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.
I really never thought of San Diego as a rock haven. Their almost perfect weather and laid back beaches just don’t seem as influential to hard edge rock, at least not compared to smoggy Los Angeles, cloud-covered Seattle, and hard living New York. Yet if Lucy’s Fur Coat is an example, I may be selling the city short. This now defunct band has a much more than acceptable hard-core sound of alternative and grunge with catchy guitar hooks and tense vocals. Their two albums can still be purchased over at Amazon or, as their web site states, “occasionally be found in the $1 bin at the used CD store”. However the guys have generously provided both albums as free and legal downloads so you can check out their tight and entertaining music. The two albums are titled Jaundice and How To Survive An Aircrash. I think Aircrash has the better combinations of rock and emotion. I especially like the ballad “El Cajon” and the harder rocking “Light Sensitive” and “Water Gun”. Jaundice also has some nice tracks but sounds a bit more like SoCal metal. Still, you will like both albums if you are into rock.
Both albums are available in 192kbps MP3. Remember. If you like the music buy the CDs.
Taras Bul’ba is an Italian progressive rock group that manages to put together a strong individual presence after four creative commons licensed albums. Progressive rock may be a slightly misleading term as the band borrows heavily from metal, goth and death metal, often drowning the listener in screams and distorted guitar. Yet when you least expect it, they can throw in some hauntingly beautiful refrains. This ability gives them a distinctly individual sound that will interest any fan of the harder edges of rock.
Secrets Chimiques is their latest and most realized album. The tendency to mix the overwhelming with the sublime is evident with the first track, “Cranioterapia”. But all tracks have a coherent unity making this a good introduction to this interesting group. I have a habit of pairing music with books that I think need a good soundtrack. This album kept me thinking of Dante’s Inferno. Take that however you may.
Incisione is another fine album and have the same intense but atmospheric tendencies. I especially like “Miyuki” with its lightning fast guitar work and machine gun drumming. The following “Hari” is also riveting and has a nice guitar solo that reminds me of a metal version of Santana. This album stays more in the fast paced genre of metal but “Imothep” just manages to slow down the pace nicely. It’s a very nice effort as is the entire album.
There are two older self-titled albums released in 2000 and 2002. They both sound like earlier efforts in which an individual style is still developing. However they have a good solid sound. The 2002 album get a slightly higher nod from me if only because the initial track is named after the incredible Tor Johnson and it features campy dialogue from Ed Wood’s Bride of The Monster.
All four albums can be found on Tara’s Bul’ba’s Jamendo page or be downloaded on the individual album page from the links below. They are available in VBR MP3 format.
Download
Secrets Chimiques
Incisiones
Taras Bul’ba (2002)
Taras Bul’ba (2000)
The 80 minutes free and legal album titled Errors in Calculating Odds, Errors in Calculating Value is Shorthand Phonetics’ continuing excursion into the exploits of student Hanabishi Hideakia as he enters his third year at medical school. You can hear about his first two years from Shorthand Phonetics’ other albums reviewed here. The boys in the band continue their likable yet quirky efforts and manages to put together an entertaining combination of alternative rock and Emo. Highly recommended to those who want their pop music off-the-wall and drenched in the ironic.
The album is available in 320kbps MP3.
When the best online albums of 2009 are tabulated, Barriers by German rock band Pandoras.box will be leading the pack. It is a exhilarating collection of songs that rise about the ton of music by independent bands due to its tight arrangements, arresting vocals, and a variety of sounds that still give it an uniform and unique identity. The casual listeners will certainly hear a Radiohead influences but with a harder edge. Personally, the first two tracks made me think of one of my favorite 90s alternative bands, Soul Coughing. The overall quality of the songs is consistent, with “A Moderate Breeze”, “Arrows & Bows” and the psychedelic “Chaos Back” being my favorites. This is a fairly astounding debut album and a must hear for anyone who think of themselves as knowledgeable about the latest in quality rock.
Barriers is available from the Clinical Archive netlabel and The Internet Archive (link below) in 256kbps MP3.
