- Music
- 01 Feb 17
We're also hitting you up with some And So I Watch You From Afar, Gallant & Microchip Terror
It might be one scary motherfucker of a world out there, but rest assured there will always be love and light in Free Music Friday's heart. So pop a cork, forget your woes and wallow in another luxuriant collection of downloads, streams, trailers and vids.
Easing the Trumpian blues somewhat this week is Live In Philadelphia, a four-track name your price offering from Lisa Hannigan. In addition to concert takes on ‘Anna Horish’, ‘Snow’ and ‘Prayer For The Dying’, those who’ve yet to do so can also sample the delights of At Swim standout, ‘Undertow’. The last on the list has also spawned an awesome video - enjoy!
The New Tune of the Week Award goes to Father John Misty who comes over all Jim Croce - ask your grandparents! - on 'Ballad Of The Dying Man'. The ironically titled parent album, Pure Comedy, follows on April 7.
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Ryan Adams had 'Karma Police' on his mind t'other day when he popped into BBC Radio 2, so treated Dermot O'Leary Show listeners to a gorgeous cover of said Radiohead classic.
"When I hear his voice, I just lose it," says Elton John of UK R'n'B hotshot Gallant and, well, we're 100% in agreement. Joining him for his super-funky NPR session was Chance The Rapper's mate Saba. Incidentally, there are fears that The Donald will pull NRP's federal funding because they're not subscribing to his alternative fact agenda. Thankfully, the station has other sources of funding, but even so... what a see you next Thursday!
Also dropping by the NPR office this week for a Tiny Desk Concert was D.R.A.M., the hippy hop star who stormed the US Billboard Hot 100 recently with ‘Broccoli’.
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TG4's An Klondike gets the stunning score it deserves courtesy of award-winning Dublin composer Steve Lynch. Try and then buy for a measly €7.
It's been a while, but Fionn Regan is back with a new tune, 'The Meetings Of The Waters', and an accompanying video featuring a very familiar face.
Free Music Friday was saddened this week by the death of John Wetton, the King Crimson prog rocker who went on to conquer Planet MTV with AOR supergroup Asia.
Kieran Quinn, a silver-tongued devil if ever there was one, makes us chuckle with his new ditty, ‘A Sporting Life’, which eulogises everyone from Christy O’Connor and Keano to Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Sonia O’Sullivan.
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Future Island treat us to ‘Ran’, the first taster from their The Far Field album, which follows on April 7 and will be getting a live airing during the summer in Iveagh Gardens.
Also introducing us to their new record, Pollinator, are Blondie who got Nile Rodgers to play some extremely funky guitar on ‘Fun’.
All of which is the perfect excuse to rewind to 1980 when Debbie and the chaps were topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with the wonderful ‘Atomic’.
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And So I Watch You From Afar, Redneck Manifesto, Adebisi Shank and Enemies are among the Irish acts past and present featuring on the maths rock compilation assembled by brilliantly named online magazine, Fecking Bahamas.
Joshua Burnside makes a noise the likes of which has rarely come out of Belfast before. 'Tunnels Pt. 2' is taken from May's Quiet March album, which includes a guest appearance by Hozier cellist Alana Henderson.
Lovers of cool feedback-laden guitar rock will be all sorts of excited by big-haired Nashville dude, Ron Gallo.
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It’s a Free Music Friday “howaya!” to Microchip Terror, a Singaporean outfit who make a wicked horror movie-inspired electro noise. You’ll have to leave the lights on afterwards.
Required viewing this week is Pressing Matters In Jamaica, a mini-doc about reggae’s ‘70s heyday, which makes you want to jump on the first flight to Kingston. It’s the work of the Vinyl Factory who also have some other amazing things to show you…
It’s thusly with a dubwise spring in its step that Free Music Friday takes its leave of you for another week. Keep them links coming to @stuartclark66 and don’t let the alt-right bastards grind you down!