BetterPropaganda Downloads

You are correct if you think some of these songs have been linked on *sixeyes in the past. I just feel they deserve the attention of those who may have missed or ignored them.

All mp3s from the best online source for free + legal, cutting edge music... betterPropaganda.

doveman + honey
john vanderslice + trance manual
(if you like this track a high-res version is available on his homepage)
sufjan stevens + the man of metropolis steals our hearts
califone + wingbone
franklin delano + question
mike chappelear + pool of my tears
guided by voices + my kind of soldier

PELA: 'All In Time' EP

Red Hook, Brooklyn's Pela, share with label alumni, The National, that acclaimed bands understated musicianship. There is no flash here, no need to shield your eyes from the gaudy or garish. Thank God.

But that word, you know which one... the one above... 'understated'... that is not a bad word. I could have used the word subtle to convey the same thing. Or skillful, or discriminating... take your pick, it all comes down to the same thing, Pela. Found on innovative indie label, Brassland, Pela's most distinctive asset is lead vocalist Billy Swanson's voice -- a keening understated wail (there's that word again... understated... am I overstating it?)

If Coldplay's Chris Martin lived on the street for a year, smoked a pack a day, and didn't have a knack for spewing forth the pap that radio programmers salivate for -- he could sound and write like Billy Swanson. But now that Pela and Billy are here, that dream can die a happy death.


All In Time

The band's debut recording, the EP All In Time, is a rich primer for what this band will deliver when they give us a full length. Pela is an addiction, one which upon first listen you don't realize you need, and then one you are sure to realize you crave.

+ episodes (diphenhydramine)
*from the 5 track All In Time EP on Brassland

The Most Serene Republic

I've got to say I am not impressed by this cacophonous melange of fuzzed out voices and ragged beats by Milton, Ontario's The Most Serene Republic. Cross Ben Gibbard's pop sense with Broken Bocial Scene's, at times, overreaching intellectual-indie show-off showcases, with just a touch of Ugly Casanova's weird to cap things off.

But what do I expect from a recent signing to Arts & Crafts - Broken Social Scene's own label...

the most serene republic + content was always my favourite colour [mp3]
*from Underwater Cinematographer [arts & crafts]

The Dears: New MP3 + Tour Dates

Here is a new mp3 from The Dears latest release, No Cities Left, on spinART Records.

+ Who Are You, Defenders Of The Universe

TOUR DATES!

May 24th Los Angeles,CA El Rey Theatre (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
May 25th San Francisco,CA Great American Music Hall (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
May 26th Portland,OR Dante's (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
May 27th Seattle,WA Crocodile Cafe (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
May 28th Quincy,WA The Gorge (w/Joanna Newsome (Sasquatch Festival))
May 30th Salt Lake City,UT Urban Lounge (w/Marjorie Fair)
May 31st Denver,CO Climax Lounge (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 2nd Lawrence,KS Bottleneck (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 3rd Minneapolis,MN Ascot Room@The Quest (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 4th Chicago,IL Metro (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 5th Detroit,MI Magic Stick (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 6th Cleveland,OH Grog Shop (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 11th New York,NY Bowery Ballroom (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 12th Boston,MA Paradise (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 14th Philadelphia,PA North Star Bar (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 15th Baltimore,MD Fletcher's (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 16th Carrboro,NC Cat's Cradle (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 17th Nashville,TN Exit/In (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)
June 18th Atlanta,GA The Earl (w/Shout Out Louds/Marjorie Fair)

Holiday *Mix

maximilian heckler + help me
adam green + jessica
adam green + dance with me
pavement + spit on a stranger
pavement + here (peel session summer 1992)
richard davis + honest with you
ikara kolt + panic
men in fur + the deer song
gonzales + lovertits
peaches + diddle my skittle
the hellacopters + truckloads of nothin'
the black keys + thickfreakness
the constantines + the long distance four
clyde federal + model hot
el oso + tonights now tomorrow
.22 + tass
minus the bear + monkey!!! knife!!! fight!!!
the national + cold girl fever
the trouble with sweeney + the breakup

SWEET BILLY PILGRIM (new mp3!)

