Sick of your iTunes playlist but short on cash? How about another compilation of great listens that are totally free?
That’s the proper ‘no hidden fees/strings attached’ kind of free by the way. You’re welcome.
Sure, you might be thinking ‘who needs free when I’ve got Spotify!?’ Well, we’re not gonna claim to give you 20 million songs for nothing – but we can offer you some great aural delights and hidden gems beyond the confines of your typical music streaming service, without having to do any of the leg-(mouse?)work yourselves.
Don’t fret either, he following six picks are all legal, we’re not interested in sending you off to some dodgy page. Plus, if you’ve got a few digital dollars spare, definitely chuck a few towards some of the Bandcamp releases below – but otherwise: six ace records for zip. Well, 13 if you include our last column. Enjoy.
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Death Grips – Niggas On The Moon
The noisy alternative hip-hop outfit have made a habit of dropping their albums online for free without warning ever since the NO LOVE DEEP WEB fiasco with Sony, so the ‘surprise’ element of their follow-up LP, Government Plates, was diminished somewhat. But their latest effort, Niggas On The Moon, had its own shock value.
Announced as the first instalment of a double album entitled The Powers That B, Death Grips’ newest arty assault has the distinction of featuring Björk on all eight tracks – albeit almost unrecognisable with the Icelandic heiress’ vocals heavily chopped and sampled throughout. (Don’t worry, she’s “thrilled to be their ‘found object‘!”)
The result is another series of poisonous sonic stabs , unstable experimentalism, and MC Ride’s frenetic lyrical spits – all shot through with an aggressive punk ferocity.
Of course, the real bombshell arrived shortly afterwards, when a scrawled note on a napkin announced the death of the band – sorry, the “conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision. above and beyond a ‘band’.” (Al Newstead)
[Download here]
Little Hurricane – Stay Classy
How should any self-respecting dirty blues duo warm up for a new release? Grind through some classy cover songs, of course. That’s precisely what Little Hurricane’s Anthony “Tone” Catalano and Celeste “CC” Spina did while recording the full-length follow-up to 2011 debut Homewrecker, releasing Stay Classy – a homespun collection of tributes – for free last year via Bandcamp ahead of this year’s sophomore album, Gold Fever.
The thrifty 10 track collection demonstrates that the pair are a dab hand at giving any kind of tune a White Stripes-shaped makeover, and not just numbers that have a bluesy bent to begin with.
While their hollering renditions of Bill Withers and Bruce Springsteen are a natural fit for their gritty, no-frills approach, more due credit should be given to how Little Hurricane transform further flung and fuller-sounding songs.
Case in point: the roaring take on Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’, and our favourite, cranking the dirt and heartache on Elbow’s stomping ‘Grounds For Divorce’. And a standing ovation should be honoured to the creeping, gritty re-imagining Aerosmith’s soporific power ballad, ‘Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’. (AN)
[Download here]
Jonathan Boulet – UNRELEASED
Wondering how Sydney’s multi-instrument wünderkind made the transition from the symphonic, textural indie of 2012 album We Keep The Beat… to the snarky, brutal garage riffage of 2014‘s GUBBA? Well, you could try looking for some answers in Boulet’s UNRELEASED series.
Released with zero fanfare in February via Bandcamp, there’s actually three ‘Name Your Price’ releases on offer: Part 1: Instrumentals, Part 2: Songs With Voice, and Part 3: Music For A Thing – each pretty much doing exactly what they say on the tin.
It feels a bit like an exercise in working through the sketchbook of a musically curious wiz – and that’s pretty much because it is; Boulet likely clearing out the ol’ data archives before unleashing the heaving, bull-charging GUBBA upon the world. But there’s enough interesting bits and pieces in these outtakes to make the trawl worthwhile. We’d recommend starting with the 13 faux-Japanese titled tracks of Music For A Thing. (AN)
[Download here]
Black Vanilla – BLACK ON BLACK ON BLACK
After first claiming that Black Vanilla was a ‘live only’ project, the Sydney three-piece decided to drop a nine track mixtape in late 2013. Comprised of Marcus Whale (Collarbones/ Scissor Lock), Lavurn Lee (aka Guerre) and Jared Beeler (aka Marseilles) Black Vanilla have been working hard to make 90s pop cool again.
A little experimental, a little boy band, and a lot of house, BLACK ON BLACK ON BLACK is the aural equivalent of being jammed in a sweaty club a 4am, tired but wired and not yet ready to pack it all in for the night.
The attention demanding intro track ‘Black Vanilla Theme’ genuinely sounds like it’s been taken straight from the DJ decks of a mid-80s New York voguing championship. This paired against slow jams, like the neo-soul hit ‘Call Your Husband’, make for an eclectic collection of tracks you should definitely download for your next house party. You can also catch the trio as intended – live – at this year’s OutsideIn festival. (Lucy Dayman)
[Download here]
Various Artists – Adult Swim Singles 2013
The folks at Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim must have an amazing rolodex judging by the hip artists they annually lure to contribute to their Singles program. Just look at the celebrated artists that took part in last year’s 15-track collection – Run The Jewels, Autre Ne Veut, Dan Deacon, Lightning Bolt, Miguel.
They aren’t just providing leftovers either, in most cases, they’re bringing their A-game on material of a grade you won’t hear anywhere. ‘Jizz jazz’ pioneer Mac DeMarco’s ‘Youngblood’ is a typically goofy tribute to an old hockey movie starring Patrcik Swayze; Flying Lotus’ rapping alter-ego Captain Murphy gathers Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat, and Viktor Vaughn on the one batty track; Friendzone offer a thrilling slice of queer-hop with cross-dressing poet Mykki Blanco – there’s too many bonkers delights to mention.
Hit the ‘download’ link below for a .zip of the whole set, and keep your cursor even busier with the current Adult Swim Singles 2014 series – offering even more music goodies for gratis, from the likes of Giorgio Moroder, Speedy Ortiz and stoner rock royalty, Sleep. Bless you, Cartoon Network. (AN)
[Download here]
RaRa – Pink And Teal
If you ever wanted more proof that local hip-hop and electronic artists are killing it at the moment, you need not go any further than Melbourne based-progressive four-piece RaRa’s latest effort.
Clocking in at 35 minutes Pink And Teal is more a mini-LP than an EP, which sees the guys discover a more refined and unique sound than their previous releases. While the collective’s POST HOMO mixtape (also available for a ‘pay what you want’ fee on their Bandcamp page) was a lot more straight up hip-hop focused, Pink And Teal leans towards the more electronic/experimental category.
The production credits are just one of the reasons Pink And Teal is worthy of your download data. From the sophisticated class of S I L E N T J A Y’s production on the title track, to the shamelessly hooky and addictive bass hits from duo friendships on ‘Green Beat’ and the ’90s referencing sound so carefully crafted by Martkin King (of Oscar + Martin/Harpoons fame), the EP’s tracklist reads like a who’s who of Australia’s most active and genre defying electronic talents. What makes Pink And Teal so special is that the whole effort has been created by a community rather than a single act. (LD)[Download here]
