Free Music of the Week 3: January 25th, 2013

Sunny Ali & The Kid | Tastebuds EP

At the very end of 2012, Sunny Ali & The Kid release a 2 song EP that kicks more ass than a lot of full length albums do. The first song Vinegar Lips is an old time Rock N’ Roll song with Sunny singing in an almost spooky voice. The second song Onamonapia has some great lyrics in it. I love “been around the world/seen a lot of things/I wanna fuck your face”. Both songs are super catchy and super short. The EP isn’t even 5 minutes long. So go ahead and download this and enjoy your life. 

Purling Hiss | Water On Mars

Purling Hiss | Water On Mars

In case you’ve been reading my reviews, all but one of the bands I have reviewed in 2013 so far have been from Philadelphia. This has been purely coincidence. But, just like the rest of the bands, this band, Purling Hiss is from Philadelphia, PA. I’ve always heard of these guys, but never heard them until I saw them open for Dr. Dog in March of last year. They did not fit the bill whatsoever, but I thought they were fucking great. The crowd, however, did not agree. Everyone seemed to be so confused on why these guys were playing. And that bummed me out that people couldn’t enjoy it. It’s probably because, for some reason, lots of “bros” go to Dr. Dog shows now. I’m not sure why. But the last 2 that I went to was full of frat guys who were just there to get drunk. Anyway, Purling Hiss is usually great. Their album Water On Mars is not so great. I cannot stand the “chorus” of Lolita. He just strains his voice when he says Lolita. Don’t get me wrong, not all the songs are not that great. I do really like Dead Again and The Harrowing Wind the most. The rest of the album is basically okay or not okay. And the jam on the title track Water On Mars is pretty great. I love the noisy guitars and feedback sounds (that sounds really sarcastic when I read it to myself, but I assure you, I am being sincere)  It’s really weird that I find myself not enjoying this that much because I love the side project Spacin’. I feel bad giving a fellow Philadelphia a “low” score, but I just really didn’t enjoy this album a whole lot. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me the more I listen to it. But for now I’m giving it a –

3/5

There doesn’t seem to be a streaming link anywhere, so if you wanna hear it, find it!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra | II

Unknown Mortal Orchestra | II

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are a psych band based in Portland/Auckland. This is their second release titled II, how fitting. This time around, for the most part, instead of making super fast beat, almost punk songs, they’ve slowed down, a lot. Making sexy songs with deep bass grooves. Perfect example is So Good At Being In Trouble. I mean, look at the title. It sounds like it could be a sexy R&B song from the 70’s. They do, however, keep the same psych feel that was on their first album. Overall, this is a really good follow up to their first album. Definitely worth checking out
You can stream it on NPR right now, but albums on there usually don’t stay there for long. It comes out February 5th, by that time you should be able to hear it through Spotify. Or you can just buy it, because it’s really great.

Stream it here.

4.5/5

Fun Fact: I’m seeing them in March and Foxygen is opening up for them!

Is and of The | Acrobatic

Is and of The is a Philadelphia project fronted by Drew Bandos. I put their 2012 album Know Not onto my top albums of 2012 list. He has recently released this new free EP Acrobatic. It’s a dark, bass-driven, ambient album, with some 8bit sounds and possibly found sounds thrown in there. It’s all instrumental. It is pretty fucking great. This is the kind of music that makes you want to just lay down on the floor naked in the middle of whatever room you are in and just absorb all the great sounds that you experiencing and let the music take over you. And it’s also the kind of music that will make you write run-on sentences when trying to describe it. It’s also free, but you can purchase it for however much your little heart desires. 

(Source: http://bandcamp.com/)

I didn’t really get a chance to find a whole lot of new music this week due to it being the first week of classes, but do not worry: I shall have reviews of lots of amazing albums that I just got a hold of soon. HANG ON TO YER PANTS. 

Free Music of the Week 2: January 11th, 2013

               

Ferret is a one-woman-band fronted/run by Tiffany Harris. Everything is recorded through her laptop microphone. It’s hit or miss with the recording quality. But even when it’s shitty, Tiffany is still able to make some of the most beautiful music you’ll hear. She layers everything. Layering guitars, vocals, sometimes even trumpets. When she does this it makes it sound as if she has an entire band of 10 people playing with her. It’s kind of hard to imagine all of it coming from one person. Only until recently all of her songs had the infamous “(short demo clip)” or something like that at the end of her songs. Most of these songs are those songs that you wish would just keep going for at least 10 minutes. She has come out with a new “album” every 3 months. But when she starts on a new album, she releases every track as soon as she’s done. So you get to experience the making of the album process with her. She has 4 full length albums and 1 EP. Right now, she’s working on her 5th album Jellyfish. She started it back in November and she’s 6 songs in. This one is her best one yet, but all of her music is great. Go check them out.

Stinky Smelly is a band from Philadelphia, PA. My friend introduced me to these guys after seeing them play at the famous Philly basement venue Maggot House. After hearing their name, I had to hear them. They have broken up since then, but this release is their last album. Which really sucks because they are really great. The opening track The End (fin) is very literally the beginning of the end. This album has an overall feeling of angst and frustration. The only time I find myself skipping a song is on Plastic Bag Factory and A Boy & His Dog. This is only because these songs do not flow with the rest of the album at all. Plastic Bag Factory is basically a rap song. But other than those 2 out of 16 songs, this album is fucking great. A lot of these songs are older songs, but recorded a lot better. Get it now because it’s free. Plus, since they’re broken up, it probably won’t stay on the internet forever. Or they might forget about it and it will stay on the internet forever. Either way, download it because it’s fucking good and fucking free.

4/5

(Source: http://bandcamp.com/)

FUCK IT; I’M GOING TO START GIVING NUMERICAL SCORES TO THE ALBUMS I REVIEW. I THOUGHT USING THE SYSTEM I USE NOW WOULD BE ‘DIFFERENT’, BUT IT’S KIND OF JUST DUMB. I’M SORRY EVERYONE. AT LEAST IT’S THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND I CAN DO THE REST OF THE ALBUMS WITH ACTUAL SCORES. CHANGING THE OTHER ALBUMS I REVIEWED THIS YEAR TO AN ACTUAL NUMBER SCORE. THANKS GUYS, I LOVE YOU.

Love,
Galen 

Fuzz

Fuzz is a new band formed by Ty Segall and Charles Moothart. If you’ve read anything that I’ve posted in the past few months, you’ll know that I fucking love Ty Segall. This is a little different; there are only two tracks on this 7” EP and they’re both instrumentals. And like what everyone says, it sounds like Ty Segall and Black Sabbath mixed together. Which is fucking great. Check out the second song Fuzz’s Fourth Dream here.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Where Are We Now? | David Bowie

Today, on David Bowie’s birthday, he announced that he is going to come out with a new album in March called The Next Day, and he released a single! The song is called Where Are We Now? It’s a very gloomy Bowie song, but still very awesome. Check it out for yourself.

Watch the video on his website.