Claire Hamill is a British singer/songwriter that has been composing and recording since the 70s. She has a slew of albums over the decades and most of them can be downloaded with her blessing from her website. If you have heard of this talented musician, it is probably due to the fact that she wrote “You Take My Breath Away”, a song that became a hit for Eva Cassidy. Hamill has a soft voice in which personal intimacy wins out over power. She has been compared to Joni Mitchell but I hear a tantalizing mix of folk and traditional chanteuses like Judy Collins and Sandy Denny. She is a consummate storyteller in her lyrics. Nine albums are available on her download page and they all have high quality original songs and covers that are worth listening to.

Her first album was One House Left Standing (1971). The first track “Baseball Blues is a raggy affair but most of the songs are steeped in the English folk tradition. I especially like “Urge For Going” which shows that Sandy Denny influence.

The sophomore album October (1973) isn’t all that distinctive. However her third album titled Stage Door Johnnies (1975) is my favorite of her albums. This is the album that includes “You Take My Breath Away” but all the tracks are quite strong. “All The Cakes She Baked Him” is quite Joni Mitchell-like. “Geronimo Cadillac” proved that Hamill can excel on an upbeat song. There are also some nice covers of The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and The Moody Blues’ “Go Now”.

Abracadabra (1975), Touchpaper (1984), and Voices (1984), and Love in The Afternoon (1988) are all good solid performances. However the later albums loses that mellow folk influence and tend toward over-produced pop. I would especially recommend her cover of The Kinks’ “Celluloid Heroes” on Abracadabra. I believe most of these albums were originally released on Ray Davies’ Konk record label.

Summer (1998) and The Lost and The Lovers (2006) are collaborations with Andrew Warren. They are essentially conceptual albums with more hyper-produced studio tricks. The songs are quite catchy, some even gorgeous, but I prefer the earlier efforts.

All albums are available in 128kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by leaving a donation through Paypal or by buying her CDs.

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The neat thing about the net label Clinical Archives is that I never know quite what I am going to hear. After all, who would have thought that mixed in with all the avant-garde, electronica, and experimental music would be this very down-home country EP that reeks of dogwood, cicadas and Hank Williams. Live Candy gives us a very live and very authentic country honky-tonk experience that defines the terms “Alt-country” and “Americana”. Keith Morris with his back-up band The Crooked Numbers is the real thing. This is evidenced from the first track, “Snowday” which immediately hooked me on the plaintive and somewhat nasal voice of Morris. The instrumental and vocal backing is especially nice. Morris has no problems sharing vocals with Devon Sproule on “Billie Weir’s Dress” and Jen Morris on “Waltzing”. The songs are all Morris originals and all tracks but “Candy Apples” are performed live. The non-live track is a March Rosetta re-mix which is more pop oriented than the rest of the EP but it is still a delight. Alt-country fans need to grab this up quick.

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Richmond hip-hop producer Just Plain Ant has a good thing going for him with his new netlabel Just Plain Sounds. Unencumbered by the demands of the corporate music machine, JPA can go ahead and release something like The New Black, 50 minutes and 30 less than 2 minute tracks of music borrowing from classical, urban soul, reggae and anything else the artist can fit into his urban soundscape. This is the fourth album I’ve featured from JPA and he just seems to get better each time. I especially like “Della Reese” because it is sassy and classy like its namesake. The entire album has the unavoidable problem that brief track albums have. I get into the beat and…Wham!…off to something else. However the overall album holds up well as a continuous listen. It may be hip-hop for the ADHD music fan but I still dig it.

The New Black is available in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis format

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Capisconne aka Ivan Kapec is a Croatian jazz guitarist and founder of the experimental band TrianguliZona. His new project, Capisonne Electro Unity, has a free online album titled Activity. It is a mellow, slowly chilled effort of smooth jazz and acid jazz. The four tracks are live recordings with no overdubbing or studio tricks. Quietly soulful, this album should smooth out the stress wrinkles after a hard day at work.

Activity is available from the Breathe netlabel in 320kbps MP3.