This self titled one track EP by In Zaire is nothing less than sonic overload. Musicians G.I. Joe and Claudio Roditti man this live recording, a grindcore assault of overbearing guitar, drum, tribal chants and noise. It reminds me of the equally loud and abrasive efforts of the John Zorn & Bill Laswell fronted Painkiller. The 18 minutes track can really get under your skin if you allow it to. My guess is that this album will result in one of three things. An appreciation of the creative interaction of these two musicians, a seriously altered state of mind or one hell of a headache. Your pick.
In Zaire is available from the Vuoto netlabel in 256kbps MP3.
Jane From Occupied Europe was a British band out of Salisbury. They took their name from the Swell Map’s second album and played a drone-base mix of 70s psychedelica and 90s alternative. I only recently heard of them and it is a shame they did not appear on my radar while they were still in existence for the band had an exceptional sound and deserved a wider audience.
An associate of the musicians has placed all of their releases, with permission of the artists, on this same-titled tribute blog. There is a good amount of music here and I recommend to check it all out but the main event is JFOE’s full length album Coloursound. It is a fully realized effort with a consistent sound. Mid East drones, haunting vocals and psychedelic guitars all create a musical feast. You can hear influences from Echo and The Bunnymen, Nick Cave, The Pixies, The Smiths, and others from the 80s and 90s scene. There are no weak songs but I especially like “Drift 13″ and “Mourning Glass” and recommend them as typical tracks by this band. You can find other EPs, Demos, and 12″ singles offered on this site but this full album should be your first and best introduction to this unjustly ignored band.
Coloursound is available in 320kbps MP3.
Trent Reznor does it again. The new creative commons licensed release off the Nine Inch Nails web site is a promo EP for the NIN/JA 2009 tour featuring two tracks each by Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction and Street Sweeper. These are all unreleased tracks totaling 23 minutes of intense industrial rock. The two NIN songs are typical for their recent material which is OK by me. Jane’s addiction is not a band I’ve listened to much but the two tracks featured here make for some riveting moments especially the insanely percussive “Chip Away”. Street Sweeper is a rock rap group consisting mainly of Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Boots Riley of The Coup. Their simplistic riffs and violent rap is not my cup of tea but some of you might like it. However I highly recommend the four tracks by NIN and Jane’s Addiction.
The EP is available in many formats including MP3 and FLAC from the NIN web site. You do have to register with your email address but Trent meant this to be freely distributed and you can also download it off most torrent sites.
The Boots is another Italian band that seems to be finding new life in the alt.rock genre. Their debut album, cleverly titled This is Not A Test, is a fully realized excursion with furious guitars, raucous drum beats, and powerful vocals. After a nice build up in the intro, they go full blast with “Dear Emely” and rarely let up. This band has a lot of frantic power but I especially like them when they slow it down on emotional tracks like “I Don’t Like It” and the trance-like title track. This is another band that is primed for a bigger audience and deserves one. Not a test indeed!
This is Not a Test is available through the new Airbagpromo net label and is available in 320kbps MP3.
Silence Is Sexy is an indie band from The Netherlands that seems to be getting a bit of attention. This Ain’t Hollywood is their second album and their first to go the free and legal online route, a path that is getting more and more popular to musicians trying to get out their music. The group is firmly in the alternative arena with a slight nod to progressive rock. There a full-bodied sound that at times reminds me of Coldplay and Radiohead. I prefer the slightly slower songs like the title tune and “Closing Time” in which the instrumental interactions and thoughtful vocals can be savored but the mid-tempo rockers like “Come Back To You” and “1984″ are good too. The guys say they would like to tour soon so this excellent sophomore album should give their fan base a nice boost.
You can download This Ain’t Hollywood from the band’s Bandcamp page in nearly any file format, from Jamendo in VBR MP3 format, or you can just use the direct download link below to get perfectly acceptable 192kbps MP3s.
