Free Music Friday

"Free Music Friday on a Thursday? What manner of sorcery is this?" we hear you ask. Well, with a busy weekend of religious contemplation ahead – and nary a drop of the Devil's Buttermilk passing your lips tomorrow – we thought you might need your download, stream, and video fix early this week.
Kicking us off in style is the session Sylvan Esso treated American National Public Radio to t'other day. Experimental electronic pop of the most glorious kind, it's the perfect curtain-raiser for the North Carolina duo's June 9 visit to Whelan's, Dublin.

Sadly, Team Hot Press doesn't have the spondoolicks to travel over to Louisville, Kentucky for July 17-18's tasty Forecastle Festival, but thanks to Noise Trade we can bag ourselves tunes from 16 of the acts performing there. Highlights include the offerings from Empires, Tweedy, Twin Peaks, JEFF The Brotherhood, Mariachi El Bronx, White Reaper and Portugal. The Man. 

Also new and recommended from the NT stable is the three-track introduction to Lindsey Luff, a Brooklynite who might help Civil Wars fans overcome their withdrawal symptoms and The Damnwells, another bunch of New Yorkers who sound like The Replacements one moment and Wilco the next.

The Nightingales give The Troggs'  'I Can Only Give You Everything' a good post-punk kicking under the auspices of their Covers Club.
Accompanied by stand-up Ted Chippington, you can catch them in Voodoo, Belfast (May 28) and Fibber Magee's, Dublin (29) where they'll be celebrating the memory of Mr. James Peel.

Ruling YouTube is this ace ESPN interview with Action Bronson whose new Mr. Wonderful album lives up to its billing... and then some! There is is a suggestion - erroneous of course - that psychoactive substances were employed in its making.

The first trailer has been released for Amy, the documentary account of Ms. Winehouse's career from the makers of Senna. Archive footage, much of it  from private sources and previously unseen, is self-narrated by Amy drawing on press and radio interviews from various points in her career. It adds up to a moving and intimate portrait of a talent that we got to enjoy far too briefly. The film hits big screens here in July.

More quality eye candy is supplied this week by the vid for Sia's 'Big Girls Cry', which stars Maddie Ziegler as the 12-year-old Ms. Furler.

Stealing the video honours this week, though, is Azealia Banks with the fantastical promo for 'Ice Princess'. Makes you wonder how massive Ms. B would be now if she hadn't attempted to commit career hara-kari a few years ago with all those ill-advised tweets.

It's "welcome back old pal!" to Perry Blake, the Sligo troubadour who's somewhat parked his solo career for the past eight years. His new 'Fool' single came out, appropriately enough, on April 1 and can be listened to for free before parting with your €1.29.

Also to mark April Fool's Day – and the impending release of the latter's Darling Arithmetic album – David O'Doherty has asked Conor J. O'Brien some seriously hard questions, among them: "Villagers is your band. Did you ever get mixed up with the Village People, do you have any anecdotes? Did you ever have to dress up like one of them?"  
With DO'D coming over all Lester Bangs like that, it's time fellow music journalists for us to up our game!

To the streams now and Balthazar, The Miseries, Ryley Walker, Rats On Rafts, Jesse Malin, Houndstooth, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Flako, Andy Gabbard, William Elliott Whitmore, Awolnation, Turboweekend and SKIP&DIE lead the [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/albums.html[/link] charge; hotfoot it then to [link]www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] for Toro Y Moi, The Mountain Goats, Say Lou Lou, Waxahatchee, Jesse Baylin and Drenge; [link]albumstreams.com[/link] points you in the direction of Rebecca Clements, Doldrums, Aidan Baker, American Wrestlers, Lee Harvey Osmond, Lord Huron, Gabi, Tei Shi and Jagaara, but only if you and your device are in the right place; [link]www.theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams[/link] adds the surprisingly upbeat new Ron Sexsmith offering to the mix, and [link]www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] is adamant you cop an earful of Los Angeles ambient whizz Shlomo.
Superstar DJ Erick Morillo is giving away his dextrous two-hour Radio 1 Essential Mix, which should take care of the tunes when you're having your next party. 

And that's where we down tools and head for the Easter hills. Whatever you're doing, and with whom, have a blast and keep those links coming to @stuartclark66