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Benjamin Britten’s two act chamber opera titled Turn of The Screw is based on the novel of the same name by Henry James. This intriguing opera is modern and quite accessible to the casual listener. The plot involves a nanny’s suspicion that her wards, two children, are being possessed by spirits in the house. Certainly, if there ever was an opera meant for Halloween, this is it.

This version is from 1954 and is the first recording of the composition. It is by the English Opera Group Orchestra and is conducted by the composer. It features Jennifer VyVyan, Peter Pears, and Joan Cross. It is still considered the definitive version of this work and merits a listen by everyone. The transfer to 320kbps MP3 from mono recordings is done masterfully by Bob Varney. You can access the download page at The Internet Archive through the link below.

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Blind Moany Wat is a music project from David J. Applegate and friends off the new Immigrant Breast Nest netlabel. He describes the music as “Porch Techno” which I believe is literally techno he creates on his porch. However, this is not techno dance but electronica that is meant to be listened to earnestly. In other words, you’re not going to be tapping your foot to it. This is not so much ambient as dys-ient similar to some of DJ Spooky’s more “out-there” works. Not everyone will dig it but those who like their electronic music scratching the boundaries will find this interesting.

This self-titled album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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In a genre where “keeping it real” is interpreted by rappers as massaging their own egos it is always nice to find a hip-hop artist who knows that music is an art and a way to express reality as he sees it. Shape is one of those artist and his new Glass House EP is a good example of the marriage between hip-hop beat and meaningful lyrics. There are a lot of good cuts on this album including the title track, “Ruthless” and “Sadder Lights”. If there is any weakness, it is in the non-varying beats that slows the excitement a bit. Yet this is a consistently good hip-hop effort.

Glass House is available in 160kbps MP3.

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Mach FoX comes out of the Twin Cites electro-punk scene in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I have previously given my visitors a taste of them when I reviewed TC Electropunk. Here is their self-titled full length album which gives us a better look at this band that blends punk and techno.. The general focus is on the dance floor yet the vibes remain dark and a bit 80s electropop slick. “AXion FiXion” is dance floor worthy while “The Subversives” adds a nice funky edge to the darkwave feel. Overall, the album has a good sound and lot of interesting tracks for your listening and dancing pleasure.

Asides from the full album, the Mach FoX website has a number of equally free and legal EPs available. Yet the only one that really stands out on its own is The Last Planet EP. This is very different from their other EPs. It is a conceptual soundscape of three tracks and two remixes. The 21 minute EP is an interesting ambient experiment and worth a listen.

Mach FoX is available in VBR Mp3 and Ogg Vorbis format while The Last Planet is 320kbps MP3.

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Mach FoX
The Last Planet EP

The Justnotnormal netlabel has released what may be the best online collection of experimental music currently available. no-R-mal is a 4 CD collection of 52 tracks and over 5 hours of music representing some of the finest experimental music artists you will find. The vast majority of these tracks are previously unreleased.There are a number of musicians that I have heard and featured in the past including Mystified, D’Incise, and Phillip Wilkerson. However there are also plenty of new artists and amazing music to marvel upon. A sampling of previously unknown artists to me that I want to hear more from would include Bob Dickinson, Kendall Station, Gurdonark, and Controlled Dissonance . Most of the music is on the tonal but “dronal” side although there are a few that stretch the ambient limits like Nagual Arts’ “Niobe and The Sea” and Cousin Silas “Dreaming in Dunwich” which I suspect is a eerie salute to H. P. Lovecraft. Overall, this is a nice retrospective that will be essential listening to anyone into experimental music.

The album set equals 4 CDs of music and is available in 320kbps MP3.

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The Overcast Project by British hip-hop producer Formula is a moody piece of hip-hop accented by tight rapping by some gifted rappers including Zack S. Byers, Aynzli Jones, and Dabbla. The introductory track, “Ebony Shards”, gives you a nice preview of the atmospheric mix of beats and samples. It is followed by a hot track titled “Shipwrecked” with Zack S. Byers, a quick tongued rapper that has charisma and wit. All the tracks are of high quality yet there are a few that are quite unique such as the klezmer influenced “Weebles”. The instrumental “Poster Boyz” adds an industrial tint to the hip-hop. Overall, I found this an enjoyable album bearing up well over multiple listens. Another top-notch release from the Blocsonic crew.