If there is anyone who can be called a Creative Commons License superstar it has to be Brad Sucks. His first album titled I Don’t Know What I’m Doing was one of the first albums featured on Free Albums Galore back in 2006. It got rave reviews from just about everyone and is still one of the most popular albums on Jamendo. His long-awaited second release, Out Of It is now here and it still has all those poppish nuances and melodic hooks that made the first album so popular. While I did find his songs a bit too similar to each other, I must admit that tracks like “Dropping Out of School” and “Certain Death” keep running in my head long after I play it. This is another nice album from Mr. Sucks (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
Out of It is available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.
Six Red Carpets know how to put out a free online album. Nightmares + Lullabies have 45 minutes of well produced rock music somewheres between alternative and progressive rock. Add to that a downloadable 16 page booklet of lyrics and drawings and you have a product most people would pay for. Fortunately for us, the band chose to put this one out for free. The Italian trio sports a indie sound that is slightly centered in the 90s and leans a little toward Smashing Pumpkins. Vocalist Mills has a pleasing nasal quality that has just enough tension to be interesting. Percussionist Leaf and Guitarist / Synth player Majlco fills in the rest admirably in a way that makes it hard to believe this is a trio. Most of the album has a medium hard, up-tempo quality but occasionally a nice dreamy ballad like “Vanilla Scent” will surprise you. This indie group has a good chance to garner a substantial cult following from this intriguing debut effort.
The album is available in 320kbps MP3.
D-alternative is a Polish duo consisting of Dorota Wierzchowska on vocals and Andrzej Drelinkiewicz on keyboards and electronics. The primary genre is basically Darkwave or Gothic with a bit Medieval or New Age creeping into the mix. Some of the past listeners have compared them to Delerium or Dead Can Dance . That may be true in the electronically based tracks like “Awakening” and “Spring” but D-Alternative really comes into their own when acoustic piano and Dorota’s mezzosoprano voice either dominate the proceedings such as on the opening “Judith” or go on their own in the acoustic duo versions of “Up Into Silence” and “Miracle”. These twilight tunes are like a walk in a very dark forest.
The album is available in 128kbps MP3.
There’s something slightly annoying yet so irresistible about Shorthand Phonetics. The lyrics ramble about nothing. The sound quality brings a new lo in lo-fi. I’m not even sure if this is emo or a parody of emo. So why do I like it? Because the vocalist sings with a cleverness that shows he is in on the joke, the guys can really play their instruments, and it is…in one word…fun!The two albums tip their satirical hands in the titles, Fanfiction: From the Seriously Absurd to the Absurdly Serious and Apparently…I’m In Medicine / Love, or the Illusion of the Beginning Symptoms of It. They are meant to be a conceptual part one and two of the life of Hanabishi Hideaki, a high school senior in the first album and a first year Med student in the second album. He is self absorbed, befuddled with every day problems that won’t go away, and obsessed with girls. In other words, he sounds like me forty years ago or, for that matter, the average teenage boy today.
Of the two albums, Apparently is my favorite. The first track is a homage to insecurity and doubt. The album then shifts into high gear with an upbeat high indie rock. The band has a lot of ideas that either go by fast or are played to infinity. This weakness of structure is actually played as a strength as the listener is left waiting to see where all this energy finally ends up.
The earlier FanFiction is almost as good. The lo-fi presence is a bit more pronounced but the basic structure is all there. The members state that their music should be seen as a related collection of short stories rather than a continuing narration. I don’t know if they can really be called Emo. There’s too much self-parody here for Emo. But if they are, they have the potential to be The Weezers of Emo. Overall, this is a fascinating look as a slightly eccentric talent that shows a lot of promise. Get them a real sound studio and we may all be amazed at the result.
Both albums are available as separate tracks or full album zips in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis formats.
Download
Apparently…I’m In Medicine / Love, or the Illusion of the Beginning Symptoms of It
Fanfiction: From the Seriously Absurd to the Absurdly Serious
I was never much impressed by the British punk group The Stranglers but the best thing about them was the testosterone loaded voice of founder and lead singer Hugh Cornwell. While the Stranglers are still around, Cornwell left in 1990 and recorded several solo albums. The latest album is titled Hooverdam and is available as a free and legal download from Mr. Cornwell’s web site.
