Dead Bees is a French record label that specializes in indie rock, mostly in the alternative and shoegaze environment. Asides from their usual CDs, they release sampler albums that give a good idea of the talent on this label. So far there are ten samplers, but volumes 8, 9, and 10 have been placed at the Free Music Archives under a creative common license so listeners can download for free. It’s a good way to get your audio product out there especially when there is just a high quality of artists as is evident from Volume 10.

Dead Bees Label Sampler #10 has 19 tracks of alternative music coming from bands that deserve a bigger audience. The variety of music sticks to a introverted shoegaze with an occasional step into indie pop ( Treasure Map’s “Can I Make It Up To You”). Perhaps the best track is “Floor” by Ostrich Tuning, a Sonic Youth influenced tune with a intoxicating flood of reverb and vocals. But there is no lack of good music in this nearly an hour and a half collection. Other worthwhile artists include The Dead Mantras, The Chemical Set, and Pete’s International Airport.

If you like the tenth volume, you should go back and check out volumes 8 & 9. I will let you find the gems yourself. Suffice to say, they have the same quality of music discovered on Volume 10. And of course, if you like the music go to the Dead Bees website and consider purchasing a few CDs.

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Dead Bees label sampler #8
Dead Bees label sampler #9
Dead Bees label sampler #10

The album titled Chi’en is 80 minutes of mystical sounds and atmospheric tones. It is melodic but drenched in world rhythms and traditional drones. It is as deep a musical journey as you would ever want to travel on. Three of the tracks are over 10 minutes with “Peeling Off” being an epic 24 minutes in duration. Most would call this a laid back post-rock, psychedelic or even shoegaze but ambient and world fusion comes to mind too. Frankly, it is pretty hard to fit in any genre. The Barcelona based Qa’a describe their efforts as “radiating music with no stylistic adherence where magic, repetition and rituals prevail above all else.” That pretty much says it…I think! Aside from the aforementioned “Peeling Off”, I find “Time is Key” to be a fascinating listen. This is an exceptional album any way you look at it.

Chi’en is available from the Magia Roja netlabel in 224kbps MP3.

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Good Day, Montag is a cerebral ensemble that hovers between shoegaze and ambient. They are a mixture of Tortoise, and Eno. The beat tends to be quite slow which encourages a sense of relaxation and altered awareness. In other words, also a little psychedelic. They have two albums, Colonel Cabrillo Takes La Paz Proper and the later Room For Two and Your Ghost. I like Room a little better if only because the group sounds a bit more experienced in structure and ton.. But both albums will soothe the restless spirit in you.

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Colonel Cabrillo Takes La Paz Proper
Room For Two And Your Ghost

My big discovery of 2010 just may be Nic Bommarito. His mixture of electronica, post-rock and Americana folk influences is one of the fresher sounds I’ve heard while perusing the internet for better than average music. Nic Bommarito clears better-than-average like a pole vaulter clears an anthill.

There are three of his albums, that I know of, available freely on the web. His latest one is Harp Fragments and the appeal of his music is obvious from the first track, “Hymn For 200 Sugar Packets”. There is a combination of the melodic with the majestic surrounded by impeccable arranging. While some of the tracks sound a bit lo-fi, that doesn’t take away from the virtuosity of this music. “Folk Psychology” displays his love for Americana and folk elements, an influence that is never too far away in any of his compositions. Another stand-out is “Way Better Than Too Much Post-Rock”.

Taciturn is the album before Harp Fragments and, while not as outstanding, it is still an excellent collection of instrumental sounds. Both of these album are from the 12rec netlabel.The artist’s sense for the right sound at the right time is extraordinary. The two “Taciturn” tracks are the longest on the album at almost 10 minutes each but they never get boring. “Badly Asbestos-Covered”, despite the odd name, is quite pretty with traces of indie rock in it. I also like Bommarito’s same named tribute to composer Arvo Part.

Lastly, there is a briefer (21 minutes) EP titled Paranormal is Normal which is available in the Open Source Audio section of The Internet Archives. “Mixed during a period of insomnia in Lhasa, Tibet,” it is five tracks of music that is slightly more experimental than the first two albums. The title track and “Ambulance Sonata” are a bit minimalist and meditative while I like the jerkiness of “One Kind of Redshift” and the droning peacefulness of “Pure Sound”. Nic Bommarito is an artist to watch.