The album is available in MP3 or FLAC format.

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I do not often use the words “funny” and “light-hearted” to describe electronic albums but they certainly fit Daniel Corral’s free and legal album titled Die Laughing. When he is not writing scores and dance pieces, he passes the time with putting together these …yes…funny and light-hearted pieces. Fortunately for us he has decided to share them with us on this free online EP titled Die Laughing. They are amusing and imaginative compositions that should give you a smile. However my two favorites are actually re-mixes. ” “Dirt Star” is a remix of Iggy Pop’s “Dirt,” while “Ba Doo Be Chum Chum” uses Roy Orbison’s wonderful “Cry Softly, Lonely One” in ways Orbison probably never dreamed of. “Thugs” is also interesting since it uses a sample of Sergei Esenin reading his poem “Confessions of a Hooligan” in Russian. This may not be Stockhausen or Babbitt, but who said electronic music can’t be fun?

Die Laughing is available in VBR MP3 format.

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The second online album. Generation of This Order from the Italian alternative / grunge band Confusion is Next surpasses their first well received effort. Their post-rock tendencies have been sprinkled heavily with 90s influences from band like R.E.M. and Nirvana. The six tracks on this excellent album gives you 32 minutes of dense rock riffs and plaintive vocals.

The album is available from the Trastienda net label in 192kbps M3.

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Attempts to mingle man made music and the music of nature is nothing new. Field recordings like Emil Klotsch can meld the sounds of nature with electronics effect nicely to make interesting ambient recordings. More organically, Paul Winter ’s duets with whales and wolves are fascinating new age experiments hinting that the organizing of tone and rhythm are not exclusive to humans.

Matthew Lundy, a member of Children of The Drone and recording here under A Tiny Window does something similar to the Winter experiments. BeesBirdsSaz is a collection of recordings performed in a East Kent meadow along with the sound of birds and the swarming of bees. They are delightful pastoral improvisations whether alone or accompanied by chickens. Occasionally human generated sounds like planes or cars intrude but it only emphasizes the interconnectedness of the music and the environment. Matthew’s instrument of choice is the saz, a form of Persian lute. It is an intimate sounding instrument. The birds seem to have liked it.

BeesBirdsSaz is available from the Internet Archive in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis format.

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Gutter Guitar is a bit of a misnomer, as guitarist Slikk Tim shows us some pretty classy moves as he nurtures his inner Grant Green. Mainly a bass player, Tim has obviously been woodshedding on the guitar for a while and regales us with this impressive retro-soul jazz album. There’s plenty of bowing to Grant Green and Kenny Burrell on this quartet outing but Slikk Tim owes no apology to anyone. It doesn’t hurt that he is ably supported by Jean-Michel Albertucci on bass, Ed Mars on Drums and Hervé ‘P-Jay’ Jacqumin on Congas. Tenor saxophonist Luc Bartoli joins the quartet on two original tracks and plays Stanley Turrentine to Tim’s Burrell. Overall, a good time was had by all and they are passing out the fun to you.

Gutter Guitar is available from RawBounce Records and can be found over at Jamendo through the link below.

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The 17 minute Oh, NaokoEP by Sun Airway is an all-too-brief indie pop effort that radiates mellow vibes. The Philadelphia based duo has a unique shoe-gaze sound that channels cinematic electronic arrangements with playful vocal interplay a la Animal Collective. There are only four tracks on this EP but each one is a gem of complex sounds and moods. Hopefully the guys will be regaling us with a full album of more alluring sounds.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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Tristame is the musical project of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Rami. The artist has released his debut album titled Unraveling Horizons on his web for free and legal downloading and listening. It is a splendid recording of haunting vocals and cinematic arrangements encompassing folk and rock influences. The artist describes the album as “a journey into the thoughts and emotions of a ‘passive explorer’ one who is carried through his life without ever truly living it, engaged in the world only through his dreams and unfulfilled aspirations”. The lyrics are quite hypnotic especially on the opening “Massive Explorer” and there are some Pink Floyd influences on tracks like “Secretly” and “Inertia”. I also like “Support System”, a more upbeat song on a generally down-tempo effort. This is an impressive first album that will probably get repeated listens on your ipod.

