Ben Lee does free

I like Ben Lee. He's kinda funny, kinda quirky and sometimes very clever. He's also quite well known for being a widely disliked artist which is a unique reputation to have...not one i envy however. But love him or hate him, he doesnt stop because of it. And that in short is why i like him.

A while back he got my attention and some new found respect when he released his own cover album of 'Against Me! - New Wave'. This is a really bloody good album in itself, but Ben Lee took all that it was and re-made it in his own image. The result...in my opinion...is fantastic! (clicky the piccy to get the linky) Dont expect the same punk rock and power of Against Me' but rather a more stripped back lofi-indie approach which actually keeps the arrangements and melodies more or less untouched.

Curious? Yeh i was too. Go on, get it..its free.

Now back in the day, before we knew him, Ben played in a band called Noise Addict. Its widely thought that this was a good band and that his departure from the sound is a shame. He must've been listening because now 13 years later he has resurrected the moniker and reformed the band to release this new album for 'Noise Addict'. And he is putting it out for all the world to have for FREE! Get it from here

So thats free stuff for today, enjoy the tunes and share the links as you go!!!

Sean

Out there...way out there.

I spent a fair amount of time digesting and immersing myself in the epic music found on Perth's instrumental/prog/post rock act Sleepmakeswaves album 'in today already walks tomorrow'. Its like...epic, massive, heavy, intricate and yet...not metal or tech. Its 6 beautiful movements that kinda flow on from one to another and they released it to the world for free via the Lost Children net label. They are responsible for some incredible post rock/metal and instrumental bands all of which have released music for free. Click on the image to go to the bands download page and prepare yourself! If you enjoy stuff like 'Explosions in the Sky' but always wished it was a but heavier, then this is a dream come true..plus they're aussies!

And for something else a bit...out there: Ghoul.

These guys come from Sydney and play a style of indie music that's really hard to describe. Electrocoustic, lo-fi experimental indie-pop? Nah thats not right... :( Its just a bit weird and really cool. I dont expect everyone will dig it...but...ITS FREE! Thats gotta make taking a chance on an 'out there' kinda band more worth it!

'A Mouthful of Gold' is their debut EP and you can get it by clicking on the image or following the links from their myspace. Stream a track and see if you dig it. I do, otherwise i wouldnt be sharing it with you! Cheers!

Phat elephants make big impressions..?

I was trying to think of something clever to put as a title to the blog post, i guess thats the best i could come up with. I really like the roster of artists associated with the Elephant Tracks label. Seriously, what a powerhouse of talent! Since i dont JUST listen to heavy music i thought id feature some of my favourtie artists in the skip-hop scene and more specifically from this stable of aussie artists!

Horrorshow have a sweet new web site up and its a .com and everything! Thats a fair committment in this day and age of myspace pages and facebook groups! So their new album was just released called 'Inside Story' and its getting some huge cred!!
TripleJJJ is giving away the single 'Thoughtcrime (doing my think)' via the free music page. Thanks triple J...again.

<- they look kinda scared. I can relate when i catch trains at night, i get scared too. Why do people with backpacks and tracksuit pants look so intimidating at night? Why arnt we scared of suits and uniforms? Thats my thoughtcrime, im judging by appearances, they must be dangerous...they're wearing back packs and trackies! Eek*

'Combat Wombat' ..the name for me..conjours up images of this robust fighting comando wombat. That is not entirely the point but i've said it anyway. The album is caleld 'Unsound System' and you can hear a track 'Qwest' (click) which did really well on triple J's Net50 back in the day! It's not new as far as products go, but its fresh music and the project has meaning behind it. The members share their views on environment, war, politics and society trough the web site and the music. Finally, someone is singing about something worth thinking about!

Hermitude recently did a cover of Bjork's song Joga (yes thats right...Bjork) and put it up for free via his myspace. Worth the listen... click here and if you dig this stuff you really ought to check out the rest of Herimtude's work! Some people cant dig the uber-aussie accents, but i dont care! Im freeking aussie, thats what we sound like. Better than fake ass american gangster talk!

Ozi Batla

And finally... i have saved my aboslute favourite skip-hop track EVER for you.. from Ozi Batla i present: 'Starship Troppers'. This is a solo track...so its pretty much just a 'Herd/Ozi Batla' track. At the moment he performs with Astronomy Class whos second album is just rocking me at the moment. Serious awsome reggae/hip hop/dub groove rap stuff...whatever, its good. This song tho...its pretty confronting and makes you think about war and the young men and women who fight these things. Phenominal.

