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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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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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 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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Oxytocin is a musical cooperative of developers who work at Harmonix. If you are familar with Harmonix it is probably because they are the wizs behind popular music video games such as the Guitar Heroes series and Rock Band. Yet Oxytoxin is totally different. The emphasis here is not rock or metal but hip-hop and it is hip-hop with high production values and professionalism that you usually do not see on free and legal internet hip-hop albums. Of the artists on this album, M-Cue seems to be the focus with two solo tracks and four collaborative tracks. He has a tight urban sound with good lyrics that come together quite well on “True Praise”. Ligeri and Inner Dialogue offer a haunting dialogue with soulfully goth background on “Perfect”. But I am totally nuts over Nay’s breathy contributions on “Do It For Me”, “Sarah”, and “Fail Fail”. Other tracks on this consistently good album are by Rob Lynch, Patrick Balthrop, and Kedaar. ‘Leb, Chili, and Tarashi joins M-Cue on the collaborative tracks. We could use a lot more internet albums, hip-hop or otherwise, of this high quality.

The album is available in 256kbps MP3. Be aware that there are some explicit lyrics and parental discretion is advised.

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Teren Delvon Jones aka Del The Funky Homosapien wasn’t happy just writing lyrics for his cousin Ice Cube. He went off on his own career in alternative hip-hop and if he isn’t necessary a household name, he still managed to put out seven good hip-hop albums with his own singular style. His new album Funk Man, subtitled “The Stimulus Package” is available as a free and legal download from the Bandcamp web site.

There’s not much I can say about this album. It is a immaculate effort with dense but tight production values unfortunately marred with violent, hateful and ego-centric lyrics. Hardcore hip-hops fans will dig this but I don’t think it says very much to anyone else. Still, Del is a talented rapper with a gift for lyrics that is hard to ignore so I offer this on Free Albums Galore for others to check out and make up their own minds.

Funk Man is available in 32okbps MP3. If you like the music, support the artist by buying his CDs.

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I wish I could like Jay Slim more than I do. He has precise rapping skills and a way with words. Yet I really do not get much more out of his lyrics than the usual hip-hop obsessions with sex, swear words, and their ego. It’s too bad because he is an exceptional talent. Yet there is enough good times and urban beauty in his debut album The High Life to highly recommend it. A big plus is that he is surrounded with the lush and soulful production of Just Plain Ant. “Ramblings of a Mad Man” blends a post-bop jazz sound with some roller-coaster rapping. The title track and “Thought You knew” are two heavily grooving highlights. Fellow Richmond rapper Brad Oblivion joins Jay Slim on “Oh So Yes” and adds another dimension to the music. Unfortunately Sleaze’s contribution on “Who Needs Forever” isn’t to my liking but again it is a tight track with plenty of movement. In spite of my personal reservations regarding theme and substance, I must admit that musically this is one of the best online hip-hop albums you will find.

The High Life is available from Just Plain Ant’s new label Just Plain Sounds in VBR MP3 (around 192kbps).

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The Bailout by Hip-hop duo Braintrust is the first release from Just Plain Ant’s new net label Just Plain Sounds. Braintrust consists of the rude and party heavy rapping and lyrics of Dr. Benway and A-Bomb and they manage to be brash and fresh throughout this fun album. There are some distinct social comments in tracks like “Bank Robbin’ You” yet party music is the duo’s strong point. “Mission From God” and “Late For The Party” are two tracks that would get any gathering started but I must point out the rockin’ “Shake Em Down” if only for the sampling of R. L. Burnside’s marvelous blues classic “Shake Em On Down”. Party on!

The Bailout is available in 192kbps MP3.

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Dig Deep is a refreshing answer to those dwindling ignorant people that still believe free independent music is inferior to the corporate variety of pop music. Just Plain Ant is an excellent producer of lush and groovin’ hip-hop by any standards. This new free and legal online album is from BlocSonic which is best known for their compilation series of net label music titled NetBloc. This is their first foray into a single artist album and they did Just Plain Ant proud…or is it the other way around? The Richmond, Virginia based artist is at his best and he surrounds himself with equally talented rappers like Jay Slim, Sleaze, and Brad Oblivion. I especially like the collaboration by Brad Oblivion and Just Plain Ant titled “In The Air” but it’s all good. I also love the soulful “That Goodbye” that reminds me a little of the old soul icons like Marvin Gaye or The Stylistics. This is a highly recommended album that will probably be remembered at the end of the year as one of the best online music productions.