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The first comparison I can make to the avant-garde ensemble Volcano The Bear would be to Henry Cow. This is not surprising since the current state of the art owes a big deal to Frank Zappa, of course but also to the less revered British maniacs known as Henry Cow. Having said that, Volcano The Bear, hailing from all parts of the United Kingdom, goes their own unique way in presenting the bizarre and non-commercial. Originally formed in 1996, the group has released an impressive series of albums with a few of them now freely and legally available from The Free Music Archive.

The most known album is Classic Erasmus Fusion. Released in 2006, it gained quite a few critical raves from the critics. The first thing one notices on the title track is that they used a number of odd instruments to make their statements. If you are looking for a group with the usual guitar, bass, drum setup, look elsewhere. However the strange guitar and vocal on “Did You ever feel like Jesus” is eerie but a little more down to earth. Most of the “avant-rock” tracks on this fascinating album is way more avant than rock. Yet Volcano The Bear rarely bores the listener. This is one of those groups of artists that give you a what-are-they-going-to-do-next feeling. That is one of my favorite feeling in the music experience. Also worth the bewildered feeling is “Russian Milk” and “The Last Song of Norway”, a oddly beautiful ending to a fine album.

Paris 2nd December 2007 is a live recording. Divided in two tracks, it exhibits the band’s odd ways on stage. While it is easy to call Volcano the Bear a improvisatory band, this live concert clearly shows that it is actually a highly structured affair that could be called performance art. It is an excellent album but I suspect there are visual aspect that are lost in the audio documentation of a live performance.

The Idea of Wood starts like some kind of tribal processional. The sound is quite shamanistic at times. “Curly Robot begins somewhat impressionistic then goes of into a Joan La Barbara / Meredith Monk sort of thing. The five track album is surprisingly calm and meditative considering all the experimentation that is going on.

The Volfurten EP is only three songs and 15 minutes long but it might be a good introduction to the band. The first track is droneful yet little swirling dervish surprises await throughout the track. In the same style are the other two tracks, “Chariots of Fur” and “The Woman Who Waited For The Woman Who Weighs The Fur”. Don’t try to figure out the titles, just enjoy.

All these album are available for the Free Music Archive in 160kbps MP3. There are a few briefer albums also available. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying their CDs.

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Classic Erasmus Fusion
Paris 2nd December 2007
The Idea of Wood
Volfurten

I’ve always been fascinated by the somber compositions of Hungarian composer Bela Bartok. So much so, that the very first composition I wrote was a set of choir pieces in the style of Bartok. This was in my freshman year at college so you can imagine how naive I was. My composition teacher caught the influence yet praised my originality. He also said they were so full of mistakes that the pieces were unplayable as they stood. So much for my career as a composer.

My favorite orchestra work by Bela Bartok is the Music for String Instruments, Percussion, and Celesta. While many see Bartok as dissonant I think he is incredibly melodic with each note making perfect sense. The 2nd movement is a joyous (for Bartok) mixture of phrases playing off each other. There is not a bad choice in this composition. This particular performance is a classic in itself. Recorded in 1949 by the Los Angeles Chamber Symphony conducted by Harold Byrns, this is a moving and dramatic performance. It is also the very first recording of this seminal work. The transfer from 78rpm disc to MP3 file is another F. Reeder miracle. How does he capture this great sound in VBR MP3 at around 96kbps? This is another must download from the 78rpm collection at The Internet Archive.

