Friday Freebies

Y’all is Fantasy Island
Under appreciated, is the phrase that springs to mind when anyone mentions now defunct Falkirk outfit, Y’all is Fantasy Island. I am not going to start kidding myself that I wasn't one of the folk that didn't fully appreciate what we had until they were gone. Thanks to Wiseblood Industries we can all do some much needed catching up as they've re-issued the whole of Y’all is Fantasy Island’s entire back catalogue digitally for free. This includes five LPs, totalling 55 tracks all in. So if you're not Home Game-ing this weekend, then this should pretty much be your weekend sorted.

State Broadcasters
It feels like ages ago since we last heard anything from the Glasgow's finest twee-Americana band. In fact it's been that long that I actually thought they'd called it a day, so it was good to hear that not only were they still going, but they've also been busy recording new material. They've just made new song 'Kittiwake', which comes from their forthcoming album due out in the summer, available for free download.

Steven Milne
At the tail end of last year I got sent a copy of Aberdeenshire singer songrwiter, Steven Milne's album Chasing Phantoms. Really good it was too, somehow I seem to have misplaced my copy of the album so it slipped out of my mind. Admittedly I do feel kind of guilty about that now, I am going to have to do some much needed hunting to find it. Anyway, what reminded me of all of this was that his label Bedford Records have made a remix of his song Best Of Times available for free download.

The Little Kicks
It's funny that I just mentioned Steven Milne, as he crops up twice in this weeks Friday Freebies. This little freebie comes courtesy of his other project, The Little Kicks, who are going to be out touring for a lot of this month. They've made their new single 'Call of Youth' available to download for free on their Bandcamp.

Fucked Up
I had forgotten quite how much I liked the last Fucked Up album, I must go and give my copy a a good airing. If you're already a fan then you might be chuffed to hear that Stereogum have a free download of their new song “Queen Of Hearts” for free.

Dropkick
One of the reasons I reckon a lot of folk like to search out new music is because it can be quite daunting when you find a band with a back ground as it requires a lot more effort to try and sift through a more established artists back catalogue. Knowing where to start can be pretty off putting when you have so much stuff to listen to. Which in a roundabout way brings me to Dropkick, as East Coast outfit whose music flirts between alt country and power pop. They've recently made 59 of their previously unreleased songs available to download for free on their website. Some of which I am assured are "reasonably good". Having already built up a bit of a cult following in Spain, the band are set to release their new album 'Time Cuts The Ties' on the 14th of May. If that sounds like your cup of tea then you can download a tonne of free songs from their website.

The Spinto Band
Mind the Spinto Band, whatever happened to them then? One great album, one stinker, then I never heard of them again until now. They've apparently been away recording a cover of theme music for Arthur. I am sure that makes perfect sense in Spinto-land, if you fancy hearing what it sounds like then you can by downloading the track for free in exchange for your email address.

Smack Wizards
The up and coming new Glasgow 3-piece , featuring members of Plaaydoh/Mr Peppermint, have made their debut album available for free download through Winning Sperm Party.

The Son(s)
In the midst of everything going on at Olive Grove HQ, it might seem as if we have overlooked some of our artists. I hope that isn't the case, as we love each and every one of our 'children' equally. It's been a while since we talked about the Son(s), so this feels like as good a time as any to be mentioning that they're giving away a free track in exchange for a tweet. So if you were wondering what all the fuss was about then you can find out for yourself here.

Jonathan Sebastian Knight
He of My Cousin I Bid You Farewell fame, has made a whole host of tracks available for free download on his Soundcloud page.

RM Hubbert
I am afraid that this freebie is only open to folk in the US, so if you're not from across the pond then you might want to look away now. He might well be currently be holed up in a studio with Alex Kapranos recording his new album, but we've not forgotten about wur pal Hubby. If you haven't already checked out his album 'First & Last', then you're missing a trick. Chemikal Underground were smart enough to reissue the album, so if you don't trust me, trust them. Our American friends are also in luck as they can download my personal favourite track 'For Maria' for nowt on Amazon. Everyone else, well you've been told enough times, by now you should've already bought the album.

The Dawn Fanfare
This freebie comes courtesy of our radio pal, Pop Goes The Revolution, who are planning on posting a free download every Monday for the next few weeks. So if you fancy a freebie on a Monday get following their Facebook page. This week they came up with The Dawn Fanfare, who are new to me, possibly because they're not Scottish.

Rock The Fort
The mini festival held up in Fort William, finishes up tonight with Bronto Skylift, Homework and James MacKenzie & the Aquscene. From what I have heard from folk who have played it at it, it's been a rather successful start to the festival. What does that have to do with free downloads you might be wondering, well there's a free mini album featuring Bronto, Mitchell Museum and Pareto among others. Get it here.

Bear Driver
Mind we like this lot, they make me smile. Their new demo Colours Run, works for me, see if it does for you by downloading it for free here.