So that wraps up my skip hop section. Hope you all enjoy the free tunes and follow links onwards to see the artists and labels pages!

Triple JJJ: Still good for something...

I dont turn the radio on very often. I rarely get excited about the stuff i hear when i do tune in, usually when driving a work car or something. I am reminded of the good ol' days when i could leave my dial tuned in to TripleJ/PBS or RRR and expect to hear something good/new and cool and then id go out and research the band and find their music in a shop!
Nowadays it's tuned into whatever frequency my ipod is broadcasting and listening to playlist x. Given that the radio is kinda getting more and more saturated with dance/pop/weird alt country folk stuff...im comforted by the fact that a station like TripleJ has kept their horizons bright with the JJJunearthed page. You will find a lot of crap bands on there...yes..that is certain.

BUT theres a bunch of mad-nutt bands who have tracks up there for free and i figure this makes it a place to re-visit from time to time and get updates.

Atlanta Takes State

Metal, in your face...mad stuff from sydney. Check their myspace for info and whats happening with them.
The song you wanna hear is 'Who Ate The Disco Biscuits' and if you dig that, then you definitely need to dig up the rest. Look for a new EP thats on its way from these guys. This track is off a demo but if you can look past it...you're in for a treat!!

Dream On, Dreamer

These guys are from Melbourne and as far as i have listened, freeeking rule. I dig it. The track to get on is Vultures and if you like what you hear, go on itunes and buy the other tracks which make up this EP and turn it up loud so the nanna's in the car next to you will know 'we likez ze metal muzik'.
Good for fans of the synthy-core-sing/scream stuff thats becoming so popular at the moment.



Awsome... !!

Love...this!

'Lovecats'
(<- meaning these dudes)
Song: 'Dont Play The Part'

I kinda feel funny about liking this cos generally speaking it is sooo not my thing. But there's this hooky, in your face attitude and tongue-in-cheek vibe behind it all that i cant ignore. These two dudes are in a band called 'Amity Affliction' who are a pretty tight band in their own right. Heavy and hard hitting in all the right places.

Put your email in here and they will send you the song! Totally worth it! But dont expect to hear riffage or screaming or anything! It's all about electro-pop and rap...but not gangster! Welcome to 'crunk'.

Pretty much...amazing.

Who's amazing? "This City Sunrise"

Who are they? A three piece band from NZ who relocated to Melbourne last year. Given the fact that NZ is kind of..smaller and the OZ is kinda ..bigger, it makes sense to come over and have a crack at the scene. What with all our sick talent and full to overflowing heavy music scene! BUT i dont know if its going to be worth it. Good bands get overlooked all the time and often it's those brilliant souls who we love to listen to that others have no clue about.

So i want to help, im tellin yall to check this business out! Im a fan. Yup i am blown away by the pure originality and style coupled with brutality and severity of the sound.

They have a myspace of course.. but go check out the blog and read up on their plans and stuff. Maybe you could help them find a new name for the band? It has to start with a 'G'. (yeh im serious!) BUT the real draw card here is that they are giving away their tunes. Get the pictured EP 'Sings In Union' and turn it up loud. Then if you are into it, you can go back for more and get the earlier self titled EP form last year. You wont be dissapointed.

*ahem*...............................and introducing...................Farewell Forever

a) Mates of mine.

b) New band made up of ex-members of: The Red Shore/ArmageddonSky/Silent Betrayal

c) Free track up over at purevolume (feat Jamie/Red Shore)
d) 3track EP on its way.

e) epic, brutal and will tear your face off.

f) you're a gimp

Ive been following the progress of these guys closely and im heaps excited by what they are doing. It's as heavy as a four letter word...but yeh it still has appeal to draw listeners in i think. Good luck boyz.

If you truely love something, set it FREE

More?

More free music...

iexplodelike...

