Friday Freebies

TV On The Radio
Brooklyn's finest release their new album 'Nine Types Of Light' next month, having blown me away with their last album 'Dear Science', I must admit to being just a little bit excited about this one. They're currently giving away new song “Caffeinated Consciousness” in exchange for your email address.

PAWS
Having blown several folk away at their EP launch a few weeks back, those awesome PAWS boys have posted up a live bootleg of a show they last year at Stereo in Glasgow. As if that wasn't enough they've also posted the rest of their releases to date (excluding their new EP, The Mermaid) up for free download too. The boys will be returning to the scene of the crime tomorrow as they're playing with The Babies and Schnapps at Stereo.

Kowalskiy
Our good mate Kowalskiy has just released 9th free monthly EP, bloody hell 9th? How time flies by, this month he's got another corker in store for you. If you fancy five free songs from some of the most exciting emerging artists in Scotland, then look no further. This month he has roped in Night Noise Team, Rose Parade, Chasing Owls, Two Zebras and The Mouse That Ate The Cat.

The Last Battle
As a tribute to the untimely passing of Nate Dogg, those lovely Edinburgh folkies The Last Battle have posted up their cover of Warren G & Nate Dogg's classic, 'Regulate'

Penguins Kill Polar Bears
Another Edinburgh band trying their hand a cover version are those rocktastic Penguins Kill Polar Bears kids who have covered PJ Harveys 'This Is Love', rather nifty it is too.

Andrew Lindsay & the Coat Hooks
A few weeks back I got sent the forthcoming EP by Andrew Lindsay & the Coat Hooks, to my discredit I didn't get round to listening to it properly until just a couple of days ago. Having given it the once over I must admit that I was pretty damn impressed, then again if you rope in are Loch Awe's Matthew Healy, Shambles Miller and Reverie to appear on an EP, then you're certainly onto a winner there. The EP, The Whittling, comes out on Monday coming through new Scottish DIY label, After the Hush, founded by former Stereokill editor Marcus Kernohan. As a wee taster they've very kindly made "Bearded Author" from it available for free download.

Skies Fell
The Glasgow rock outfit have now added a hidden bonus track to their single 'Statues', which is free to download on Bandcamp.

Toro Y Moi
Here's one for you hipsters, KEXP have a free download of“New Beat” by Toro Y Moi from the 2011 album Underneath The Pine.

Bear Driver
I am trying my best to avoid mentioning what's going on in Austin at the moment, purely out of jealousy I might add. One such band that are out wowing the good folk of Texas are the awesome Bear Driver, who have posted their Fugitive EP up for free download to celebrate this momentous event for them.

Neil Milton
Scots artist Neil Milton who is now based out in Poland has a new EP which is up for free download though Valentine Records, you can find it here.

Waterson
Glasgow electronica artist from has made his new single 'When You Tell Me That You Love Me' which was remixed by UK House legend, Ashley Beedle, available to download for free on Soundcloud.

Friday Freebies

French Wives
Love this band. Really I do. They really are fucking awesome, if you haven't already come across them then you're in luck as for the foreseeable they are going to be posting a free tune every Monday under the banner of 'The Home Fires'. You can find out a bit more about it all on their Myspace blog, all you really need to know for now is that you can get their song 'Your Friends and Mine' for free here.

Song By Toad
I am pretty sure Matthew Toad called me a cunt on his podcast last week, then again he did play Randolph's Leap so he's forgiven. He has couple of releases just out/coming out, one from Savings & Loan and the other from Yusuf Azak. Head on over to Toad HQ where you will find a free download from both artists.

Miaoux Miaoux
Has posted up a cracking remix of Silver Columns 'Brow Beaten' here.

Asobi Seksu
They have a new album coming out soon, you can get the track 'Trails' for free here.

FOUND
I am none the wiser as to what this weeks free tune from those lovely FOUND boys will be, all I know is that it'll be very good and you should download it.

Fight Like Apes
There is a free download of the band live at Eurosonic on their homepage.

Girl Talk

There is a whole album from Girl Talk up for free download here.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears
The Edinburgh band have a free download of Wish With Worry (Supasub Remix) up for grabs on their Bancamp.

Val Verde
Dunfermline band Val Verde have a few free downloads up for grabs on their Bandcamp, check out 'Can You Hear Me?' which is rather nifty.

James Vincent McMorrow
His debut EP came out on Monday, you can download the lead track from it, 'If I Had A Boat' for free here.

Angkorwat
There is a free EP called 'Early' up for grabs on their Bandcamp.

Badly Drawn Boy
Man I loved that first Badly Drawn Boy album, sadly though it's pretty much gone downhill ever since for me. Has he raginaed his old touch, you can make your own mind up by downloading a new tune here.

Pilotlight
There is a free download of their song 'All Purpose Underneath' up for grabs here.

Ethan Ash
His song 'Tried to Get Rid of Me’ is available for free download exclusively through iTunes for a limited time starting today and is available via this link.



Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

The Doc is back with his monthly free EP, this month he has songs from Te Winter Tradition, Miaoux Miaoux, JJ Bull, Dead Boy Robotics and The Last Battle. You can download it over on his Bandcamp page.

Fresh Meat Monday - Penguins Kill Polar Bears

Would you care to introduce yourself?

We are Penguins Kill Polar Bears, a post rock band from the quiet town of Linlithgow in Scotland. We formed in April 2009 and since then we have been bringing our massive melodic sound to venues all over Scotland.

How would you describe the music you make?