Cormwell’s voice has mellowed out through the years. The music on Hooverdam is less aggressive than that of The Stranglers which is a plus in my book. There are some nice rock tunes here including “Please Don’t Put me on a Slow Boat to Plowbridge”, “Wrong Side of The Tracks” and “Delightful Nightmare”. My favorite track is “Within You or Without You” with its talking-blues styled lyrics and its Bo Diddley rhythm. Not every song is a winner but there are enough good times to merit a listen.
Hooverdam is available in 128kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music support the artist by buying the higher sound quality CD and check out his other efforts.
This bit of psychodelic punk psychodrama is brought to you from sunny Spain. Psicodelic FunKilljazz combines 60s psychedelica and 80s funk with a decidedly post-punk mentality. Sort of Country Joe and The Fish versus Funkadelic in a mosh pit. Their self titled album is a bit undisciplined but each track has a certain wild charm. The group sails through jazz riffs, flamenco, cabaret tunes, and screamed vocals with ease as if it makes perfect sense to them. Probably does. Fortunately they have the talent and imagination to get away with it. The four track suite “La Odisea de la Langosta” is the best showcase starting with a quiet mood and ending in hardcore chaos. My advice is to just play the damn thing and go with the flow.
The album is available in separate tracks or full album zip of 128kbps MP3.
If you have heard of John Wesley before, it is probably as the sometimes guitarist for Progressive Rock band Porcupine Tree. In his prolific career, he has graced a number of bands with his substantial talent on guitar and his powerful voice. He has also managed to put away a few solo albums, all offered for free on his web site. You can find five session albums and a live recording. The five studio recordings especially got my attention due to their strong songwriting, hence are featured on Free Albums Galore.
Of the five albums the best and most varied , in my humble opinion, is Chasing The Monsters. It is a tour de force that melds alternative rock, folk, and progressive rock into an interesting mixture. Much of the album reveals a strong Roger Waters influence in both the vocals and guitar but there is also much that is derived from American folk rock. The best tracks include the title song and the jaunty rocker “Who We Love”. I also enjoyed the moving ballad “Velvet Dreams”.
The newer Shiver is almost as good. Starting with “Pretty Lives”, this is a more dramatic album with a lot of tension. At times it feels a little over-produced but is still full of good songwriting and poignant vocals. I especially like “The King of 17″ , “Your Round”, and the title track.
The last three albums comes from the 90s and represented some of the earlier songwriting of John Wesley. The Emperor Falls, The Closing of The Pale Blue Eyes, and Under The Red and White Sky all offer superlative songs in electric and acoustic styles. My recommendation is to try Shiver or Chasing Monsters, then go for the earlier albums if you enjoyed what you heard. While I liked all of them, I expect Chasing Monster will be the one I listen to the most.
The albums are available in MP3 format of either 160 or 192kbps bitrate. If you enjoy the music support the artist by buying the CDs.
Update: The albums are still available but you now need to register with your e-mail address in order to access the download page.
The German darkwave/electro-pop band Curious has placed their 2004 full-length release The Intimate Stranger on Jamendo as a free and legal download. The band has a heavy synthrock sound that harks back to The Cure and OMD while also showing a distinct Goth influence. The lush but driving “Thought of Angels” pretty much sets the pace while “The Silent Voice” is a haunting darkwave ballad. After these two exceptionally strong starting tracks, it becomes a little redundant for the 50 minute album but music still remains intriguing with some well crafted songs like “Your Apology” and “A Thousand Sunrises”, the best rocker in the set. This album is a nice addition to your collection if you like your rock slightly Gothic or have an infinity for Cure styled electro-pop.
The Intimate Stranger is available in VBR MP3 from the link below. You can also download it in 128kbps MP3 from their Last.fm page. If you like the music, support the artists by buying their CDs.