Yeah, this is a re-post, but for good reason. Sweet Billy Pilgrim will be releasing a full length album later this year and have got a new track (that won't appear on that new disc) available to download...

+ forget to breathe

...once again a fragile, beautiful piece of music from the boys.

*what follows is the original post from last February.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sweet Billy Pilgrim are adventurous and experimental on the 3 track single featuring 'Stars Spill Out of Cups', along with the main track are 'God In The Details' and 'Atlantis'. This music doesn't jump up and bite you; it doesn't pick you up and spin you around. It ekes and seeps it's way into your unsuspecting head -- like subliminal shock treatment or timed-release 'ecstasy' masquerading as a tranquilizer.



'Stars Spill Out Of Cups' offers percussive banjo and chiming bells ringing star-like under carefully intertwined layers of instrument. The second track, 'God in the Details', with it's Tom Waitsian dissonance eventually gives way to choral vocals by songs end. And final track 'Atlantis' shimmers and wavers like light reflected off gentle waves, somehow retaining a fragility amongst the warm sheets of synths, guitars, and background vocals.

This is sneaky music full of tried and true acoustics and unknown but welcome electronic burbles and flourishes. It just might contain your next favourite song -- and after you've bought it and listened to it for a week, that fave song will slowly and surely be whispering sweet (billy pilgrim) 'somethings' into your ear.

+ God in the Details
+ ain't no jesus in here
(buy it here)

from an earlier release...
+ experience

HEIKKI

Heikki's pure pop joy is no more evident than in their song, "Former Hero". A breezy three minutes and change that feels like the summer we are all waiting on.

Jari Haapalainen (guitars) and Maria Eriksson (vocals) are the Swedish pop pair, Heikki, a duo with an impressive pedigree. Maria is a member of Swedish pop superstars, The Concretes, while Jari is a member of acclaimed Swedish band, The Bear Quartet, but that's not all--Jari has a thriving career as a producer. Twiddling the knobs (I've always hated that phrase, but I've come across it so often it just popped out, so I'll just go with the flow) for acts like Ed Harcourt, Nicolai Dunger, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Kristofer åström & hidden truck, Laakso, Moneybrother, Stella Rocket, Honey is Cool, and of course, Maria's band, The Concretes. This would explain the great production that is evident even with this 128 kbps mp3... check out the accordion, giving this pop gem a barely there old-timey feel.

The duo have put out two full lengths since getting together in 1999.

+ former hero
+ i always knew

Heikki state some of their influences on their Swedish label site, Westside...

We are definitely influenced by all kinds of music, currently we're listening to:
Mary Gauthier, Barbro Hörberg, Mary J Blige, Bert Jansch, Dirty Three, Miles
Davis, Brian Eno, The Triffids, John and Beverly Martin, The Roches, Jim
O'Rourke, Kate Bush, Townes Van Zandt, Sandy Denny and hundreds more...

Westside (Swe)
Magic Marker Records (US)

*Heikki can be downloaded at emusic.com

TANGIERS

I love Tangiers song, "I Don't Love You". From the opening sixties go go beat to the journeyman lead vocal - the way he almost hits the high part during the first chorus, his voice sometimes almost coming undone during the quieter bits. It was the first single off of Toronto's Tangiers second CD - Never Bring You Pleasure, which came out last June. With two new band members, Jon McCann (ex-Guided By Voices) on drums and the return of Tangiers vet, keyboardist Shelton Deverell, their sound has shifted from New York garage to a bit more poppy.

Another great track off of Tangiers sophomore effort is "Ro Ro Roland". With a staccato martial beat and reedy garage organ kicking it off -- it quickly opens up into a driving chug.

This is a sadly overlooked Canadian band that deserves a listen...

+ ro ro roland
*courtesy insound.com
sonic unyon records

PAGE FRANCE

Page France make wistful indie-pop with a penchant for image-rich lyrics. Singer/songwriter, Michael Nau (above right), has a distinct talent for slow and soft melodic music, much of it utilizing the not-used-enough accordion. If you like the now major label band, Death Cab for Cutie, you may find something you like in Page France's music.

