-love-will-sell-us-out-stereogum-premiere/mp3s[/link]; the Wonky Beats mixtape Darwin Deez has dropped at [link]darwindeez.com/wonkybeats[/link] and the OK Go-ish The Starter Kit album Nashville buzz band The Co are giving away.
Another Nashville act making serious waves at the moment is Torres who shares an influence or three with Anna Calvi. Here are a couple of tasters from her debut album, which drops next week Stateside.
Those lovely Noise Trade people also weigh in this week with free (but please tip!) albums from the Bronx man with a David Gray thing going on, Ari Herst, and a live sampler from the Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records stable that includes Kathy Mattea, Rodney Crowell, Shawn Mullins and Sam Bush.
Ennis’ mynameisjOhn has a pay what you want album, The Focusing Effect, available for your download delectation.
The seven-tracker strays into Mmoths, Tricky and DJ Shadow territory, but really he’s his own man.
A round of applause please for the Clare Arts Office who’ve supported the project. If only all arts offices were this benevolent towards hip hop!
Over at [link]www.xlr8r.com/mp3[/link] there are free dance downloads to gorge on from Thieves, Majical Cloudz, Natasha Kmeto, Hound Scales and The xx.
Sign up to [link]www.ronsexsmith.com/mailinglist[/link] for ‘She Does My Heart Good’, a free taster from Ron Sexsmith’s Forever Endeavour album, which follows on February 1.
It’s sadly not downloadable – boo! – but you can watch David Byrne and St. Vincent rocking out together at the Strathmore Music Hall in Bethseda, MD.
It’s vintage stuff too, with a particularly wonderful re-working of Talking Heads’ ‘Burning Down The House’ and loads of tunes from their Love This Giant album, which wasn’t on nearly enough Best of 2012 lists.
There’s an extremely nifty J. Dilla album sampler at [link]pitchfork.com/advance/2-donuts[/link]; [link]www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=168805385&m=168809014[/link] is streaming the tune Tom Waits and Keith Richards have conjured up for Johnny Depp’sSon Of Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys; Marina & The Diamonds’ ‘Lies’ gets the Zeds Dead remix treatment at [link]www.facebook.com/whoszed/app_151503908244383[/link] and former Girls man Christopher Owens lets us listen to his Lysandre album at [link]prettymuchamazing.com/news/album-stream-christopher-owens-lysandre[/link]
How we came to miss it before Christmas we don’t know, but feast your ears on this 2012 Wrap-Up mix that Tu-Ki and Olan assembled for All City Records, and which includes El-P, Jai Paul, Antibalas, Scuba and Obiekt among its eclectic wares.
One of our upcoming issues Hot For 2013 selections, Matthew E. White is streaming the whole of his Big Inner album below – the perfect appetite-whetter for his Dublin debut on January 27 in Whelan’s. A mate of Justin Vernon’s, the generously whiskered Virginian makes a gorgeous alt-blues noise and will be massive!
Free Music Friday has been greatly entertained by this week’s Twitter beef between Azealia Banks and Angel Haze. Knowing what’s good for us we’re not taking sides, but we do love the latter’s diss of the former, ‘On The Edge’, which really goes for the throat. We wouldn’t want it any other way!
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Ms. Banks has a typically potty-mouthed tune of her own to enjoy at [link]soundcloud.com/azealia-banks/bbd[/link].
Albums from both ladies follow later in the year.
Our visual treats continue with this performance vid from new Domino signings and Minneapolis natives Night Moves whose forthcoming Colored Emotions album is a bit of acoustic alright.
Finally, Willow Smith samples Radiohead’s ‘Codex’ – yes, you read right – on the really rather gorgeous ‘Sugar And Spice’.
And that’s Free Music Friday out of here! Have a fabulous weekend and keep those links coming at @stuartclark66