When Free Albums Galore started in 2005, good free and independent pop music albums were rare on the internet. Most of the music that passed for pop and rock was supplied by an hobbyist with a laptop. That has changed immensely. Nowadays you find artists and bands that are as polished and commercially viable as the bands that grace the Billboard charts. Free and online music is now another successful way for professional musicians to get their music out and in my humble opinion, it is often better than the Billboard variety as the artist has the final say in their products instead of a corporate shirt watering it down for the mass consumer.

Exhibit A is We Are Smug, an independent duo that has their own sound and a polished but enthusiastic delivery. The music in their debut self-titled album is a joyful mix of pop, indie , and funk, sort of The Bee Gees meet The New Pornographers meet Prince. I especially like the funky “Shit on The Radio” but “Words That I Can’t Say” and “Watching Me Watching You” have that infectious good time marriage of beat, melody and lyrics. “Tear it Up” is interesting. Despite the trite “uh huh, uh huhs” and cliched lyrics (”We need to tear it up, we need to burn it down”), this is a killer track with a a take-no-prisoners beat. If you want something more romantic, check out the pretty “Never Be The Same”. This is getting a lot of play when my friends are around and they are all surprised that this is an unsigned band with free and legal music. Most common remark: “I would pay for this”. So grab this before We Are Smug gets the hint.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

Update: It appears this “new” duo isn’t so new after all. We Are Smug consists of Darren Hayes, the lead singer of Savage Garden, and his partner Robert Conley. Still a fine effort any way you slice it. Thanks Christian for the info.

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I’m really not quite sure about The Juanitos. Their mixture of rock, disco, lounge, and Spanish music is odd but fun. The bottom line is that any music that makes me feel good is probably worth recommending. Their three free online albums, available Jamendo, certainly gives you a lot of music to help you feel good. This is essentially party music with no apologies and no strings attached.

Best of is not really a “best of” album as much as just their newest mix of fun sounds. The music ranges from funky to mariachi with a whole bunch of genres tripping over each other on the dance floor. I especially like the mariachi grind of “Do The Cobra” and the totally get-down-and -party “Latin Fever”. “Frankenstein in Shanghai” mixes a cheesy Chinese riff with reggae and funny vocals.

Exotica sounds a bit more balanced. The main thrust is Latin beats mixed with surf rock and lounge. Still a party album. Still a lot of fun.

It should not be a surprise to say you get pretty much the same thing from I’m Your DJ yet it is a bit different. It is the earliest of the albums and is more of a electronic dance album with some clever sampling on cuts like “Woman’s Liberation”, “El Loco Boogaloo” and “Pancho is a Bad Guy”. This is a straight forward dance affair that will appeal to many. But whatever album you choose to download, be prepared for some tongue-in-cheek amusement.

The albums are available in VBR mp3.

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Exotica
I’m Your DJ
Best Of

Kalup Linzy is a New York based performance and video artist. As you can see from some of his videos on Youtube, he is an unique performer often appearing in drag and incorporating a large slice of urban life and soap opera intrigue into his art. Ubu has made available with the artist’s’ permission a 30 minute EP produced in conjunction with his exhibition If It Don’t Fit which appeared at the Studio Museum in Harlem, April 2 - June 28, 2009. It is a delightful mix of funk, disco, and techno all having his own personal signature. Sometimes it sounds a bit like Peaches (”Chewing Gum”) sometimes Prince (”Keys To Our Hearts”) and sometimes it digs back to good old urban soul (”Melody Set Me Free”). There is also excursions into personal narrative that is beholden to Laurie Anderson but what New York performance artist doesn’t owe Ms. Anderson something? This is a very funky effort that goes from the clever in “Chewing Gum” to the poignant in “Ignorant Oil”. There are also new interesting covers of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Members Only” and James Brown’s “Please, Please, Please”. This is a good album which I hope will lead you to explore the artist’s video work.

If It Don’t Fit is available in 160kbps MP3.

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The music group Dynamoe appears to be quietly but steadily doing the free and legal thing for awhile now. They have three full albums with the earliest going back to 2001, and two compilations of unreleased materials. I figured it is time to give these guys their due. They have a solid professional sound that ranges from electronica to trip-hop to soul jazz and are deserving of a bigger audience.

The interesting thing to me is how each album has a distinct sound. Jump Start is from 2001 and is clearly a electronic music album clearly in the Techno / House tradition. It is purely instrumental, heavily percussive, and sounds like it should be played onthe dance floor. Not my cup of tea but good for what it is.