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Harp Fragments
Paranormal is Normal EP
Taciturn

Sceneslow may be the most accurately descriptive name of all the artists featured on Free Albums Galore. Hovering between pure ambient and shoegaze, the seven tracks on October 9 are slowly developing soundscapes of a calming nature. Sort of like a film in slow motion.. The instrumental arrangements, as well as the barely decipherable vocals on a few songs, are tentative and gentle giving a dream-like quality to the entire session. Only “Step Like a Circle” manages to build up any tension but the other songs all bask in their dream inducing quality. This is quite a beautiful album for quiet and reflecting listening

October 9 is available from Dog-Eared Records in 192kbps MP3.
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Mandelbrot Set is an instrumental rock trio that pack a punch. Sometimes sounding like Mogwai and sometimes emulating what I can only call a heavy metal drone, the band offers a densely layered sound that can really settle into your mind. If you need to have genre then post-rock, experimental, math rock, and noise rock all comes to mind.

heir debut album, All Our Actions Are Constantly Repeated comes from the Highpoint Lowlife record label and can be freely downloaded off of their Last.fm page in 128kbps MP3. The six tracks tends to be moody soundscapes alternating between the dreamy and the ultra-sonic. The band members tend to be more interested in the overall effect than individual flashiness, a strong point in this type of music. This is a good debut and a recommended listen to those who like their rock heavy and serious.

And remember. Enjoyed the music? Support the artist by buying the CD!

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A Beautiful Machine is usually classified as post-rock or space rock. Nonetheless, whenever I hear this other worldly music I think of Buddhist chants. There’s something almost spiritual about these soundscapes; music for a monastery on the edge of the universe.

There are four free and legal albums from A Beautiful Machine. Each is a journey into the cosmos. s/t is their first album. It is a meditative dream until the last two tracks when “Glow” erupts into a sonic explosion and “Coming Up Again” end in mid-tempo optimism. Solar Wind, White Noise, Antigravity is truer to the post-rock vision with more beats, clearer vocals, and reverberating guitars. Solar Variants is a collection of remixes. Their 2007 release is Home. By both titles and sound, this is the most conceptual of the albums. The music is harder and more rock oriented. It is also the most realized of the four and the one I would recommend the most. There’s a fine balance between the rock aspect and the almost spiritual sensation I mentioned earlier. The title track is a good example of this; 8 minutes of dark but beautiful tension between instruments and vocals. The other tracks are of the same good quality.

The albums are available from the Internet Archives in either MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.

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Home
Solar Winds, White Noise, Antigravity
s/t
Solar Variants

Through most of Place You Trust In Empty Places, Johnny Poindexter inhabits a intense dream/nightmare world. The six piece band plays music from a post-rock purgatory; bleak and dark with torturous but mesmerizing harmonics. Jamie Sidebottom’s vocals are almost afterthoughts as he practically chants in “Headswim” and “Madeline” while the more upbeat “We Meet By Accident” pairs a New Order-like refrain with Jesus and Mary Chain walls of sounds. Most of the tracks are firmly in the shoe-gaze arena. This is a good solid effort by a promising new band.

The album is available as separate tracks or full albums zip in 128kbps MP3.

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Part Rocket is another instrumental indie rock band who appears to model themselves after such stalwarts as Mogwai, Tortoise, and Explosions in the Sky. Their sound is still a little rough but there are a lot of good ideas and musicianship on these two online albums.

The six tracks on Good Morning Satellite favors simple melodies that are slowly embellished and developed. For instance “Oloudah Equiano” features a repetitious guitar line while bass, drums, and keyboards build on the tension. The first untitled track does something similar but with a decidedly metal sound. The last track, “A Simple Case of Mistaken Identity” is a good sample track as it is a capsule of many of Part Rocket ideas including contrasting dynamics, long developing lines and post-rock effects.

Their second album is Kneel Before The Throne And Drink The Blood of Your Own. It has only two tracks of about 10 minutes each. The long tracks help the band develop their ideas thoroughly making this a more satisfying listen. “Midnight is Some Burning Tower” is a slow jam building on a simple bass line. “Cosby, Bills, and Cash” exudes a trance-like, almost psychedelic environment. The two albums presents a very promising start for this young band.

Good Morning Satellite is available in 192kbps MP3 while Kneel is in 224kps MP3. Beside the two albums, you will find a few more single tracks that you might want to check out.

