Each week we find a track from an artist or a band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Canción de la Semana. Love Star’s Betty Boop-like frontwoman Adriana Fernandez sings like a Spanish-speaking Tony Basil, channeling much of her early ’80s joie de vivre. The rest of the trio — Will Alves on guitar and Joe Torres on bass — work together to create a kind of retro alternative pop that refuses to be blue. “Felicidad” is about as pretty as tunes get with its peppy backbeat and perky chorus. But it’s the somber New Wave chord changes lurking in the background that suggests a deeper dimension.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
In lieu of our regular Discovery Download, we’re presenting a Rediscovery Download – in which we give an artist you may be familiar with another listen. Brad has been around since the early ‘90s, but if you’re not yet hip to the band’s rocking ways, you probably know one of its illustrious members: Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard. Although the cohorts have shown a penchant for ‘70s-influenced hard rock throughout their careers, “Rush Hour,” is a mellower, grungy affair – a spacious, melodic jam that rides a wave of guitars until the final chord change.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Our Discovery Download puts the focus on a different genre each week, offering up a free track we think is worth your attention. Audrey Assad, a Christian singer/songwriter from Phoenix, makes the kind of mature, achingly beautiful, acoustic folk tunes that are right at home on Lilith Fair. Set to a murmuring piano accompaniment, “The House You’re Building” shows off Assad’s ability to wax and wane from falsetto to breathy in the space of a minor note.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week, we find a track from an artist or a band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Canción de la Semana. Named for the famed car with the gravity defying doors, Spain’s Delorean take liberally from the sounds of the same decade (the ’80s, for you youngsters). A mixture of glossy, early techno-pop fused with the hypnotic, organic swirl of Animal Collective and the hook-heavy glee of the first Avalanches record, Delorean’s “Stay Close” goes back to the future in a neon-fogged haze.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we find a track from an artist or a band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. Long Island–born singer/songwriter Ryan Star was pegged as “the indie guy” on the reality TV show Rockstar. He didn’t win the competition, but he soon found himself signing on the dotted line with Atlantic Records. He’s got a gravelly voice that’s apt to soar over big, thundering kick drums and sensitive piano phrases. Lyrically, “Breathe” speaks to the simple act of letting go and learning to trust.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