Coming Home is from 2004 and more to my taste. The opening track”Absent” is out of the acid jazz/jazz fusion arena and features a soulful vocal and great Richard “Groove” Holmes styled organ. Most of the album stays in the groove with jazzy solos and urban beats. “Geneve” is an especially tasty instrumental with a good sax solo and some nice arranging. “Mistress of Spice” has a nice female vocal paired with a slow-tempo blend of soul and trip-hop. The entire album sets off a calming but groove-filled atmosphere. This is the one I would recommend most.

In the Wake of Time is the latest and was released in 2007. The band has now shifted to a more commercial sound of smooth jazz and trip-hop. Vocals are now in the forefront giving a decidely mainstream feel. Yet there is still a tight interaction with the band members. and good arrangements throughout. “You Convinced Me” has a Tricky influence while “Rita Come Here Quick” is a track ready for prime time. This is a good album for easy listening; not as good as Coming Home but more my type than Jump Start

Rounding up the pack are two compilation albums of unreleased materials from 1998-2000 and 2001-2003. Mainly electronic dance music, the first collection does have some really funky tracks. I especially like “Chinese Food” and “Yellow Cab”. The second collection has a lot of soul and jazz oriented materials such as the trumpet sampled “If it Twinkles Snatch it”. Like most collections of unreleased material there is an unevenness but still plenty of good tracks.

All albums are available from Dynamoe’s web site in either 128kbps or 192kbps MP3 format. If you enjoy the music, be sure to support the band by sending them a donation.

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Muito Prazer sounds a bit retro. It reminds me of the jazz crossover music that was quite popular in the 70s and championed by artists like Al Jarreau and Jorge Ben. Brazilian guitarist and vocalist Haroldo Torrecilha has that same light and airy pace. Some of his songs are sweetly lyrical such as “Fulindo” while the opening track is funky to the hilt. “Quando meu voo e Libre” has a smooth jazz George Benson meet Al Jarreau quality. Those who prefer more traditional Brazilian pop will like “Morena”. All tracks have some very nice guitar work which appears to be dually handled by Torrecilha and Paulo Araujo. Some listeners may criticize the very commercial feel of this music but it is hard to disagree that this is a very enjoyable and virtuoso display of Brazilian jazz and fusion.

The album is available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.

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Kolektyw Etopiryna is a Nu jazz band from Poland that corporates elements of rock, funk, and avant-garde jazz into their musical mix. There are three free and legal albums available from Jamendo. The End is their debut album. It simmers rather than boils, effecting a nice groove in the bass lines that grounds the album while keyboard and trumpet improvises and lends color. The first album introduces the band’s instrumentation of trumpet, keyboards, bass and drums but the second album, Underrate It adds quite a few extra instruments. It is also an atmospheric mixture of funk and jazz. Finally we return to the basic four members in Kolory Ulicy Soundtrack which is meant to accompany an comic and graffiti exhibition. It is a single 28 minute track allowing a lot of exploratory improvisation by the performers. This is the liveliest of the three albums with some good percussive work and an avant rock feel. Kolektyw Etopiryna is certainly one of the more interesting jazz groups I’ve heard from Europe recently.

The albums are available in VBR MP3 around 164 bitrate.

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Kolory Ulicy Soundtrack
Underrate It!
The End

Greg Ginn is best known as the founding member and guitarist of seminal hardcore punk group Black Flag and the owner of independent record label SST. He also has fronted quite a few bands and projects since his Black Flag days, one of them being the punk/jazz/funk instrumental ensemble of Mojack. Ginn has placed Mojack’s newest album, Under The Willow Tree on his website as a free and legal download.

Under The Willow Tree may be quite different than anything Ginn did with Black Flag but the attitude is still decidedly punk. Ginn’s guitar playing is hard edged but often leaning more toward avant-garde jazz than rock. Drummer Mike Lopez is hard and funky while the saxophone of Tony Atherton, formerly of Bazooka, adds favorably to both to the funk and the avant-garde aspects of this session. The eighteen tracks are all up-tempo howlers that causes the album to be a bit one dimensional and twice as long as it should be but there is no denying the exiting tension that they produce.

The album is available from the Mojack web site in 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, buy the CD in higher quality sound.

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Suffer Machine is a band from London, Ontario with a dynamite rock and soul sound. Their album Scream of Love is housed in CHRW’s London Archives and was released in the 1990s. I do not know if this band is still around but, if this album is any indication, they had a vibrant and explosive sound unusual in most local ensembles. Lead vocalist Pete Tangredi sounds like a man on a mission; part juke joint hustler and part street corner preacher. The instrumentation of sax, keyboards, guitar, bass and drum often sounds larger than it is. I especially like the opening “100″, the funky “Brand New Feeling”, a boppish “I Believe”, the James Brown influenced “No Guarantees”, and an exciting and frantic homage to “James Blood Ulmer”. This is a good reminder that not all excellent bands get the spotlight they deserve.

The album is available in 128kbps MP3. I would love to know if this band is still kicking around.

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