The band will soon release their second album, I believe, following 2004's, Come, I'm A Lion!, on Fall Records. Making their homebase in Cumberland, Maryland, the band is a sort of revolving cast of musicians which includes: Michael S Nau, Clinton Jones, Whitney McGraw, Bryan Martin, Matthew Smith, and David Tracy.

+ spine
+ air pollution
+ rhythm

+ chariot (an mp3 clip from their upcoming release)

*I have to give props to Matt at You Ain't No Picasso, he did a post on this band (2 in fact) before I did... check it out here - http://youaintnopicasso.blogspot.com/2005/05/page-france.html.

http://www.purevolume.com/pagefrance/
contact the band: contact@pagefrance.net

Ray LaMontagne

Ray LaMontagne is a thirty one year-old who is poised on the cusp of... recognition? Talents like Ray LaMontagne don't become stars in the traditional sense, they become heroes, cult figures--somehow in the expression of their art they make things better, troubles in some way become clearer--they soothe the aches that dwell beneath the bruises.

Here is Lamontagne recounting how, after leaving home following his high school graduation, he slowly found his way onto the path he is now following...

Four years later, while working long hours in a Lewiston, Maine, shoe factory, he experienced an epiphany -- one that shook him out of his deep ennui.
“This was a particularly dark and weird time for me,” he recounts. “I never saw the light of day for months. One morning, after I’d worked there for about a year, I had my clock set for 4 a.m., like always, and I woke up to this amazing sound coming from the clock radio. It was Stephen Stills, doing a song called ‘Tree Top Flyer.’ I just sat up in bed and listened. Something about that song just hit me. I did not go to work that day; I went to record stores and sought that album out. It was called Stills Alone. I listened to it, and I was transformed. It killed me…it was huge. You don’t know how those things happen. I just knew: ‘This is what I’m gonna do.’ That morning really changed everything -- my whole life.

“So I quit my job. I knew I wanted to sing, which was really crazy, because I never even talked to anybody. I just had this feeling that it was somewhere inside me, and I had to find it and let it out. So I learned the songs on that record and started listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash, then I discovered Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Otis Redding. I would spend hours just listening to records. Later, I got very intense about singing; I would just sing and sing, and hurt and hurt, because I knew I wasn’t doing it right. Over a period of years I taught myself to sing from the gut and not from the nose.”

Listen to live recordings from Ray's performance at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, TN.

+ Trouble
+ Shelter
+ Forever My Friend
courtesy of WRLT, Nashville

*BONUS: here is the song Ray mentions being a catalyst in his birth as a singer/songwriter, Stephen Stills "Tree Top Flyer"

Antony and the Johnsons: "I Am A Bird Now": Review

The definition of androgynous is -- "...not clearly male or female", and this description can also be applied to music, although it may sound feminine or masculine, it's the listener who gives it it's gender. Perhaps I should say music is sexless, but sexy. That can be said about most music, especially the strangely compelling new work, I Am A Bird Now (secretly canadian), by Antony and the Johnsons. Antony does possess an androgynous look which is played up by make-up and clothing, he also possesses a startling voice; one which sweeps and swoops with his at-times-theatrical music. The vocals waver and tremble, as if on the edge of tears -- his prononced vibrato may claim comparisions to Bryan Ferry, although Antony's voice is much more open and raw; and yes there is an androgynous aspect, without knowing the artist you may wonder if it is a man or a woman. Although he does not own an instrument as transcendentally crystalline as Jeff Buckley's, he can at times produce in the listener the same response. Both artist's voices being blessed with the power to translate the emotion of the lyric into an emotion in the listener.


I Am A Bird Now
(cover shot of Candy Darling, 1974)

Ten tracks strong, I Am A Bird Now, is justly titled as Antony warbles like a wounded songbird on the opener, "Hope There's Someone". In fact he comes across like a rare beautiful bird on all ten -- that brightly coloured, sleekly feathered, just out of reach creature, sending it's sadly burnished song into the open sky. Songs that standout include "My Lady Story", (one of several that touch on gender identification) coloured blue by flute and simple, but elegant, backing vocal work; "Fistfull of Love", boasting a Lou Reed spoken-word intro, blossoms into a gospel meltdown with horn punches and stand up and testify emotion. Closing the disc is "Bird Guhl", the most beautiful number on the album. A powerful melody that matches the passion of Antony's lyric, "Cause I'm a Bird Guhl (pronounced Bird Girl)/ and the Bird Guhls go to heaven/ cause I'm a Bird Guhl /and the Bird Guhls can fly". It would be easy for many of these songs to be overdone, to be dressed up in sickly sweet strings and over wrought emotion; luckily Antony's taste matches his talent.

