On hearing Hey Ice Machine’s album lead-off track 'I’ve Been Told,' you might peg the band as a new Nashville darling produced, say, by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. But the boys are a long way from Nashville.
We're happy to offer up something completely different today. Storming out of New York like a tornado that's sucked up all manner of sharp and rusty objects, Pirates may well be the only band in a genre of their own invention: fully improvisational hardcore. Established as the side project of several established players, the band brings formidable musicianship to an experiment in sound. It approximates traditional hardcore, with all its quirks, but it's completely spontaneous. None of the members have any idea where they're going, and that goes for the lyrics, too.
The Last Royals are the latest Brooklyn electronic duo we've featured in our free MP3 downloads, but unlike some groups that seem to use the format to explore the more esoteric potentialities of their medium, this group offers pure pop goodness. That said, there is a duality at the core of the band -- a fascination with juxtaposing sour and sweet. Their name is such a pairing -- evidencing a fascination with royalty and the pathos that comes at the end of the line.
Midnight Magic are a nine-piece juggernaut from New York City that count among their ranks former members of LCD Soundsystem. They make what we might call interstellar soul music -- a sound they describe as a blend of funk, soul and electro-tinged disco. Today, we get a free download of 'Diamonds,' from their forthcoming full-length debut, 'Walking The Midnight Streets,' due out Nov. 13.
Silent Drape Runners are a Brooklyn electronic duo consisting of Russ Marshalek and Sophie Weiner. While I'd affectionately classify them as "art-house electronica," their entire project is so steeped in the work of David Lynch that they refer to themselves as "Lynchian Pop." Needless to say, it's an oblique take on what you might normally think of as pop, and today, we're proud to offer -- and premiere -- their new single 'Ten Se' for free download.
Little Bombs are a truly American rock duo born in the Midwest and raised on the East Coast. As he croons over rocksteady backbeats provided by drummer extraordinaire Derek Johnson, Kieren Smith balances ever so carefully between countrified Americana and the classic-rock stylings of Ryan Adams and the Boss. The two came together as their careers in prominent Minneapolis pop-rock groups came to an end. In a very natural progression, they traded in their kitschy power-pop past for a matured, creative future that would make Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers proud. Today we bring you 'Back Home,' the opening track from their self-titled, self-released album.
Amateur Blonde is the brainchild of New York singer-songwriter Ryan O'Toole. Fleshed out by a wide cast of players, including O'Toole's brother Matthew, the self-titled debut is awash in a diverse spectrum on instrumentation and sophisticated arrangements. Today, we get as a free download the pensive piano-driven track 'Waiting Place.'
Contrary to what you might think, The Cast of Cheers are not from Boston. They're from Ireland -- which, for Bostonians, basically means they're from the real thing. Their music is also the real thing -- the band has been storming the U.K. music world with their first singles. The quartet recorded its first album, 'Chariot,' by itself in 3 days, subsequently putting it up on BandCamp for free, where it received over 150,000 downloads and netted them a nomination at the U.K.'s Choice Music Awards.
Stealing Sheep hail from Merseyside, U.K., home to the La's and Ladytron. The band's PR suggests there's something in the water in that makes Merseyside music sound particularly enchanted. If it's true, Stealing Sheep are definitely drinking from the source. Following the EP 'Noah & the Paper Moon,' the British trio unveiled their full-length debut, 'Into the Diamond Sun.' Today we get a free download of an official Baardsen remix of their single 'Genevieve.'
Goodtime Boys toe the line between the metal-tinged melodic Midwest hardcore that was so prevalent a few years ago -- i.e. Misery Signals, Crossbearer, Amora Savant -- and the East Coast's postured and dissonant groups like Remembering Never, with just a touch of dissonance and minor chords for flavor. If that weren't reason enough for the U.K. quintet to call this sound their own, vocalist Alexander Pennie's subtle European accent pierces through his desperate cries just enough to remind you exactly who's screaming in your ear.
