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. 

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/)

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/)

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #3

Perfume Genius: Put Your Back N 2 It

This is the saddest album I’ve heard all year. Perfume Genius plays beautiful, short piano songs. Even though only a few instruments are used, it sounds gigantic. Like a huge orchestra playing with him. Listen to this and sob.

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #5

Ty Segall & White Fence: Hair

As it should be to anyone who reads this’s surprise, Ty Segall & White Fence have made it into my top 5. This was the first of three releases this year. This being the best. It was also the very first time I heard Ty Segall. This is what got me hooked.  ”One, two, three four” are the first words you’ll hear being mumbled when this begins. Everything comes in at once; then, the sweet melody of the opening guitar solo comes in. It’s just so… so… so fucking great. It relaxes the most stressed of minds. You have no choice but to close your eyes and bob your head to the beat. Then, just when you least expect it, they turn the distortion on and soothe you with “ooh” back-up vocals. This is one of the greatest album openers I’ve ever heard. It seriously just gets me pumped to listen to the rest of the album every time I hear it. This is an album worth buying. This is what will make you want to go out and get a guitar and make music. 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #6

Mount Eerie: Clear Moon

This is one of the most depressing albums of the year. If you enjoy feeling sad, you’ll love this. It’s not the kind of sad where you want to cry, but the kind where everything sucks so much that you can’t really react. But that’s what makes this album so fucking great. That it can evoke such a great feeling (in me, anyway). 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #8

Screaming Females: Ugly

Marissa, lead singer/guitarist, makes some of the coolest sounds from her mouth and guitar you’ll ever hear. I cannot find the right words to describe Screaming Females. They’re definitely punk rock, but there’s more to it. 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #11

Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan 

I’ve been casually listening to Dirty Projectors for a few years, but I didn’t realize how great they were until I saw them at Pitchfork Music Festival this year. They seriously blew me away. It was by far the best performance the entire festival. After seeing them, I really listened to their new album, and it is so great. Every single person in this band is amazing at singing and harmonizing. 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #13

Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind

One of my good friends turned me onto Converge just in time for their new album to drop. Holy shit, this is fucking intense. It’s the most hardcore punk, hardcore punk can get. 

TOP ALBUMS OF 2012: #15

Ty Segall: Twins

In case any of you haven’t realized, I fucking love garage/psych/rock bands. It just reminds me of the summer and it’s fucking awesome. Anyway, Ty Segall released 3 albums this year. 3! And what’s even better is that they’re all fucking great. All different enough to be on 3 different albums. This one is his “solo” album. It fucking rocks and it makes you just wanna jump to the beat with a bunch of other people in a mosh pit. 
Bonus fact: I went to Pitchfork Music Festival this year and he crowd surfed and I got to touch his sweaty back. It was awesome.