Dig Deep is available in MP3 and Flac formats from the BlocSonic web site.

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Tracky Birthday’s Animal Audition may be a bit of a joke but it is a very smart joke. Harboring a rap style that shouldn’t keep Kanye West up at night and borrowing lounge bits from Arthur Lyman, Tracky Birthday creates a funny disco lounge environment that comes off as a cross between Weird Al and The Streets. One of the things that make this “joke” successful is the variety of surprises Tracky places in these cleverly arranged tracks. Accordians, kazoos, bird sounds, and little snippets of samples keeps it interesting. My favorite track is the seriously hip “Balla!” and the exotically kitschy ” Free Dschimi”. This is a clever album mixing comedy with a serious musical aptitude.

Animal Audition is available in 192kbps MP3.

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Black Element’s A Major Minority get thumbs up for its infectious rhythms and for being just plain fun. That isn’t to say there’s not some socially conscious lyrics on this album. Black Element certainly has things he wants to say. But I like the basic musicality of this effort. “All<3″ is a jazzy and soulful effort while “The Stickup Kid” is party material. I also like “Human” and “Where My Heart Is”. Black Element is a good rapper but he also knows that melody and rhythm is essential to a good hip-hop album. This is a very enjoyable album that even non hip-hop fans should appreciate.

A Major Minority is available in 256kbps MP3.

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Philadelphia’s Voodoo Economics is a hard act to classify. There are traces of hip-hop, trip-hop, techno, industrial and even goth throughout the tracks on their album titled If: Then:: Iminami. Yet no one genre dominates. In various reviews, the word ‘quirky’ comes up often. The band’s fondness for fragmented riffs and odd time signatures certainly sounds quirky. While this may keep them off the commercial radar there is still plenty of intelligent music from this very professional sounding band for music lovers to admire. “Air Barriers” is one of the more accessible tracks but it adequately demonstrates the hallmarks of this group. Alison Conard’s vocals have a sort of David Lynch / Julee Cruise surrealism about it and the cryptic lyrics certainly add to that perception. Conard also contributes guitar and keyboard while drummer Justin Gibbon and bassist Jeremy Prouty adds much to this odd music. This is a unusual but exciting album.

The album is available from Jamendo in VBR MP3 format.

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CM aka Creative grew up in NYC’s Lower East Side but later moved to Maryland. This combination of regional influences is probably just part of what makes CM’s rap efforts more than just the usual NYC hip-hop mix of gangs, violence and urban hedonism. The influence of the Acidplanet community and various producers like Phresh, Battle Skar and A Better Tomorrow, whose collaborations enhance this two volume collection, certainly helps also. Classic Materials vol. 1 & 2 offer fresh arrangements and precision rapping from this new and deserving artist. Volume one has some nice tracks that are both beat-worthy and relaxing. I especially like “Do The Damn Thing” and more upbeat but somewhat materialistically cynical “Sweet Dream”. Vol. 2 continues the same hip-hop beat with more good tracks such as “Respect” and “I Don’t Know” but I really dig the atypical “Public Service Announcement”, a rude and busy track that sounds a bit retro a la Public Enemy. Good quality hip-hop has always been uncommon in the free and legal online universe but this duo of albums is one of those keepers.

Classic Material vols. 1 & 2 is available from the Random Flow net label in VBR MP3 format.

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Classic Material Vol. 1
Classic Material Vol. 2

Anyone who has explored the electronic music albums on Free Albums Galore probably noticed I have a fondness for Trip-Hop. So it is interesting that my trip-hop preference doesn’t transfer to the most popular artists in the genre, Portishead. As much as I swoon over the vocals of Beth Gibbons, the over-all feel of Portishead’s efforts is antiseptic. Lots of atmosphere but little emotion.