They are a crazy synthy/progressive screamo band from sunny* Melbourne who have started to put themselves out there...for free! I like it. But i also really like 'House Vs Hurricane' and 'Dream on, Dreamer' and other bands in the scene doing the synthy-beats mashup with hardcore. Its fun. Whilst this is just a demo, it stands up against some other bands releases at the moment. They have a blog and myspaz.
(*sunny bit was a joke)

"Secrets in Scale"

They are a rad alternative rock band that will do your ears a favour. They have a 6 track EP and yup..they're giving it away for here. Click HERE and go have your self a good time! I really rate this stuff, i hope you do to. Write to them, tell them you're into it, add them to your mysapce etc..spread the word!

Paper Arms

Based in Adelaide, these post-punk/hc boys have it. Its a hard edge, rough vocals and attitude WITHOUT the pretentious, flair and drama. I know Josh who used to play in God So Loved The World & back in the day...pop punk icons 'STR'. They had a 4 song CD which sold out and is now up for free download.

One writer for bombshellzine had this to say about them: "nothing this well-rehearsed and excellent has come out in years.... nobody is as good as this right now. Myspace them immediately for your own good."

OK, there you go... thats the last of it for now. Have fun with it and share alike, tell your mates if you think they'd be into some of this stuff! Add the bands on myspace, head out to a show and buy a shirt! Do what keeps this scene alive.

Hip Hop Core

Deez Nutz...

There i said it. A band name that i usually outright refuse to say. One of the worst ive heard.


The back story is JJ' was the drummer of infamous chuggahcore band 'I Killed The Prom Queen'. He was a good bloke from what little time ive spent with him in the 'Antiskeptic' days. Anyway this is his thing..gangstar hardcore. He's up front delivering the vocals instead of behind the drums. It sounds like a terrible idea to mix genre's like that, but when you review some of the older bands in the ilk... you'll find that this really isnt a new thing but more of a modernized sound from wayyy back. It works too. I dont know how sincere the effort is to marry hiphop with hardcore but thats what im getting out of it. They have some albums out (see pictured) with the latest "Stay True' well worth a look in. BUT what's really cool is that they are giving away a new single...not featured on the album! Its called 'Free Music' and you can get it here


Its beefy and has a good groove and when you d/l the track you get art and lyrics along with it. *click* ... totally worth the 3 minutes it takes.


And then to add to the mix...he's in a REAL hip hop thing (minus guitars) called Grips & Tonic in which he partners up with this kiwi dude Louie Knuxx. I aint into it. You might be though so here's the linkage... and you can grab two free tracks for your trouble.



What IS cool though is that he appears as a guest vocalist alongside Michael Crafter ... (who used to the be singer in IKTPQ) on the new Confessions track 'Thats Not The Goose' which you can stream on their mysapce. I dig this song alot. It sounds immediately familiar and fresh at the same time. If you're up for it, Bluntmagazine is giving it away as a free download along with a swag of other bands on their new MixTape#1 which you can get here and i strongly recommend you do. Loads of good bands, heaps of shite ones and yeh generally a worthy download if not for the Confessions track alone. The new album is out on the 9th Oct and should deliver the goods.


(resist records rarely dissapoint)



Ahh well thats a heap of tunes for nothing. Keep your money. Spread the word.

New Day, New Core

IM Back. Whatever.

Nothing says 'indie' like hardcore. Its the ugly, confronting heavy music that gets messy. It sometimes lacks the polish and finesse of its more accessible and older brother...metal. It lacks the appeal and fun of its other sibling ...punk rock. But with what it lacks, it make makes up for in spades with passion, energy and brutality. NO radio would take a risk with a sound like this, no major label would gamble on a scene with such confronting trends, links to ethical movements, violent energy, outspoken views on society and culture! Hardcore punk, metal core and ..just plain old 'hard core' music has long been a big part of the melbourne music scene and now more than ever it is seeing a*boom!*

I like that there's room for you no matter what life-views you hold to: christian, straight edge, vegan, party boy, dont care what i am*, gangstar ... you can get into this.

Lately im noticing the scene which produced such brutal bands is now brimming with cross overs, genre mash ups and a new breed of kids with something to say. Keyboards are becoming more and more familiar, beats and samples are making their way in, break downs are replaced with blast beats, dance beats are replacing double time, singing is backing the screaming, rap is even getting a look in and colour is back in the wardrobe!

It's just full of variation and new idea's and i really like it! I dont like all the music that is coming as a result but the adventurous bands behind it have my respect at least!
Im going to start sharing some of the music ive found and the links to where you can find it too. All free.
As it comes.