Team Free Music Friday are happy boys and girls as we prepare to move with military-like precision down to Stradbally where three days of Electric Picnic fun and, indeed, frolics awaits.
To get you in the festival mood, we've a Laois-ed up selection of downloads, streams, vids and trailers, which kicks off with the Miley Cyrus album that magicked up on Monday at [link]mileycyrus.com/andherdeadpetz[/link]
While the quality control varies wildly, the best bits have us doffing our headphones in admiration.
Slayer are giving away their new single, 'Cast The First Stone', which as you'd expect rocks like a very mean mother. It's taken from Repentless, their eleventh studio album which drops on September 11 and is quality from start ('Delusions Of Saviour') to finish ('Pride In Prejudice').

Slayer are part of a series of Adult Swim exclusives that also includes Shabazz Palaces, Danny Brown & Clams Casino, Peaches & Nick Zimmer, Swervedriver and Owen Pallett.




American NPR spoils us again with download acoustic sets from Mitski, a firebrand Brooklynite who does Hendrix-esque things with her guitar and Eskimeaux, another New Yorker who peddles a folkier but just as affecting brand of angst-pop.


NPR also leads this week's streaming charge with the latest from blues sensation Shemekia Copeland; our old pal Ben Folds who's come up with two classically-inclined albums; Petite Noir who seamlessly blends the sounds of Congo, Cape Town and Camden and mahogany voiced  tenor Jonas Kaufmann.




It used to be Her Maj that our old pal John Lydon eviscerated lyrically, now it’s errant plumbers - check out ‘Double Trouble’ – which lesser folk would use as an excuse to crack cheap ‘Never Mind The Ballcocks’ gags. Whatever the focus of his considerable ire, the new PiL album, What The World Needs Now, is an absolute firecracker and streaming now for your listening (dis) pleasure. Along with the rant ‘n’ roll, there are some sublime pop moments like the chorus from ‘Betty Page’.

Our Dutch 3Voor friends are also letting you cop a pre-release earful of Wasted On The Dream, the latest from Jeff The Brotherhood who are far less successful on this side of the Atlantic than they should be. Hopefully this’ll change because we’re dying to catch them live.

Not content with conquering the world with Alabama Shakes, Brittany Howard has recruited assorted Fly Golden Eagle and Clear Plastic Masks personnel to record a new record under the fabulous alias of Thunderbitch. It’s a gloriously stripped down rock ‘n’ blues affair, which you can check out at [link]thundabetch.com/listen[/link] 
Glen Hansard has recorded this gorgeous acoustic session version of 'Winning Streak', one of the standouts from his Didn't He Ramble album, which drops on September 18. You'll find Olaf Tyaransen's in-depth review and a rather fetching illustration of Glen in our new issue.

Free Music Friday is delighted to make the acquaintance of Modern Baseball, a jingly jangly Philadelphian combo who are gifting us 'Revenge Of The Nameless Ranger'.

Avicii has unveiled twin videos for his double A-side single, the Coldplay-esque 'For A Better Day', and funky as fuck 'Pure Grinding'.
They're hard hitting affairs too, with the former telling the tale of two trafficking victims and the latter including graphic depictions of an armed robbery. The 'For A Better Day' cast includes a cigar-smoking Krister Henriksson, AKA Kurt Wallander.


Matt Berninger's other band - they're too good to be a mere side-project! - EL VY treat us to another taster from their Return To The Moon album, which is due through 4AD on October 30. Redolent of Beck's 'Loser', it has us even more psyched for those pre-Christmas Whelan's and Vicar St. shows of theirs.

We're beyond thrilled that Bob and Pete from the Boomtown Rats are dropping in to the Hot Press Chatroom @ Electric Picnic on Sunday night. Their ETA is 7pm; we suggest you take up position nice and early! They were in splendid form recently when they stormed Sweden's Nöjesfabriken festival.


Doing the Chatroom business on Friday are Ride who've also been in rare old festival form of late.

The Stradbally-bound Conor J. O'Brien has premiered this stunning computer generated video for 'Hot Scary Summer'. Villagers grace the Electric Picnic stage at 7.15pm on Sunday with photos and a review to be found afterwards on hotpress.com

Also heading to Laois for what will be his eighth Electric Picnic - is this a record? - is RSAG who's hosting the Salty Dog Stage on Sunday morning from 2am-4am. Joining him will be bassist John Colbert, Whipping Boy singer Fearghal McKee who's been collaborating with him recently on new material and the percussive Torann, which means there'll be a total of seven drummers on stage! Busy chap that he is, Mr. Hickey is also performing earlier with Fearghal at 9pm on Saturday in the Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow area. If you've not seen him do his frenetic live thing before here's a taster.

And that's your Free Music Friday lot for another week. We'll be open for Hot Press @ Electric Picnic Chatroom business at 3pm today, so come and say "hi" and see us publicly interrogating Ollie Cole, Andrew Stanley, Booka Brass Band, Gangs, Ride and HamsandwicH. In the meantime, keep those links coming to @stuartclark66