So the unusual free and legal online experiment by hip-hop wonder Wildabeast titled Wildahead Portibeast is a bit of a revelation. Wildabeast takes the music of Portishead and turns it into a hip-hop smorgasbord of beats and rap lyrics. The tracks are re-mixed so the basic Portishead songs are transformed into trip-hop with soul. Perhaps the best example is “It’s True” which Wildabeast takes the popular “Sour Times”, keeps Gibbon’’s signature line “Nobody loves me, it’s true”, and wraps it in enough electronic and turntable effects to make it his own. In fact, Wildbeast’s rapping is a nice counter-point to Gibbons’ sexy vocals and often leads the listener into the emotional payoff I missed from the original tracks. Wildabeast’s own rap lyrics on tracks like “All for Nothing” and “Machine Gun” remains high quality. I think most Portishead fans will admire these remixes and hip-hop fans will appreciate the journey into new territories.

The album is available in VBR MP3 around 256kbps.

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Degiheugi loves his samples. He tends to take old and usually familiar material, surrounds them with rich beats and manipulates them until they are his own. Then he’s off to something else. This makes his free online release titled Aquilon somewhat disjointed often sounding like wandering but conventional House. But when it gels, like on “Commes un enfant sans mere”and “My Rickety Piano”, it can really be a treat. I especially like the reconstruction he does on Nina Simone with the track “My Baby Don’t Care For Shows” and the very hip-hop / dub “Soldier in The Sky. Most of Aquilon falls into the trip-hop genre but it is quite an unique effort. Definitely worth a try.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3 from the Electrobel netlabel.

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L’eau de Robinet is a project from Polish electronic music artist and producer Cristopher Pokora. Being a rather eclectic listener of music, I really appreciate the creative sampling and arranging of varied sounds throughout this album . The sampling of jazz motifs, turntablism, spoken dialogue and more are manipulated into an adventurous but very easy going session of jazz, lounge and even a little hip-hop . His album titled Tap Water Drinkers is light enough to be background music but will still give you surprises with each attentive listening. Try “C’tait Don” for a witty duel of flute and vocal samples or “L’ile Desert” for a wilder but still jazzy treat.

Still Dreaming is L’eau de Robinet’s second album. It’s another nice collection of calming soundscapes with just the right amount of beats. The tracks range from dreamy (”Forbidden Dreams”) t0 Jazzy (”Chicas”) to slightly dark and weird (”Cinematic Monkey”). Both albums will provide you with some good trip-hop styled vibes.

Tap Water Drinkers and Still Dreaming are available from Random Flow in either VBR MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.

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Tap Water Drinkers
Still Dreaming

Just Plain Ant is actually hip-hop / urban music producer Anthony Gillison from Richmond, Virginia. His free online album titled Fly is available from Jamendo and it is a kickin’ collection of well produced hip-hop with traces of world music,, jazz, and retro soul. Gillison has collected some talented rappers who appear to be from the local Richmond area. The lyrics are substantially political and philosophical but laced with enough rhythm and soul to be quite entertaining. I especially like the tracks featuring rapper Brad Oblivion. The titled track featuring EENU and Stephany Alva has a cool urban soul-and-strings atmosphere that makes it my favorite cut on the album. This is one of the better free hip-hop albums you will find on the web.

Flystrumentals are most of the tracks from Fly without the vocals. I must admit I usually don’t care for this type of album as it usually sounds like a karaoke record. There’s just too much missing. However, this one makes for nice background music.

Both album are available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.

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Fly
Flystrumentals

Dockta Valkus’ Sci-Fi hip-hop Skybase is what I call a mood setter. It is the perfect album to play if you’re want background music to read science fiction by. I just happened to be reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin and the combination of spacey drones and exotic beats created just the right environment. Even on its own this is a fascinating mixture of sampling and hip-hop rhythms. I especially like the gospel / industrial hybrid titled “Hop Hop”. “Chill Out” and the opening “Ramazan” are nice examples of Dokta Valkus’ creative mix of space sounds and global samples. This is another nice album of music that you will not discover through from the commercial outlets and another answer to the tired assumption that free music isn’t good music.

