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