There is a spiritual element to the sound of Antony's music -- music which worships piano cabaret ballads, string laden chamber pop, and gospel-fired soul -- gospel heard in a church that will soon find new parishioners, I am sure.

He is a bird now... it's hard to imagine him as anything else.

+ fistfull of love download courtesy www.betterpropaganda.com

+ hope there's someone

the Constantines :: Summer Tour :: Fall Album

The Constantines are still working on their new (as yet untitled) album for Subpop (US), Three Gut Records (Canada), due for an October release.

If you catch them live this summer, I'm sure they will give you a sneak peek of some of the new songs.

From Shine A Light...
+ nighttime/anytime (it's alright)
+ on to you

Jul 07 - Allston, MA GREAT SCOTT *
Jul 08 - New York, NY MERCURY LOUNGE *
Jul 09 - Brooklyn, NY SOUTHPAW *
Jul 10 - Philadelphia, PA NORTH STAR BAR *
Jul 11 - Pittsburgh, PA GARFIELD ARTWORKS *^
Jul 12 - Detroit, MI MAGIC STICK *
Jul 13 - Kalamazoo, MI KRAFTBRAU
Jul 14 - Cincinnati, OH THE MADHATTER *
Jul 15 - Cleveland, OH BEACHLAND TAVERN *
Jul 16 - Chicago, IL EMPTY BOTTLE *
Jul 17 - Minneapolis, MN 400 BAR *
Jul 18 - Madison, WI HI NOON SALOON *&
Aug 06 - Wolfe Island, ON MUSICFEST
Aug 18 - Hamilton, ON THE UNDERGROUND +
Aug 19 - Brantford, ON FORD PLANT +
Aug 20 - Toronto, ON LEE'S PALACE +!%

* With Oxford Collapse
+ With Oakley Hall
! With Oneida
% With Kinski
^ With Dirty Faces
& With Charlemagne

oxford collapse + the money you have may be too little
oneida + run through my hair
kinski + The Wives of Artie Shaw

The Black Swans

Noel Sayre and Jerry DeCicca

Jerry DeCicca, of The Black Swans, has a darkness in his voice, a ghostly quality. Not sinister, more like a blue fog, sad grey veils which are delivered in contrast to the sweet, and yes... also sad, violin of bandmate, Noel Sayre (a member of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra in West Virginia). The languid sounds of the band may stir memories of British band, Tindersticks, but they move in a decidedly more sinister and romantic arena then The Black Swans. DeCicca may also bring to mind Nick Cave, that is if Cave moved forward out of the bowels of his 'cave' towards the cloud streaked mid-western sky.

Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You?

Their song, "Blue Skies", on their debut, Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You? (Delmore Records/Nov. 23 2004) is a lovely melody, pulled along by DeCicca's 'ghost-with-the-blues' voice and lifted above most bluesy rural-folk by Sayre's tasteful performance on violin. Throughout, "Blue Skies", a tinkling bell reminds the songs narrator, and us, that happiness still exists, that it's always there and will come back to those who survive through the blues.

+ blue skies

+ who will walk in the darkness with you?

'the arcade fire'

+ Laika
+ Power Out
+ Wake Up

*homepage

Roman Evening

This is definitely indie stuff here, but it bears the stamp of men who have toiled long and hard at their craft and it shows. It also shows they have struggled with life and they bear those scars in their art.



This Cd Tiny Ladies was written as a mood piece after Adam Klein wrote his first novel of the same title. He and his musical partner, Michael Mullen, were trying to capture the essence of the book, to get at the heart of the matter. Whether he succeeded or not is hard for me to say, not having read the book, but they have created some special music.

For these two, Roman Evening is a side project, their main musical endeavour is with Glasstown, a well known outfit in San Francisco.

