Free Music Friday
This week is all about the return of The Strokes, Frightened Rabbit's fourth, and celebrating the 18th birthday of one Joey Bada$$...
The Hot Press Newsdesk, 01 Feb 2013
The weekend coquettishly beckons and with it comes another bumper Free Music Friday full of quality tuneage.
This week’s most talked about freebie without any shadow of a doubt is ‘One Way Trigger’, the new tune unexpectedly dropped last weekend by The Strokes and which – to Free Music Friday’s ears – sounds very similar to A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’. Julian Casablancas’ falsetto is an, er, acquired taste but overall it’s an intriguing taster from their forthcoming Comedown Machine album.
Among Free Music Friday’s favourite things this week is the debut single from Irish alien pop duo Nanu Nanu, one of whom looks suspiciously like Laura Sheeran.
They’ve also made the stems available at www.dropbox.com/sh/fh3kacoenknzkm7/4QNLoYmcyZ for remix purposes and come up with a suitably glam ‘n’ glittery accompanying video.
On now to the rapidfire stream round; 3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html brings us new albums from The Revival Hour, Ducktails, Retribution Gospel Choir, Monophonics, Mmoss, The History Of Apple Pie and the Reason To Believe – The Songs Of Tim Hardin tribute album; try Destiny’s Child, Emmy Rossum, Blue Sky Riders, Charlie Winston, Jacob Jones, Jeffrey Osbourne and Swing Out before you buy at music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/1; music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/1 adds Tegan & Sara, Adam Green & Bikini, ON AN ON and Eric Burdon to the mix and www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen chips in with Jim James, Wayne Shorter, Richard Thompson, From Nowhere and new Domino signings Thao & The Get Down Stay Down whose We The Common album is a pearler.
Frightened Rabbit’s exceptional fourth album, Pedestrian Verse, is being streamed at www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2013/jan/28/frightened-rabbit-pedestrian-verse-stream; Welsh electro shoegazers Man Without Country gift us four downloads at www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2013/01/man_without_cou.html; and The Bronx get back to what they do best – kickin’ out the punk rock jams! – at www.craveonline.com/music/articles/204017-album-stream-the-bronx-bronx-iv where you can hear the fabulous Bronx IV.
Mark Hill who’s the Artful half of Artful Dodger is giving away a six-track mix EP, which sounds like the perfect soundtrack to a Saturday night house party.
Hot Press faves THEESatisfaction have come up with the fabulous THEESatisfaction Loves Erykah Badu, a seven-track mash-up tribute to the titular Texan object of their affections.
The mixtape-ry continues (rather unexpectedly) with Everybody On My Dick Like They Supposed To Be, a hip hop flight of fancy from Interpol man Paul Banks, which can be found at www.datpiff.com/Paul-Banks-Everybody-On-My-Dick-Like-They-Supposed-To-Be-mixtape.447213.html
Our weekly visit to www.xlr8r.com/mp3 yields download delights from The Phantom (no relation), Youandewan, Tourist, Coma, Bad Looks, Snasen, Gorgon City, Mister Lies, Somepling and Cassio Kohl.
Joey Bada$$ – soon to become an old man of 18 – channels Janet Jackson to help him diss Lil’ B who responds with a putdown of his own. Without wanting anyone to get shot (it does happen!) we rather enjoy these hip hop beefs for the quality tunes they yield.
Partial as we are to a spot of Caribou, we were all over this track from Pick A Piper whose ranks include their moonlighting drummer Brad Webber and bassist John Schmersal.
Belle & Sebastian’s Californian pal Matt Costa leads the Noise Trade charge this week with a career spanning seven-tracker which includes two newbies from his eponymous new album, which is out Stateside on February 12.
There are further Noise Trade offerings from the Eric Clapton-endorsed Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown who have a Black Keys/Kings Of Leon thing going on, and Elle Macho, a new wave-y Nashville outfit whose Import album sampler includes a cover of The Beat’s ‘Click Click’.
As usual, they’re all free but tips are v. much appreciated.
One of the first openly gay rappers, Cakes Da Killa, returns with the brilliant ‘MacArthur Park’-sampling The Eulogy album.
Another gay rapper worthy of your immediate attention is New York’s Le1f who peppers his Fly Zone set with rhymes like: “I am whatever you say I am/Stop worrying about how gay I am/Or how gay I’m not/Does my shit not knock? Are my people getting tipsy till they piss the pot?”
The Prodigy, Florence + The Machine, Marina & The Diamonds and Jack Sparrow are but four of the dancefloor monsters Zeds Dead manage to weave into this killer BBC download mix.
Our man Johnny Keegan personally vouches for Døden, a Norwegian producer who’s giving away 14 minutes of ambient loveliness.
Trumping him by three minutes is O.1, AKA Australia’s Bob Streckfuss whose The Dance Of The Mechanical Birds is a stunning piece of work.
Ace Kildare producer Mmoths is in the form of his life with ‘All These Things’, a haunting new tune that features the vocal talents of Detroit singer-songwriter Holly Miranda. Equal parts Bat For Lashes and The xx, it’s easily the boy Colleran most accessible work yet and might even find its way onto radio.
It follows on from his collaboration with LA newcomer Young & Sick on the deliciously dark ‘For Her’.
Our visual treats continue with the superb video for The Dirty Dubsters’ ‘Fire It Up’ single. The chaps want to legalise as on this occasion does Enda and a ganja-loving guard.
Galway’s Chris Haze demonstrates why he’s having lots of good things said about with this live acoustic performance of ‘Over And Over’.
And that, dear friends, is it for what has been a bursting at the seams Free Music Friday. Send all your comments and links to @stuartclark66
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