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I don’t usually feature radio broadcasts on Free Albums Galore. God knows I’m tempted every day when I browse though the splendid mini-concerts in abundance at the Free Music Archive. There are so many good ones. But when I found this rare 2004 live performance of North Mississippi Country Hill Blues, I knew I was going to have to yield to temptation.

Fat Possum is a marvelous record label that showcases a lot of raw and authentic country blues by under-rated, and then unknown, practitioners including R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. Less celebrated but no less talented were three blues musicians, Paul “Wine” Jones, T-Model Ford, and Kenny Brown. In 2004 , the Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan tour hit the road and somewhere down the line WFMU was lucky enough to get Jones, Ford and Brown into the studio. To quote an old diva of an actress who probably knew nothing about the blues, “Tighten your seat belt. It’s going to be a bumpy ride”.

Paul “Wine” Jones stayed pretty loyal to the Missisippi Delta style yet had a number of distinguishing trademarks; a lot of “Wah Wah” guitar riffing, driving bass and rhythm lines, plus a gritty but passionate vocal style. The five tracks on the set are all hard driving and raucous with “If You Love Me Like You Say” and “Stop Arguing” being highlights. Paul Jones passed away in 2005.

T-Model Ford aka James Lewis Carter Ford isn’t sure when he was born but is probably in his late 80s and didn’t start his recording career until he was in his 70s. He is still going strong and touring. After stints in a log camp, a gig as a trucker and ten years on a chain gang you would think his music would be as raw and rough as reality and it is. When asked how often he has been in jail, T-Model replied, “Every Saturday night, for a while”. Ford’s songs are a mix of Mississippi and Chicago blues with a bit of John Lee Hooker boogie thrown in for good measure. Of the four tracks by Mr. Ford, I especially like “Chicken Heads” and “Wish I Was a Catfish”.

Kenny Brown is the young-un of the trio. He did his apprenticeship with R. L. Burnside but, in my opinion, has evolved into one of the best blues talent still performing. His first album Stingray is a doozy. There are only two tracks on this WFMU broadcast by Mr. Brown, “Jumping on the Line” and, easily my favorite of the entire session,”Laughing To Keep From Crying”. Kenny Brown is the next generation in Missisippi Hill Country Blues, a genre that is threatening to become extinct butthankfully spurred on by Fat Possum Records and the emergence of radio broadcasts like this.

And if you like the music, run over to the Fat Possum web site and load up on the artists’ CDs.

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I just finished reading Cornflakes With John Lennon and Other Tales From a Rock N’ Roll Life by rock critic Robert Hilburn. I thought you might like my review which I posted on FMU’s Free Music Archive this morning. Hilburn was a major influence on me during the Classic Rock era and wrote with a compassion for the artists that was unique, if maybe a little “square”, compared to many of the other critics who wrote during the time. You can also find my review at Goodreads, a book site for reading fanatics. If you would like to read my review, just follow this link.

Here is something a little different in the realm of free and legal online music. The noise rock duo Caldera Lakes have placed the rough cut of their new album that is yet to be named or released on the Free Music Archives. I think, in the past , we would have called these demo tracks but nothing sounds demo about this. Rough maybe, as Caldera Lakes is a seething cauldron of noise and abrasive vocals but they are highly crafted soundscapes of the scary industrial type. The music can really haunt you. I do not recommend playing this alone in a dark room. The six tracks are all forbiddingly impressive but the last track, “Arctic Ghost” is a masterpiece of horror and foreboding.You may hate this or you may love it. I doubt if there is any middle ground. But you will be impressed.

I’m trying something a little different myself. Free Music Archives now allows embedded streaming of their archive music. Whenever possible I will be attaching it so you can directly listen or download the music from my blog. This is an experiment. Please let me know if you find this feature helpful.

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If case you wonder why I haven’t been posting much, the pesky little H1N1 flu…a much better and more accurate name than Swine Flu…has made a visit to my house. At the very least I’ve developed a strange kinship with Brian Littrell who looks exactly how I feel. I think it’s on the downswing, not the worst flu I’ve ever had but in the top five.