As Roman Evening from the CD Tiny Ladies...
+ let's take it back
+ how will you know me?
+ retreat

and as Glasstown...
+ Living and Forgetting

'david & the citizens'

photo: roger ahl

David Fridlund (above left) has been spinning out gems with his band, The Citizens, for a handful of years now from their homebase in Sweden.

David Fridlund – vocals, piano, guitar, harmonica
Magnus Bjerkert – trumpet,
organ, stylophone, percussion, vocals
Conny Fridh – bass, vocals, organ,
melodica
Alexander Madsen – guitar, bass
Mikael Carlsson – drums, vocals

Listen for yourself...
+ song against life
+ graycoated morning

David also recently released his solo debut, Amaterasu, on Hidden Agenda/Parasol.
Read about it and listen to an mp3 here.

SUNDAY MIX

the changes + if i tried
sloan + try to make it
now its overhead + blackout curtain
the thermals + how we know
ticonderoga + accord
barcelona + pop goes the world (men without hats)
the softies + me and the bees
cursive + the radiator hums (an old fave!)
levy + rotten love
calla + traffic sound
crooked fingers + new drink for the old drunk
the court and the spark + national lights
morning theft + living with your ghost
leeroy stagger + slowly sinking

The Blood Arm :: do i have your attention?

the blood arm + do i have your attention? Well... do I?

PIXEL REVOLT MP3

August 23rd will be a special day. A day when John Vanderslice's new disc, Pixel Revolt, will reaffirm and at the same time just may destroy your faith in music... other music, that is.

The songs, the lyrics, the selection of instruments, even the titles themselves... all have been slaved, discussed, and slept over, and on, by JV and a trusted cadre of fellow artists. People like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, The Silver Jews David Berman, cellist Erik Friedlander, and of course Tiny Telephone engineer and humble musician, Scott Solter. Resulting in such a beautiful and carefully laid out album that it illuminates the weaknesses in the other music I've been listening to lately.

The first taste offered of the album is the fifth track entitled, "Trance Manual". The song opening with an inhaling and exhaling note, a soughing wind lightened by ringing bells gives way to Vanderslice's superbly pitched vocal. His performance giving just a touch of blue to the tale of a foreign journalist seeking solace with an Iraqi prostitute (at least that's what I think it's about). Every so often, throughout the song, a touch of anxiety, or is it impatience, floats in when the churning cello of Erik Friedlander appears.

Here is an excerpt from an exclusive *Sixeyes interview with John Vanderslice that will be posted in the near future:

*6ize: Each time I hear "Dear Sarah Shu", I am struck by the line, "...regards from the other side of the teeth", is that your line or a 'Darnielle'? And also, in "Trance Manual", the chorus, "Come to me now / you are warming weather / come to me now / the kind that comes with sandbags along the river...". I love the mixed imagery of love, desire, spring, and a swollen river. Again, is this a Vanderslice or a Darnielle?"

John Vanderslice: The "regards" line is mine. The first half of the "Trance Manual" chorus is JD's, the second half is mine. Btw, "Trance (Manual)" was initially set in SF. JD (john darnielle) pushed me to exoticize the song and add another emotional dimension to it (the iraqi prostitute as a "flag of a dangerous nation").

+ Trance Manual [mp3]
*courtesy John Vanderslice

*JV will do a solo promo tour late this summer and then with a full band beginning October.

Give Me, "GIMME FICTION"

Spoon's latest, Gimme Fiction, has finally, officially, hit shelves... and it's worth every penny.

This picture is from John Vanderslice's 2005 SXSW slide show (go here to see the slides) and it shows Spoon bassist, Joshua Zarbo, holding a cassette insert for his old band, Requiem... yes, a drop 'd' metal band called Requiem.


+ sister jack *demo
+ sister jack *piano demo
* to hear the soon-to-be classic studio recording of Sister Jack, buy the disc.

Asthmatic Kitty Records

As are many independent labels, Asthmatic Kitty was brought into being to give a community of artists (in Holland, Michigan) a way to send their music further afield. Founded in 1999 it has since moved operations to Lander, Wyoming and NYC. Home to about 15 artists, here is a sampling...