A explosion of post and alternative rock music, fueled by angsty vocals, intricate guitar parts, massive bass lines and driving drum beats. We like to write songs with some dynamism behind them, the kind of music that makes you want to go outside and climb a mountain and relax at the top and enjoy the view. It's intense at times, but we know how to get some chilled out vibes going. Imagine the ginormous sound of Mogwai funnelled through the anthemic power of Manchester Orchestra...

How did you start out making music?

We all went to high school together and played in a variety of different bands across various different genres. Once we had all left school we formed Penguins Kill Polar Bears through a love of bands such as Brand New, Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins. We took flight in April 2009 and since then we have been writing, recording and playing all over Scotland.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

Most of our song writing happens when we get together in the studio. We usually spend a few hours jamming out some ideas and seeing what happens with them. Once we're happy with the basic structure of the song we'll demo it ourselves and see what parts need working on. Normally it'll take us about 2 weeks to get a song finished and sounding the way we want it to. We're not really sure how we go about writing lyrics; we usually write the songs first and then get a feel for it. The lyrics tend to have a negative vibe to them; it works well as an emotional out put.

What can people expect from your live shows?

Our live shows are known for having a chaotic atmosphere. We always aim to play our songs with as much energy and passion as we can, whilst creating a massive sound. At the end of the day, our goal is to get out there and play our music as passionately and as well as we can. We've had one incident where Ben took on our drummer Kieran and his drum kit mid show but sadly the drum kit won the fight and Ben ended up unconscious on the floor.
Drum Kit 1- Ben 0

What are you all listening to at the moment?

A bit of everything, we're always listening to bands such as The Appleseed Cast and Manchester Orchestra. We listened to the new Pulled Apart By Horses album a lot when we were away on tour. It's pretty crazy and has some mind blowing riffs. I think it's safe to say, we've all got a soft spot for a little bit of Ellie Goulding every now and again.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?

Bigger riffs, louder songs, and are planning a UK tour. We've also just started writing new songs for our debut album which we hope to release within a year. We're all very excited about what the future holds.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears - Homebound

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Friday Freebies

Stars
I admit that I do get a bit overly excited about some of the freebies that I come across each week. This weeks 'kid on Christmas Day' moment came courtesy of Canadian band, Stars, who gave their new single 'Fixed' to Stereogum for free download. If you haven't come across this band before, I urge you to hunt down 'Set Yourself On Fire', one of the most beautiful albums ever.

Band of Horses
I really liked their debut album, sadly their second was a bit of a let down. Whether their third, 'Infinite Albums' will see them reliving past glories or continuing down the spiral is still unclear. On the first few listens to their new single I fear the latter. You can make your own mind by signing up their mailing list and they'll send you their new song 'Compliments' completely gratis.

Iron and Wine
The American singer songwriter has 8 acoustic versions of songs from his 2007 album 'The Shepherd's Dog' available for free download here.

Vacuum Spasm Babies
Edinburgh band, Vacuum Spasm Babies new release the 'Science EP' is available for free download over at Shark Batter. Cheers to Bawjaws from Have Fun at Dinner for this little tip off, nice work mate.

Sefiros
Glasgow's very own electronica artist Sefiros (more from him soon) has a whole host of albums available for free download on his Bandcamp page. Here's all of the individual links to save you searching; 'You're Not Here', 'Under The Roots', 'Minor Disruption', 'Shadow of a Doubt' and 'Fadeout'.

My Kappa Roots
Thanks go out to David 'Dinky Darko' for introducing me to Fife singer-songwriter, My Kappa Roots (aka Pablo Clark). It always amazes me how many great new Scottish acts there are out there that just pass everyone by, don't let this be one of them. 'A trio of field recordings recorded in the field behind Craig’s house in the summer of 2007' are available for free download over at Field recordings

Penguins Kill Polar Bears
The Linlithgow four piece have a couple of tracks available for free download
over on their Bandcamp page. Cheers to Ali Podcart for the tip.

Kimya Dawson
You probably know her as one of half of the Moldy Peaches or from the Juno soundtrack, either way you'll be chuffed to learn that the anti-folk heroine has a put a free download of her song 'loose lips' up for free.

The 405 Mix Tape
If you haven't come across this website before then now is your time to do some catching up, get it bookmarked. Then download a cracking little mixtape that they've made for us, it features cottish artists, Trapped In Kansas and Beneath Us The Waves. Download it here.

Nina Nastasia
The New York City singer/songwriters forthcoming sixth album Outlaster' is out pretty soon, a free download of 'You're a Holy Man' is out there as a sampler of what's to come.

Mates of State
The San Franciscan are bringing out a covers album later in the year, featuring their takes on songs from some of the following, Belle & Sebastian, Daniel Johnston and Fleetwood Mac. In anticipation of it's release they're giving away a copy of their cover of the 'Girls' 'Laura', it's the usual sign up to their mailing list get the song routine.

Kill Rock Stars
The uber cool indie label has a sampler record up for free download, featuring artists such as Elliot Smith, Deerhoof, The Decemberists and The Thermals. As you already know, it's free and you can nab yourself a copy here.


Kowalskiys Komplimentary Korner

Three Blind Wolves
This week the legendary Kowalskiy has a wee freebie from Ross Clark's band, Three Blind Wolves. You can download"Emily Rose" from taken from their debut "The Sound of
the Storm", which came out last week. If you like what you hear then get yourself along to Stereo tomorrow night, where they are playing with the fabulous French Wives.