Archive for the ‘Alternative’ Category
Help the L.A.-based group the Ruse celebrate its fifth year together by downloading the sparkling “Beautiful Is Gone.” Recalling the grandeur of U2, the song features impassioned vocals and heroically layered guitars over a tightly executed rhythm section of bass guitar and drums. It’s the sound of 1980s earnestness coupled with 21st-century ambition. If you like what you hear, check out the Ruse’s third album, Midnight In the City, now available at a discounted price.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
The group’s eye-raising name, Vib Gyor, is simply a mnemonic for colors in the visible spectrum (violet, indigo, blue, green, and so forth). The five Brits behind this colorful, burgeoning band have already collaborated with producers whose big-time credits include Sigur Ros, Radiohead, and the Cure — and influences of each can be heard on “Fallen,” an ethereal sparkler that finds lyrics of perseverance wrapped in a warm blanket of layered guitar. If you like the track, check out this album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Cage the Elephant is a five-piece from Kentucky that caught our attention with this roots-y blues-rock number. Frontman Matt Shultz and his six-string-toting brother Brad display effortless chemistry on “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” with Matt riding a rousing slide-guitar lick with his slightly sneering, conversational vocal delivery reminiscent of a young G. Love. If you like the track, check out the album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Stockholm’s Ida Maria has a great rock ‘n’ roll voice – it occupies a kind of slurring middle ground between Joan Jett and the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas. On this track – a bit hit last spring in the U.K. – Maria voices an often hard-to-face fact about relationships with punk-rock gusto, creating a jumpy pop tune that grabs you by the collar. If you like the track, check out the album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Band of Skulls — Russell Marsden (guitar and vocals), Emma Richardson (bass and vocals), and Matt Hayward (drums) — play a ragged, rough, and absolutely riveting take on rock ’n’ roll. Somewhere between howling, minimal blues-rock and sneering indie pop is where you’ll find this U.K. trio’s debut single, “I Know What I Am.” We’re confident you’ll fall for the band’s intertwining male/female vocals and jumpy, primal rhythms in the same way we have. If you like the track, check out the album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
EVACUATE is now this weeks global Single Of The Week on iTunes. EVACUATE is a free download and taken from TBR’s brand new album UNION which is also being heavily featured on iTunes. Both UNION and debut album EXITS are available this week for a very special price. Make sure you buy your copy this week! Click on the iTunes button which will take you to the iTunes store.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Company of Thieves is based around the musical partnership of Genevieve Schatz and Marc Walloch. Walloch provides the unexpected riffing and blues influence while Schatz delivers the soaring and sweet vocal melodies. Their ode to the master wordsmith is a crunchy, mid-paced bit of soulful drama – like a partnership of Neil Young and Fiona Apple. If you like the track, check out the album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
“Jealous Enemies” is the opening track on Dark Captain Light Captain’s new Miracle Kicker album. The tune has a dreamy intricacy coupled with blissful folk harmonies. It could be the starry-eyed offspring of the Kings of Convenience and one of Radiohead’s quiet moments. If you like this song, check out the full-length album.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
“Mr. Hurricane” packs a beat that will be blowing speakers apart across all continents. That’s the hope, anyway. This track comes courtesy of Montreal-based duo Beatrice Bonifassi and Jean-Phi Goncalves. The group has created a song that has garage-rock’s fuzzed-out wallop, Jack White’s sneering, bluesy darkness, and a giant, space-age gospel chorus worth of the Flaming Lips. Get it now and thank us later.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
For those about to rock, we bring you . . . the Yelling. This North Hollywood quartet have arrived packing vintage gear, from pants to amps, and make a racket like the White Stripes, MC5, Mars Volta, and any other band who are at their best when they are at their loudest. Try the track “Blood on the Steps” today.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