Viva Voce [rock]
one in every crowd
Half-Handed Cloud [lo-fi indie/chamber pop]
once, twice, seven times a werewolf
can't even breathe on my own two feet
we're very greatly loved
Sufjan Stevens [progressive indie/folk pop]
holland
Liz Janes [indie pop]
Wonderkiller
Proposition
Soon We'll Be Done
propsition

>>LABEL LINK
Asthmatic Kitty Records

>>ARTIST LINKS
liz janes (unofficial)
sufjan stevens
viva voce

*6ize "BetterPropaganda Mix"

Doveman + honey
joel plaskett + work out fine
the mountain goats + white box
of montreal + the party's crashing us
half handed cloud + quail
montag perfect + vision
husky rescue + city lights
brendan benson + spit it out
nobody + what is the light
chin up chin up + we should have never lived...

SHIMMER KIDS UNDERPOP ASSOCIATION

The Shimmer Kids were a lo-fi psych-rock outfit from... where else? San Francisco. The band is no more, but most of the original members are now The Society of Rockets. You can find the debut of The Society of Rockets on Parasol and it resembles The Shimmer Kids Underpop Association--although there are more countryish flourishes and strokes. Now, I am writing this post to point you towards '91' free mp3 downloads... nearly the entire output of this band... follow the band link above and then click on music.

The Book Of Mirrors (2003)
engines of the inner circle (1)
mythology
revenge is sweet
the last joke in town
tell your story walking
engines of the inner circle (2,3)

BUY IT!

MYNTA :: Teabreak

This is different for *Sixeyes, it isn't the type of music I typically listen to, but when I came across Mynta, on music.download.com, I grabbed an mp3 of 'Fuzzy', and was struck by the sheer fluidity and speed of the music and musicians. Fusion is what this is, breaking it down to it's essence it is snowy Scandinavian jazz brought to a boil by fiery Indian rhythms.

+ Fuzzy
+ Teacup
+ Song from Brahmaputra
*all tracks froom 2003's Teabreak

RYAN ADAMS + AIMEE MANN :: Streams

You can stream Ryan Adams latest, Cold Roses, or check out what the fuss is all about here, for Aimee Mann's The Forgotten Arm.

BOOMPA! RECORDS

BOOMPA! began after members of The Salteens, Scott Walker and Rob Calder, teamed up with chic-cyber-geek, Erin Nicholson, and über-experienced wanderer, Sarah Tesla. Their goal was to provide quality services to artists and businesses alike while maintaining a solid foundation of community within this large country and throughout the world. They are accomplishing this task from their base in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The Salteens [indie pop]
thoughts from sound
let go of your bad days
The Ladies and Gentlemen [indie pop]
stay
The Lucksmiths [indie pop]
midweek midmorning
camera shy
Catlow [indie rock]
don't think - demo
number one
Leeroy Stagger [indie rock/alt country ]
Just In Case
Slowly Sinking
Run Chico Run [alt. pop]
ass ravaged beats
Sekiden [indie/power pop]
autumn glass
Billy and the Lost Boys [indie pop punk]
the day the world blew up
Matt Sharp [indie pop/country]
Just Like Movie Stars
Kevin Kane [indie pop]
nothing left
sputnik

>>LABEL LINK
www.boompa.ca

>>ARTIST LINKS
the ladies and gentlemen
kevin kane
leeroy stagger
matt sharp
catlow
the salteens
run chico run
the lucksmiths
sekiden
billy and the lost boys

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS :: The Sunset Tree Slide Show

The generous John Vanderslice (who recently wrapped work on his latest record Pixel Revolt - Barsuk/August 23rd) has posted a slide show of The Mountain Goats recording sessions for The Sunset Tree at Prairie Sun Recording.

Check out the snaps here.

HIVE STUDIOS :: Unreleased Music

Hive Studios in British Columbia is a recording studio and a record label. On the studio site they offer free mp3s of unreleased material by bands that have recorded there -- bands like P:ano, Pink Mountaintops and Ex Dead Teenager... a band I hadn't heard of, described this way on the site...

