Michael Stipe, Cowboy Junkies, Lil' Kim & LCD Soundsystem star in Free Music Friday

With temperatures set to soar to a barmy 13 degrees this weekend, Free Music Friday has donned its garish Hawaiian shorts and is treating you to a sun-kissed collection of downloads, streams, vids and trailers. So slather on the Factor 50 and enjoy…

Our favourite FMF thing this week is Michael Stipe comprehensively nailing ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ on Jimmy Fallon. Memo to young people: No, it's not a Nirvana cover. He was drumming up trade for the [link]musicofdavidbowie.com[/link] tribute concert, which can be live streamed tonight in return for a charity donation. Which is our Friday sorted!

The evergreen Cowboy Junkies treat us to a career-spanning live album recorded during a 2014 visit to Solana Beach, CA’s Belly Up venue.

Also free – but you’re welcome to tip! – from the Noise Trade stable is a monster 40-track compilation of the singer-songwriter-y folk who’ve played Nashville’s legendary Cause A Scene night. Standouts include The Oh Hellos, Judah & The Lion, Young Brother, Johnny Stimpson and Kris Orlowski.

To the streams now and NPR wants you to feast on new R&B sensation Gallant, twangy Louisville alt. rockers Brass Bed and John Carpenter whose Lost Themes II collection is a spooky electronic delight.

It’s a Free Music Friday “howaya!” to Denim Snakes, a Welsh band who may or may not be including this nugget on the new album they're currently assembling.

Our old Limerick pals Protobaby have come up with a neat video to go with ‘Popstars’, their brooding new single, which is currently on ‘repeat’ in HP Central. It marks the return of former frontman Colm McGuinness and is lifted from their Cosmic Heart album, which drops on April Fool’s Day. No, really! Try and bag yourself one of the limited-edition blue vinyl copies of the LP, which includes a bonus cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’.

The quality Irish releases keep on coming with Jennifer Evans’ ‘Bakkos’ single dropping through Delphi on May 6. Co-produced by the Dubliner with Gavin Farrell and Marc Pell from Micachu & The Shapes, it’s “about the narrator passing an internal self-judgment on their own indulgence in a imaginary Bacchanalian court, gaining no comfort, perhaps as her own indulgence is an escape from pain.” Who said pop was vacuous?

Our hearts are a flutter thanks to ‘I’ll Be’, the first taster from Niamh Crowther’s eponymous EP, which is due on May 20. It was recorded in Dublin’s Westland Studio with former Blink man Dermot Lambert producing. You can also catch Ms. C live on April 15 with Picture This as part of the IMRO MusicTown showcase in Nando’s on South Andrew Street, D2.

Saint Sister have premiered the video for ?Blood Moon‘, one of the swooping, soaring songs from their Madrid EP.

North County Dublin trio Fangclub have just unleashed ‘Bullethead’, their first official single, which is a glorious 2min 3sec blast of guitar noise. “That’s the one we always finish our set with, and which destroys the place!” says proud parent Steven King. “It’s chaotic and a bit dark round the edges, which has something to do I think with me having an addictive personality.”
"Amphetamined, take no prisoners rock with pop hooks that Brian Wilson would be proud of,” is how Hot Press previously described Steven and his bandmates, and we’re sticking to it. Signed to Universal Music in Ireland, they’ll also be hitting the festival circuit hard.

We’ve a two-way tie between Lil Kim and the not a whole lot taller Royce 5’9 for Mixtape of the Week. Neither are for the easily offended or sexually unadventurous.

We’re also loving Alwasta, the summery seven-tracker from Sudanese-American rapper Oddisee.

Californian spitters YG and Nipsey Hussle join forces on the joyous ‘Fuck Donald Trump’, which samples the Republican frontrunner’s infamous Mexico speech and black students who were kicked out of one of his rallies in Georgia. “I like white folks, but I don’t like you/ All the niggas in the hood wanna fight you,” the duo proclaim over a bass-heavy beat. Later on, they issue a: “It wouldn't be the U.S.A. without Mexicans. And if it's time to team up, shit, let's begin” clarion call. Adding to the spirit of solidarity is the fact that Ty is a Blood and his partner in rhyme a Crip. Bravo, sirs!

Electric Picnic headliners LCD Soundsystem rose from the dead on Easter Sunday with a barnstorming gig in New York’s 1,500-capacity Webster Hall. It was a joyous, high octane occasion bookended by ‘Get Innocuous’ and ‘Daft Punk Is Playing In My House’ and ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ and ‘All My Friends’. Here’s some of the fan footage of the show, which has us seriously excited for Stradbally!

Brian Eno has shared the epic 21-minute title-track from his new album, The Ship, which will be with us on April 29. We try not to overuse the G-word, but he really is a genius.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/6idMgyYZJNqY3Ygr789I6X

Vegas EDM hotshots BRLY LGL have dropped the acid-y ‘Ghetto Establishment’.

Soul fans will adore this awesome KEXP Seattle radio session from Grace Love & The True Loves. Nothing else you hear this week will be as funky!

Blossoms make us love them even more with this fab cover of Abba’s ‘The Winner Takes It All’. Excuse us why we have a little cry…

And that is your Free Music Friday lot for another week. We’re planning on staying up late for that Bowie concert and then tomorrow indulging in an orgy of tomato planting because, hey, that’s how we roll! Keep those links coming to @stuartclark66 and have a good ‘un!