Free Music Friday

When not out exposing ourselves to the rays and explaining to members of An Garda Siochana that, "Sorry, we didn't know you weren't allowed to nude sunbathe on the Liffey boardwalk", Free Music Friday has put together another week's worth of downloads, streams and vids, which manage to be both incandescently hot and glacially cool at the same time.
The Republican Party and Fox News - well, they're the same thing really - might be gnashing their teeth, but Kacey Musgraves and her band are absolutely thrilled that gay marriage is now legal throughout the States. Dropping by American NPR last week, they celebrated with this cracking version of 'Follow Your Arrow'.
"Now that it's all legal, I don't have anything to sing about," she joked beforehand. "But here we go anyway."
She's also debuted the video for 'Biscuits', the lead single from her new Pageant Material album, which she treated us to a sneak preview of last year when she played the Dublin Academy.


While that's not downloadable yet, your iTunes can avail itself of new music from jazz-loving Brooklyn rapper Oddisee and And The Kids, a Massachusetts trio who engage in some spectacular vocal gymnastics.


As you'll have seen elsewhere on hotpress.com, Glen Hansard has a new album, Didn't He Ramble, in the can and awaiting September 18 release. To whet your appetite here's the trailer and pugilistic video for the lead single.


We're loving this sexy little divil of a video from Biff N' Wigz, an electropop act who are very possibly the raciest thing to ever come out of Ballycastle, County Antrim. Rocking a serious gimp mask, the Artists Also Known As Carl Quinn and Charlie Gibson release 'Curious' through iTunes today.

Carlow electronica wunderkind Auxiliary Phoenix has paid remix tribute to Yes plank-spanker Chris Squire who passed away earlier this week. He was 67 and had been suffering from a rare form of leukemia. Describing Squire, who was also part of the XYZ supergroup, as "one of the best rock bassists in the world", he says: "I got into prog rock largely from searching through records, and Yes are some of the best things I've ever found. Yes have greatly influenced my view on music and inspired me in many ways, and Chris had always played one of the leading roles in the band."

To the streams now and [link]apps.npr.org/best-songs-2015-so-far[/link] has a nifty cassette player-style widget primed with 200 of the best tunes the year has provided up till now.
[link]3voor12.vpro.nl/albums.html[/link] has newbies from Daniel Norgren, Refused, Le Le and Chagall while Joy Williams and Neil Young await at http://www.theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams
Having been sin-binned these past few weeks on account of their insensitive coverage of the Berkeley tragedy, we're allowing [link]www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] back in to the fold with this gorgeous album from Sea Of Bees, a Californian songstress who also answers to the name of Ann Baenziger and makes a big Cat Power-esque noise.
Having spent time in the same studio together since 1997, the original members of Veruca Salt treat us to the wonderful Ghost Notes.
Free Music Friday is also delighted to make the acquaintance of Athens, Georgia's Anderson East who's under the impression that he's a classic black '60s soul man - and sounds like one too!
A holy triumvirate is completed by Stacy Barthe, purveyor of the very finest jazz-inflected R&B. Maybe it's because her documentary's out today, but we can't help thinking of Amy Winehouse whilst listening to the Brooklynites BEcoming album.



The pick of this week's Noise Trade bunch is a Dine Alone Records sampler featuring a tune apiece from the likes of Miami Horror, Yukon Blonde, k-os and Fine Points. Born out of a Toronto bedroom, their quality control is impressive.
If you like your Americana twangy and downbeat, the full-length offering from Nashville's Jake Vroon will undoubtedly float your boat. Again, it's free but you're welcome to tip.


The Vincent(s) have come up with a pearler of a new single, 'Opium Den Song', which even better they want you to have for free. It'd be damn rude not to...
We're also very much looking forward to their Sunday night appearance at Indiependence, which is getting damn close now...

Not only is the sun splitting the proverbial rocks in Dublin, but Prince has gone and debuted a sumptuous new tune, 'Hardrocklover', on his SoundCloud. He's still the funky business!

He didn't get to play in Killarney last weekend - boo! - but Father John Misty has provided us with this cracking garden shed cover of Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs'.

Here are two of the eye-catching trailers for Daft Punk Unchained, which premiered last week in France and gets a worldwide release later in the summer. There are lots of [link]www.canalplus.fr/c-infos-documentaires/pid8177-c-daft-punk-unchained.html[/link] stills of the celebrity fans who contributed to the film as well.

Fans who turned up to see Brian Wilson at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey got considerably more than they'd bargained for when a local resident by the name of Mr. B. Springsteen joined the Beach Boy-in-chief for rousing versions of'Barbara Ann' and 'Surfin' USA'. 

The band who made an even bigger drip out of John Preston, Chumbawamba, are looking for £40,000 to tell their remarkable anarcho-pop story in I Get Knocked Down.

And that's where we reluctantly down the Free Music Friday tools and, as the Spanish say, vamos a la playa. Have a fab weekend yourselves and keep those links coming to @stuartclark66