Update: The Part Rocket web site is no longer and I can not find a good download link for Good Morning Satellite. However Kneel Before The Blood and Drink The Blood of Your Own is now available through the Lost Children net label through the link below.

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Sonores describes their music as” a soundtrack to a dream”. Sonores must have very beautiful dreams. The group consists of three members who choose to go by their first names. Elisabet’s contributes delicate vocals , Viktor handles the electronic end, and the composer and primary instrumentalist is Jonas.

The main problem with their self-titled EP is that it is too brief. At not quite 14 minutes, there isn’t enough room for the listener to become truly immersed in the heady sound stew that Sonores cooks up. Elizabeth vocals are like thin wisps of smoke while Victor and Jonas’ melodic lines are haunting and meditative. My favorite track, “Jonathon” would fit comfortably in a David Lynch film. In fact, those who remember the Twin Peaks score by Badalamenti will have a good idea of how this music sounds.

I try to present EPs and albums that are at least 15 minutes and over. This one is too good to ignore even it is doesn’t quite reach the time requirement. Let’s hope Sonores follows up with a longer album so I can really lose myself in their dreams.

The EP is available by separate tracks or album zip in either VBR or 64kbps MP3. The separate tracks are also available as Ogg Vorgis format.

Note: Jonas has informed me that their new CD Elefanten is out and available for purchase. If you enjoyed the EP support the artists and buy the CD.

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Tantrum inhabit that shadow area of the rock world where disembodied vocals mix with psychedelic quitar evoking memories of David Lynch films. The result is trance inducing and similar to the sonic dream music of artists like Cocteau Twins and Blonde Redhead.

Tantrum has two albums available online. Maisie’s Friend (1999) is their first and has a slightly more melodic feel to it. “Pill and Dreams” pulses and flows over the ethereal vocals of Nikki Grant. “Scaremonger” is my favorite track with its light lyrics over densely layered guitar and electronics. I also recommend “Skunk”, a delightful exercise in manic energy.

Advice To Users was released in 2006. Tantrum continues the pattern of floating voices over deep layers of sound. “Princess” is especially engaging as its Grant’s voice lulls you into a dream then jolts you awake with high-voltage guitars. “Emergency Poncho” has a Sonic Youth echo to it. Both albums are recommended to those who like their rock music to be spacy and intelligent.

Both albums are available in 128kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying their CDs in higher quality sound.

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Halcyon High, aka Roger Anderson, plays a tranquil form of rock full of dreamy guitar, hynoptic drones, and soft vocals. He describes his music as “glorious crescendos of noise and beauty” which pretty much says it all. As I listen I hear strains of The Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Yo La Tengo but Anderson has his own sound going for him. My favorites tracks are “Close Your Eyes” which starts out as an acoustic ballad and builds into a Mogwai-like reverberation of electric sounds and “Last Breath”, a quiet meditative jewel of a song. Halcyon High’s CD may sound a little like a project in the making but there’s enough nice vibes to recommend a listen

The album is available in 160kbps MP3.

No longer available

Elfin Princess is understated, unambitious, quiet, casual, stream-of-consciousness alternative pop music. It sounds like music born of a flick of the wrist rather than sweat and blood, and carries with it a simple innocence that is quite endearing. The Moonboots’ musical influences are so diverse as to be indecipherable (to me).

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Brian Jonestown Massacre (named after the Rolling Stones guitarist) are a psychedelic band featuring Anton Newcombe and a rotation of more than 40 artists through the 90s.

Methodrone, Spacegirl, and Their Satanic Majesties Second Request are sloppily recorded but reminisce over a broad range of shoegaze and psychedelia . Take It From the Man! is a more accessible retreading of the Stones, BB King, Bo Diddley, The Animals, Them, Jimi Hendrix, and others. The appropriately titled Give It Back further relives 60s rock, while Strung Out in Heaven is perhaps their most mature work, sounding more like The Byrds than the Stones.

Bravery Repetition & Noise is a darker, dreamier, more atmospheric album as much dependent on post-punk as the 60s, and And This Is Our Music is even prettier and more ghostly. Bringing It All Back Home Again is only 30 minutes long and country-tinged.

Brian Jonestown Massacre is definitely the “biggest” name I know of to post so much of their work on the Internet; here’s hopin’ others follow suit!

The albums (and other tracks) are available for download in zipped packages of 96kbps OGG files from the download page.

No longer available