Skybase is available in 320kbps MP3 from the Neferiu netlabel.

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S-Master of Disaster (aka Majic Sean) and James Esco are collaborators in hip-hop from Portland, Oregon. Their free and legal online release is titled Masters of Faser Fu and is the type of witty and creative rapping I’ve come to expect from the Random Flow net label. The topics are numerous and varied including, in their own words, “environmental issues, war and smoking big fat ones while playing high end video games.” The rhythms are crisp and the rhymes keep your attention even when talking about…God help us…”Puppies run over by Humvees”. This is an entertaining album of indie hip-hop.

The album is available in formats of MP3 or Ogg Vorbis.

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Metawon’s brand of instrumental hip-hop reminds me a bit of those great soundtracks from classic Blaxploitations films like Shaft and Foxy Brown. The free online Electric Dyslexic from new and promising Neferiu netlabel has that same urbane gritty feel. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the samples came from similar 70s soundtracks. However there is a definite turn to the 21th century with its hip-hop beats and deft sampling. The first track “Unite Them” grabbed me with the soulful vocal sample and soaring guitar while “Metasoul” blends pulsing percussion with teasing rap refrains. Throughout the 31 tracks Metawon creatively combines samples and beats to make each tune an unique musical environment. My only gripe is that the tracks are too short, usually under 2 minutes, As soon as I start to get into the groove the plot changes. Standout tracks include “Tear Shit Up”, “Psalm 23″, and a dreamy “The Ecstacy”. This album get a major fist bump from me…or is that a “terrorist fist jab”? Fox News gets me so confused sometimes…

The album is available in 192kbps MP3.

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D3Zs is a group of hip-hop artists from Canada and Japan. Having met at a show in Kyoto, the artists worked on a number of projects, one being this free online album released by the exciting new hip-hop net label, Random Flow.

Doin’ The Raps (part 1) is a bit of a revelation. The beats are complex but riveting. The rap is just as enthralling. I especially like the Japanese rapping by Highsnow. I have no idea what he is saying but I love the way he says it. Canadian rapper Cheese is also quite capable at delivering the words along with the beat. I especially like the manic “Checked” and the more grooving “Childhood Memories”. In a slower vein, check out “Crazy From The Head” and “Imagination”. My favorite track is “The Nightflies” which combines sharp rapping with a acid jazz environment. This is hip-hop that is fresh and way above the unimaginative noise that passes for rap on commercial radio.

The album is available in either MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.

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One of my favorite record labels is Anti. The label has an impeccable ability to pick high quality artists, new and old, and place them in the perfect environment. Anti has released a new Spring, 2008 sampler of their current stable of artists and it is a doozy.

Some of my favorite musicians are on this album and, in the meticulous Anti fashion, the tracks are not fillers or throws-aways but some of the best examples of the musicians’ artistry. The album starts with “Before The Money Came” a exhilarating auto-biographical song by hard-luck soul singer Bettye LaVette backed by Drive-By Truckers. It is followed by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds in a rude and wonderful “DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!”. Michael Franti & Spearhead’s socially conscious reggae rock is always a delight to listen to. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s Oscar winning “Falling Slowly” is peformed beautifully by Hansard’s band, The Frames. The mesmerizing Lyrics Born is his usual funky self on “I Like it, I Love it” and The Weakerthans give faltering Indie Rock new life in “Night Windows”.

Those are the artists I am familiar with but there are a number of fresh new voices in this collection. Galactic and Cadence Weapon play top-notch hip-hop. There’s plenty of nice singer-songwriter tracks by Billy Bragg, Joe Henry and Bob Mould. Ersi Arvizu makes some nice latin sounds. The tracks by Islands, Man Man, and DeVotchKa (who sounds like the reincarnation of It’s a Beautiful Day) don’t grab me like the others but they are certainly worth a listen. This is one of the better record label freebies you’re going to find.

The album is available in a full album zip of 128kbps MP3. I’m not sure if this will be permanently hosted so you should get it while you can, If you find an artist you like, and you will, support the artist by buying their CDs.

