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 Canciòn de la Semana. Atto & The Majestics pulls together musicians from Mexico City’s fertile indie rock scene: Ianina Ricco (Selle) on keyboards, Leon Chiprut (Alex Syntek) on lead guitar, Ismael Salcedo (Los Daniels) on bass guitar, and Jaime Ortega (La Catrina) on drums. “Transistor,” the first single from their double album Bifocal, throttles to a a serpentine guitar lick, rumbles along a subaqueous bassline, and features thematically apt radio feedback.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we select music from an independent artist we’re excited about and bring it to you, for free, as our Indie Free Download. This charming Sydney quintet calls its music “glam folk,” and there’s something undeniably theatrical yet rootsy about “Something for You” – a standout track from the band’s self-titled album. The sunny tune feels like it could’ve been discovered in a vault of long-lost British recordings from the ‘60s. It winds along at a mellow pace, decorated with bouncy guitar rhythms that occasionally spiral toward prog-rock realms and sometimes dissipate to spotlight Martin Solomon’s piano-assisted vocals. There’s a sing-along-style bridge that at first feels like the finale, but hold tight for a subtle yet surprisingly grandiose ending.
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. Cobra Starship is the perfect dance/punk/pop collective for the set that favors all-over print hoodies, tight jeans, and Chucks – and for those who simply want some fun music to heat up their nights. This electro-pop jam from the band’s new album, Night Shades, is all about hitting the dance floor when the world gets you down. Thematically it calls to mind Indeep’s classic club cut “Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life,” and it’s an upbeat party-starter that would be great on a playlist featuring some Chromeo, Kevin Rudolf, and ‘80s hits like The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.”
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Reverb-soaked synths and crescendoing vocal echoes color this hypnotic, beautifully layered slice of chillwave featured on Active Child’s You Are All I See. As Pat Grossi’s otherworldly, high-register vocals glide through the artful track – singing “I just can’t keep hanging on” – we can’t help but assume that if he let go, he’d probably just float up and away.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Heaped with praise by NPR, Rolling Stone, and MTV, Chilean singer/songwriter Francisca Valenzuela has enjoyed ample critical and commercial success for her gold 2007 debut, Muérdete la Lengua. “Qué Sería,” from her second album, Buen Soldado, is far less new wave than the songs from her debut; it sounds like a ’70s piano-rock ditty as she ponders the pros of a painful love affair.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Sharp-eared/eyed music fans might remember Brooke White as an American Idol seventh-season contestant. In Jack and White, she collaborates with indie singer/songwriter Jack Matranga for “Double Trouble” — a "love ‘em and leave ‘em" tale scribbled on a pretty California postcard. Brooke’s swooning voice is an ideal counterpoint for Jack’s rough acoustic edge, elevating each other to a mindstate somewhere between Jenny Lewis and Fleetwood Mac. “Double Trouble” appears on Jack and White’s debut EP, Gemini.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Freshly inked Tooth & Nail act Icon for Hire crushes expectations on “Make a Move,” its first single from the album Scripted. The band melds alt-metal with Top 40 — think Flyleaf and Paramore — to arrive at a combination that inspires change as much as it incites action in the pit. And with pink-haired lead singer Ariel Jump at the controls, Icon for Hire is an exciting presence on the contemporary Christian rock scene.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
"Black Water Falls" is the final track on this Philly band’s latest, Slave Ambient. It’s a fitting coda to an album that in equal measures drifts into the sunset and offers up distinctly summery bits of melody. Droning and hypnotic, sparked by Dylan-like wordplay but with a classic-rock heart, "Black Water Falls" is a wayward hymn exemplifying the group’s talents.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