Trent Reznor never stops, does he? After releasing the four volume instrumental set Ghosts for free on the internet, he follows it with a another totally free Nine Inch Nails album, The Slip. This time it is typically awesome NIN complete with Reznor’s tight vocals and heavy industrial rock. And again it is free. You still have to give an e-mail address to download it but the creative common license clearly allows free distribution so you will probably start seeing it soon on fan sites, CC archives, and torrent sites.
I probably do not need to say too much about the music. Either you love NIN or you don’t. There’s little middle ground in their uncompromising music. “Discipline ” appears to be the ‘commercial’ cut. You can catch a very funny “official” video here. However other strong tracks include “Head Down”, “1,000,000″, and “Demon Seed”. There are also a couple instrumental tracks, “Corona Radiata” and “The Four of Us are Dying” that are more reminiscent of the ambient Ghosts. Overall it is an exceptional album, one of the best of 2008.
You can download The Slip from the official site in a variety of formats “including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE”. If you find any fan sites that have the album available without registration, you might want to mention it in the comments. And, of course, support the artists and buy their CDs.
The Belgian band Moving Sand has a fondness for down tempo angst. The band’s best asset in this musical emo-fest is a female vocalist that is able to channel the folkish sparseness of Cat Power with the existential despair of the more rock oriented P.J. Harvey. The slow and sensuous pace of the group, especially on Gray Cells, also reminds me of an European Existential version of Cowboy Junkies.
Gray Cell is a sublime but disquieting collection of tracks. The title tune is a haunting song that hovers between ballad and chant. “Don’t Forget Happy Hour” is a beautiful duet of voice and guitar while “Even If God Saves Me” has a jazzy beat accompanying its somewhat pessimistic message. My favorite track “Should I” is a bit atypical with its exhilarating electric guitar solo.
Secret Garden is a little more as ease, even jaunty in parts. On some tracks like “Don’t Break My Head” there is a stronger jazz influence and some tracks reveal a fondness for Latin beats. . The opening “Global Hard Girl” shows off the entire band well. Yet there is still enough angst to make the emotionally obsessive happy. Both albums give us a nice taste of this talented but introverted band.
The albums are available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.
Download
Gray Cell
Secret Garden
Fresh Body Shop is one of the more interesting indie rock groups to show up lately. They have three albums on Jamendo, each one just a little different but sporting a signature sound.
Tasteless is the latest and my favorite of the three. Fresh Body Shop’s basic sound is somewheres between Indie rock, Emo, and Industrial. From the first few track, it is clear that Nine Inch Nails is a major influence. The first two tunes, “My Great Descent” and “The Game” show this influence well and are also two of the best on the album. The title track reminds me of Radiohead with its Yorke-like vocal and its polyrhythmic backing . This is the album to get if you have not heard this group before.
But Make This End isn’t bad either. In fact if you like your rock loud and intense, it might be a better bet. This is a more industrial, metal-tinted effort. “The Middle Line” starts it in a hard hork frantic style and it lets up only a little. There’s a few atmospheric soundscapes here, but industrial is the key word for this session.
Orgamilk does a 180 degree turn and goes acoustic. This is the album that allows the listener to enjoy the lyrics and the calmer mood. Pedro is the lead vocalist and this is primarily his showcase. It’s a peaceful album that features nice vocals and good songwriting. Whatever album you like, we can all agree that Fresh Body Shop has the chops to become a prime time player.
The albums are available in VBR MP3.
Download
Tasteless
Make This End
Orgamilk
John Frusciante is best known as the guitarist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is also quite active in putting out his own solo albums. He gives away a very generous amount of demo and acoustic tracks at his web site.
Currently he has three collections of free music available. One is a set of demos from his album Shadows Collide With People. These are rough, not fully realized tracks that are not necessarily to my liking. However, two other collections are definitely more in line with my preferences and therefore featured on the oh-so-ever-exclusive Free Albums Galore
Songs From Shadows offers acoustic versions of songs from Shadows Collide With People. These are tracks that John recorded in his living room and they sound like it, which is a compliment. The songs all have an intimate “recorded-for-friends” style that is not usually heard from an artist of his stature. John writes that he used to do these songs in an acoustic tour but is not planning to do any more acoustic tours. Let’s hope he changes his mind as this is delightfully personal music.