No longer available

Pretty much everyone is aware of Radiohead’s In Rainbows and the ground-breaking pay-what-you-want marketing ploy. You probably also know that In Rainbow is now available on CD. I waited to buy the CD and my humble opinion is that the album is Radiohead’s best since OK Computer

Oakland DJ Amplive has produced a tribute to this album in the form of hip hop remixes. He enlisted the help of a number of exceptional musicians including Del The Funkee Homosapien, Too $hort, and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5. At first the powers-that-be (I’m hoping it wasn’t Radiohead but maybe I’m just naive) attempted to stop the release but now all parties involved are allowing the free distribution of this very interesting online album.

The album, titled Rainy Dayz Remixes, is “composed exclusively of source material pulled from In Rainbows“. It’s a mixed bag but the best tracks are those complimented by the guest rappers or vocalists. After a amateurish intro, “Video Tapes” gets things rolling with a great performance by Del. “Nudez”, featuring Too Short and MC Zumbi, is a nice atmospheric track with the two guest artists rapping over Thom Yorke vocal samples. “15 Stepz”, featuring Codany Holiday, is a soulful outing while “Reckonerz” with Charli2na has some of the best added lyrics of the collection. The other tracks do not fare as well but “All I Need” is somewhat interesting. Overall, this is an impressive tribute set recommended to Radiohead fans and people who appreciate exceptional hip hop productions.

Rainy Dayz Remixes is available in 192kbps MP3. If you like the music, support the artists…Amplive and the guest artists, that is. Radiohead is rich enough!

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Minneapolis hip hop artists Atmosphere have released a free on-line album titled Strictly Leakage. I have not listened to any of Atmosphere’s other CDs but some have told me this release is a bit different. The most prominent thing I noticed about Strictly Leakage is that it is more than good hip hop, it’s downright funky which is a emotion that is conspicuously absent in a lot of today’s rap music. The opening track “YGM” has a James Brown funk thing going and that retro 60s soul influence pretty much remains throughout the entire session. I can see Mr. Brown dancing in his grave during “Get it To Get Her”. Add Slug’s original and usually outrageous lyrics and you have a first rate party album. I also like “That Not Beef, That’s Pork”, “Little Math You” and Slug’s ode to junk food and pharmaceuticals “The Things That Hate Us”. But if you want a certified adrenaline rush, you have to hear the super cool “Road To Riches”. Atmosphere has a good chance to be one of the handful of rap groups I listen to on a regular basis.

Strictly Leakage is available in 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying their CDs. I plan to buy one or two.

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If Beltaine’s Fire is not the only Celtic hip hop group on the planet, I am sure it is a very short list. Their first album titled Weapon of The Future is available on Jamendo and it is a very entertaining mix of musical genres that, considering that both have a socio-political history, may have more in common than most people realize.

Rapper/lyricist Lynx is the primary voice behind Beltaine’s Fire. He is a veteran rapper whose beats and words effortlessly float over the music with clockwork precision. Yet the twist is that the branished “weapons” are traditional Celtic instruments such as clawhammer banjo, cello, and mandolin. The ever present rhythm is managed by bass and drums in a style that is respectable of both hip hop and Celtic music. The fourteen tracks are, in most cases, foot tapping revolutionary message songs. It is a strange but successful combination of the social anger of Rage Against The Machine and the traditional style of the Irish rebel band Wolfe Tones. Another comparison would be to the equally socially conscious Michael Franti who also turns to world music as his base. Beltaine’s Fire’s revolutionary zeal can be found on most tracks but best heard on songs like “Home”, “Thrive”, and the lively opening track “Carpe Diem” which is embellished by the mellow voice of bassist Laura. I also like it when the group slows down like on “A Month of Storms” and the moving “Be Myself”. I hear a little beat poetry seeping in on numbers like “A Months of Storms” which makes me wonder if there is a Celtic Tom Waits in Lynx as well. Immensely listenable and always thought provoking, Weapon of The Future is highly recommended.

The album is available in VBR MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying the CD.

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