It's still 48 hours away, but Free Music Friday is already in a state of high anxiety over Ireland v. England. Being of the 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' persuasion, we're going to go home, pull the curtains and either celebrate/lick our wounds in private. 
With that and Everton's trip to North London the sporting distractions are considerable, but we've still managed to assemble a collection of downloads, streams and vids that will knock yer' rugby and football socks off.
As SXSW 2015 hurtles inexorably towards us, New West and Normaltown Records  have put together a sampler of the acts they have going to Austin, Texas. These include Steve Earle & The Dukes, Nikki Lane, Giant Sand, Robert Ellis and John's daughter Lilly Hiatt who steals the honours with twangtastic alt. country tune 'Far Away'.

Even more unbridled in their generosity are Philadelphia sludge and metal specialists Relapse Records who celebrate their 25th birthday with a gargantuan 184-track name your price retrospective. With Mastodon, Death, Dying Fetus, Nile, Obituary and The Dillinger Escape Plan among their roster, it's quite the treasure trove.
 
The birthday treats don't end there with cult faves They Might Be Giants giving away a live version of their Flood album in acknowledgement of their 25th. 

One of our favourite musical mavens, Zola Jesus, puts goosepimples on our goose pimples with her trombone-assisted NPR set which is available for free download.

Also available this week from the Noise Trade stable is a cracking four-tracker  from New Orleans purveyor of souped up Billie Holiday tunes, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Los Angeles' Avid Dancer who has the supreme good taste to cover both Magnetic Fields and Tear For Fears on his Grizzly Bear-esque An Introduction EP.


To the streams now and Of Montreal, Tom Brosseau, Tuxedo, Andrew Combs, Moon Duo and blasts from the shoegaze past, Swervedriver, preview their latest at http://www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen; http://3voor12.vpro.nl/albums.html has Chadwick Stokes, As Elephants Are and Torche among its star turns; depending on the usual geophysical niceties http://albumstreams.com can sort you out with Noel Gallagher, Young Buffalo, Warpaint, Jeff Rosenstock, Ghostpoet, Helsinki, Makeshift Shelters, Calexico, Iamsu!, Ruby The Hatchet, Gang Of Four, Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, Cloud Castle Lake, Bo Rocha, Honeyblood, Death Cab For Cutie, Sun Kill Moon and Nicholas Jaar; http://www.theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams weighs in with Vessels, Darren Hanlon and Dutch Uncles and over at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3& it's all about former Old Crow Medicine Show man Gill Landry.
SOAK has released a short film documenting her SK9 run round nine Irish and UK skateparks 
including Dublin's D10 hangout. It looks like an extremely good time was had by all!

Limerick's Fox Jaw have come up with a poignant vid for their 'Siren's Call' single, which is out here on May 13 and confirms their reputation for being top tunesmiths. No spoilers except to say that the ending is very moving and very topical.

The quality promos keep on coming with Hot Press Hot For 2015 picks Jet Setter unleashing the visual accompaniment to their 'Forget About It' single'. The Dublin outfit are allied to Any Other City, the label run by Villagers man James Byrne.


Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja and Thom Yorke have conjured up the soundtrack for Gold, an in-depth investigation of the tax avoidance industry in the UK.
“Now is the time to reveal the revolving doors between government and the City that has bred lies and corruption for so long, siphoning money through our tax havens for the global super rich, while now preaching that we the people must pay our taxes and suffer austerity," Yorke proffers. "Just who does our government work for?”
Also featuring Euan Dickinson and his Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood, you can check it out at [link]ukuncut.org.uk/tax-dodging-is-theft[/link]
Sadly, that's where Free Music Friday has to sling its hook and head for the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair - it's a dirty job etc.etc. - in the Convention Centre. Keep those links coming to @stuartclark66 and may the best side (as long as they're wearing white!) win on Sunday.