From The Sounds Inside is an internet-only album of previously unreleased tracks that are unlikely to see the light of commercial release. The collection of demos and experiments have an expected uneven quality but there are some nice tracks here, most being solo acoustic or acoustic with accompaniment. Some of the more interesting songs include “Three Thoughts”, “Dying”, and “Fallout”. Certainly, the fans of The Red Hot Chili Peppers will love these albums but I think even the non-fans will enjoy seeing this other side of John Frusciante.
Songs From Shadows (acoustic versions) is in WMA format while From The Sounds Inside is available in 128kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artist by buying his CDs.
Update: John’s web site is gone, hopefully temporarily, but the albums have been moved to a fan site called Invisible Movement. I corrected the links below to reflect this.
Download
From The Sound Inside
Shadows Collide With People (acoustic)
One of the requirements for inclusion on Free Albums Galore is for the album to actually be free. Not only does it have to be monetarily free but also free from any type of registration through giving your name, address, e-mail or any other information that can be used for mailing lists or whatever. I have never made an exception to this rule…until now.
Nine Inch Nails’ new album Ghost I is the first CD of a four album set, appropriately titled Ghosts I-IV and Trent Reznor is giving it away as a audio free download. However you must give an e-mail address to receive the download link. I made the exception because; A) it’s Nine Inch Nails and B) the album is Creative Common licensed allowing for its free distribution for non-commercial purposes. In fact, the album is available in bit-torrent seeds and it is rumored some of those were placed by Treznor himself.
As for the music, it is entirely instrumental. The nine untitled tracks are unmistakenly NIN yet varied in range from an opening track of acoustic piano over ambient electronic sounds to a poly-rhythmic third track to full-throttled industrial (track 4 and 8). My favorite track is number 5 which reminds me of a ultra-dark Ennio Morricon film score. Reznor is never boring and usually eye-opening in his creativity. This album is no exception to that rule.
Ghost I is available in a zip of 320kbps MP3. You can also buy the entire four volume set in either a download or a CD for a very reasonable price. I bought the set and I can attest that all four volumes are excellent and one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. So if you like Ghost I do yourself a favor and buy Ghosts I-IV.
Update: Trent Reznor has placed the entire Ghosts I-IV in the open source section of the Internet Archive. You can download it here. Thanks to Lizzbee who mentioned this in the comments.
I’ve been waiting months for this. The Charlatans have released their new album You Crossed My Path as a totally free download. This is not a collection of b-sides, demos, or throw-aways but a fully realized album of new material that is as good as anything they have ever recorded.
Available from the web site of radio station Xfm. You Crossed My Path is a lively example of The Charlatans’ signature sound. Blending elements of alternative, 80s new wave, and a little 60s psychedelica, the band still sounds as fresh as they did in the early 90s. “Oh Vanity!” moves along with a driving rhythm and a equally riveting vocal. The title tune is high intensity rock and roll and one of my favorite tracks. Except for the bizarre “My Name is Despair”, every track is an upbeat winner. It’s too early to say what the best album, free, online or otherwise, of the year is but this is certainly a contender.
The album is available as separate track or album zip in 192kbps MP3. If you like the music, support the band by buying their CDs.
No longer available
Bill Mallonee writes and sings nice rock and pop tracks with a casual beauty in the melodies and lyrics. There’s a seventies feel to his brand of rock; slightly mellow with a good beat and with a folkish edge to it. He has a number of CDs for purchase on his web site but Summershine appears to be a perennially free online treat and a good introduction to the songwriter’s art. Throughout the album, his back-up band The Vigilantes of Love provide rock-hard support to his songs. This is a good album of well crafted popular music.
Summershine is available as separate tracks in 320kbps MP3. If you like the music support the artist by buying his CDs.
