Free Music Friday

After a week in which we’ve seen the dark side of the internet – we hope the world seems a little less hostile to Slane Girl than it did a few days ago – Free Music Friday is all about spreading the online love with a collection of tunes guaranteed to raise the spirits and make the heart soar.

One of American hip hop’s brightest young things, Sasha Go Hard, ups the ante with her Nutty World mixtape.

Joined by MattiBaybee and Rockie Fresh, the 21-year-old Chicagoan has a great flow, and a potty-mouth to rival Misses Banks and Haze’s!
Download it for free from [link]livemixtapes.com/download/23711/sasha-go-hard-nutty-world.html[/link]

Franz Ferdinand’s phenomenal Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action album is streaming in its entirety at [link]npr.org/2013/08/19/210175096/first-listen-franz-ferdinand-right-thoughts-right-words-right-action[/link]
Combining the crash, bang, wallop! nature of their self-titled debut with wordplay that goes beyond dexterous, it has us counting down the minutes to their Electric Picnic appearance.
We’ve an extensive interview with Alex Kapranos in our current issue.

Drogheda industrial outfit Sights Distorted have made their impressive debut album Last Light available for free download over on their Bandcamp page. Hot Press' Edwin McFee was moved to compare the trio to Nine Inch Nails in his recent review. We suspect they get that a lot. Judge for yourself @ [link]sightsdistorted.bandcamp.com[/link]

The hot streaming action continues at [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link] with new offerings from Money, Robbie Fulks, Chloe Charles, Braids, Ty Segall, Sarah Neufeld, Drowning Man, Laura Veirs, Golden Suits, No Age, Mann Friday and Johnny Dowd; [link]npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] also chip in with Bob Dylan, Neko Case, Volcano Choir, Sly & The Family Stone, King Krule and Rapsody; [link]pitchfork.com/advance[/link] are eager for you to sample Forest Swords, Bent Shapes, Disappears, Dent May, Ghost Wave and The Dodos and [link]albumstreams.com[/link] are bringing up the rear with Avenged Sevenfold, Juicy J, Belle & Sebastian, Jars Of Clay, Porches, Newton Faulkner, Bad Sports and The Rides, AKA Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg who might find their name elicits a few childish sniggers here.

Guy Andrews has done what we thought was impossible, which is make Halves’ ‘Drumhunter’ sound even more gorgeous.

The Go Getters’ legendary lost World Record Holders album has been made available for free download.
The Chicago quartet’s ranks included an eager beaver 23-year-old Kanye West who was soon to leave his bandmates GLC, Timmy G and Arrowstar behind.
Cop an earful at [link]fakeshoredrive.com/2010/07/go-getters-world-record-holders-full-album.html[/link]

Sheryl Crow has made her The Live Room Sessions available as a name your price download. Seeing as all proceeds are going to St. Jude’s Research Hospital, we reckon it’s got to be at least a fiver.
We have to say it’s great to hear her in such stripped-down country ‘n’ roots mode.
The bundle also includes her studio-based ‘Easy’ single.
Grab a copy from [link]noisetrade.com/sherylcrow/the-live-room-sessions-easy-single[/link]

Free Music Friday is delighted to meet Mother Falcon, a 17-member chamber rock collective who make a very joyous and very downloadable for free noise.

If you weren’t among the lucky 600 or so who were there, you can grab the whole of A Guy Called Gerald’s recent Boiler Room set for gratis.

We are loving ‘Eliza’, the first taster from Anna Calvi’s One Breath album, which drops in early October and is by all accounts a stunner.
The follow up to her self-titled 2011 debut, it was recorded in France’s Black Box Studio – Ann Scott, Jape, David Kitt, Gemma Hayes and The Frames are all previous clients – and chronicles her recent battle with depression.

Macaulay Culkin’s younger brother Rory stars in the new promo for Spiritualized’s ‘I Am What I Am’ single. It’s fair to say that the AG Rojas-directed clip isn’t a barrel of laughs, with the last 30 seconds a real shocker. The tune itself is immense!

The Strypes’ rock ‘n’ roll credentials have been further boosted by their soundtracking of the new Harley Davidson Project Rushmore ad.
The Cavan lads’ cover of the Fab Four’s ‘Come Together’ accompanies the unveiling of eight new bikes, which incorporate some seriously hi-tech gizmos in their design.

Free Music Friday is having an instant and pretty torrid love affair with Portland indie pop duo Dresses who’ve just signed to the same US label as Flogging Molly and Gogol Bordello, Side One Dummy.

Colm Ó Cíosóig has put together a two-hour mix of tunes to celebrate My Bloody Valentine’s first San Francisco gig since in 2008. Along with MBV’s own ‘If I Am’, there are choice cuts in there from Wooden Shjips, Beach House, Broadcast, Linda Martell, Beachwood Sparks, Porter Wagoner, Girls, Kate Bush, some bunch of snotty young hopefuls called The Beatles and Tame Impala who appear to be big Ó Cíosóig faves at the moment.

Not au fait with the boogie wave craze sweeping the American dance nation? You will be after checking out this collaborative effort between Falcon Punch and Black Amex.

Staying in the States and Audrey Napoleon – apparently it is her real name – gifts us a Live @ Camp Bisco mixtape, which includes Chocolate Puma’s wondrous ‘Just One More Time Baby’.

Dead Can Dance tour completed, Lisa Gerrard treats fans to four free tracks from her The Black Opal, The Silver Tree and Departum solo albums.

M.I.A. is previewing another new track from her Matangi album, which is due here on November 1. Eagle-eared listeners will recognise the ‘Unbreak My Mixtape’ samples as Blur’s ‘Tender’, Karen Dalton’s ‘I Love You More’, Carly Simon’s ‘Why?’

And that, dear friends, is where we must leave you for another week. As ever, comments and tunes are welcome @stuartclark66