The line-up included Josh Wells (now in Jerk With A Bomb, Black Mountain,
Pink Mountaintops and ex-Radio Berlin) on guitar/vocals/keyboards, Steve McBean
(Jerk With A Bomb, Black Mountain, Pink Mountaintops, and previously Wrong
Records punkers Gus) on guitar/vocals, Christoph Hofmeister (Mercury The Winged
Messenger, Jerk With A Bomb, and now the newly reformed Daddy's Hands) on bass,
and Cory Gagnes (S.T.R.E.E.T.S.) on drums.

ex dead teenager + love ain't dead
pink mountaintops + erected
p:ano + lonely lights

There are quite a few downloads, worth exploring for sure.

The JOEL PLASKETT EMERGENCY

This song could be mistaken for big dumb ass rock, if it wasn't for the airiness, the s p a c e, between the instruments, the tasty playing of Canada's Joel Plaskett on guitar, and his clear voice. He sounds like he loves to sing and if I could (sing that is), I would want to sing this too. No, there's nothing new here, just straight up blues-based rock that can, if you let it, get you singing as well. He's kind of like an oversized, decaffeinatted, more mellow, Ted Leo... Leo without the sonic bite and punk roots.

+ written all over me

*BONUS :: + work out fine
*mp3s courtesy of betterPropaganda.com

ARTHUR MAGAZINE - "THE GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN"

Arthur Magazine is one of those free rags you can snag in your corner record shop in the US and Canada. An alternative newsprint/magazine full of interesting stories and fascinating people -- I especially like the dialogue style of record reviews, kinda like overhearing a couple of record clerks yakking in the next booth at the local diner. They are also behind the release, last year, of a nu-folk compilation curated by Devendra Banhart. Entitled, The Golden Apples of the Sun, it's available only through Arthur on it's fledgling imprint, Bastet.



Click the link to stream the 20 track album of various artists...
ARTHUR MAGAZINE - THE GOLDEN APPLES OF THE SUN

1. Vetiver (with Hope Sandoval)
"Angel's Share" (from the "Vetiver" LP)]
2. Joanna Newsom
"Bridges and Balloons" (from "The Milk-Eyed Mender" LP)
3. Six Organs of Admittance
"Hazy SF" (previously unreleased)
4. Viking Moses
"Crosses" (from "Crosses")
5. Josephine Foster
"Little Life" (prev. unreleased home recording)
6. Espers
"Byss & Abyss" (from "ESPers" LP)
7. Vashti Bunyan & Devendra Banhart
"Rejoicing in the Hands" - (from the forthcoming "Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress" LP)
8. Jana Hunter
"Farm, CA" (prev. unreleased)
9. Currituck Co.
"The Tropics of Cancer" (from "Ghost Man on First")
10. White Magic
"Don't Need" (from forthcoming EP)
11. Iron and Wine
"Fever Dream" (from "Our Endless Numbered Days" LP)
12. Diane Cluck
"Heat From Every Corner" (from "Macy's Day Bird")
13. Matt Valentine
"Mountains of Yaffa" (prev. unreleased)
14. Entrance
"You Must Turn" (prev. unreleased home recording)
15. Jack Rose
"White Mule" (from "Red Horse, White Mule" originally
released thru Eclipse, forthcoming on VHF)
16. Little Wings
"Look at What the Light Did Now" (from "Light Green Leaves")
17. Scout Niblett
"Wet Road" (from "Sweet Heart Fever")
18. Troll
"Mexicana" (from "Pathless Lord")
19. CocoRosie
"Good Friday" (from "La Maison de Mon Reve")
20. Antony
"The Lake" (from "Live at Saint Olaye's With Current 93")

Jane Mag MP3s

There are some interesting mp3s on the Jane Magazine website. I'm just not too sure they are legal though. Go here to check out the selection... Jane Mag MP3s

Gimme Fiction :: Streaming Preview

On Spoon's label site you can stream the first three tracks from Gimme Fiction (may 10), but I understand that a new track is added daily to the stream.
Just click on the orangey red box halfway down the page.

Ted Leo/Rx

What can I say about Mr. Leo that hasn't been said before? Sooo... here's what he has said and will continue saying. Who can say it better?

Me And Mia
Squeaky Fingers
Tell Balgeary Balgury is Dead
The Anointed One
The Crane Takes Flight
The Gold Finch and the Red Oak Tree
Walking Through
Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone

*You can find more here under audio.