In the meantime, most of you already know about my new connection with the Free Music Archive. However, Free Albums Galore is now a curator which means I’ll be downloading some of the goodies from this blog to FMU as soon as I gain my energy back. I’m especially interested in hearing from artists whose Creative Commons Licensed albums have been featured here but are no longer available for download. Wouldn’t it be nice to give them a new home?

One more little goodie. I recently notice that Mojo Nixon has almost everything he released available for free over at Amazon for “a limited tme”. I always knew he was a little wacko. Check it out (U.S. only).

Avant-garde jazz guitarist Claudio Nunez is well represented in the netlabel scene. He has no less than six free online albums on two netlabels, MW Recordings and Clinical Archives. The Buenos Aires based musician has a sound that reminds me a little of Nels Cline yet really sounds like so one else. Definitely jazz but also influenced by Argentinian music and post-classical, these six albums are essential listening for any jazz or modern music fan.

Odd Times, Uneven Dreams may be a good place to start. The small ensemble is intimate and dream inducing. It also may be the most accessible of his albums. Nunez likes flowing lines that are quite melodic. “Nine Deceased Reds” is a fine example of this. However all six tracks contains some very creative improvisation. Barking At The Wrong Tree offers two 30 minutes tracks of free improvisations plus an original composition all played on acoustic piano. His keyboard playing is quite good. The influence of Argentinian music, especially the tango, is quite evident on this album. Both of these albums come from WM recordings.

Clinical Archives houses four additional albums. Solos Vols. 1 and 2 are solo guitar works. Again there is a fascinating mix of Latin American sounds and the avant-garde, sort of a tango guitarist dueling with Derek Bailey. Recently added to the Clinical Archive roster is Mas Cerca Del Arpa Que de la Guitarra. It is another highly recommended two tracks of solo guitar improvisations. All three of these solo albums attest to Nunez’s impressive virtuosity on his instrument

Lastly, Free Jazz on Monday, Free Jazz on Sunday, also from Clinical Archives is sort of a jam and possibly live. I’m not sure of the instrumentation on this, but I’m reasonably sure the accordion sounding instrument is a Bandoneon. This is again a nice combination of improvised jazz and the traditional music of Argentina.

All album are available in MP3 format.

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Barking At The Wrong Tree
Odd Times, Uneven Dreams
Solos 1
Solos 2
Mas Cerca Del Arpa Que de la Guitarra
Free Jazz on Monday, Free Jazz on Sunday

I never claimed to be a hip-hop expert. After all I’m in my late 50s. Asking me to be a hip-hop expert is like asking Gary Coleman to play center for the Lakers. Yet I do pride myself in knowing good music that surpasses all genres. This classy album by Luck & Ripps is titled The Catastrophic Connection is good music however you label it. The sound of Luck & Ripps is especially accessible to all music lovers due to their preferences to samples that reminds me of the silky smooth soul styling of the 70s and very smooth jazz. The 15 tracks are brief, none over three minutes, but they are so nicely arranged that you rarely notice the change. But you will definitely notice the chilled-out quality of the music and the raps. This exceptional effort is another great release from the BlocSonic net label who has graduated from great CCL compilations to some of the best online urban soul albums on the internet.

As usual for BlocSonic, the album is available in both MP3 and FLAC format and comes with a downloadable 52 page book of liner notes and lyrics. One classy album by some classy artists released by a classy net label.

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If Party People in a Can is a reasonable example of what passes as party music in Portugal, I think I’ll stick to California. On the other hand, if you like your music in the nature of Bauhaus mixed with surf and lazy rhythms this super laid back band from the You Are Not Stealing Records netlabel may be your nirvana. Way Off, Where The Spirits Are is a bit of voodoo served up with panache and a little tongue in the cheek on the side. “Leaving The Home Tribe” has a low mysterious vocal that is paired with a roaming beat reminiscent of Wall of Voodoo. “Surfing With My 2 Little Brothers” is a light little surf homage of an instrumental and “Ayahuasca” definitely has Ennio Morricone in mind. A little surf, a little goth, and lots of atmosphere is what you get with Party People in a Can.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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