Each week we find a track from an artist or band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. Complexity is what makes Alabama Shakes so intriguing. The Athens, Ga.–based Southern rock band has roots in the local punk rock scene but sounds steeped in the old-school traditions of Muscle Shoals. On their rollicking single “Hold On,” Brittany Howard belts lyrics with Joplinesque abandon to Heath Fogg’s Skynardian guitar riffs. If “Hold On” is any indication, patience really is a virtue.
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 band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. We Are the In Crowd is a five-piece power pop band from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., featuring boy-girl lead vocalists Tay Jardine and Jordan Eckes, respectively. “Kiss Me Again (feat. Alex Gaskarth)” displays this arrangement’s beauty, flaunting pretty melodies and yearning vocals about young love: “Can you feel my heart beat? Put your arms around me/And kiss me again.”
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. Tanlines have been on our radar for a couple years, largely thanks to their progressive, dance-friendly remixes. Now the New York–based duo have released a proper full-length debut, Mixed Emotions. The leadoff track, “Brothers,” is a perfect introduction to Tanlines’ indie electro-pop maneuverings. Gently crashing synth waves are buoyed by a kinetic, midtempo beat; it sets the scene for Jessie Cohen’s casually dramatic vocals, which are beautifully balanced by effervescent cooing.
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 Australian five-piece drinks liberally from the well of great British pop—be that The Smiths, The Stone Roses, or The Beatles. Guitar lines play a heavy role in songs like "Outlands," creating a skeletal framework where the band can hang its harmonic inventions and melancholy grooves.
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 band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. Sweden’s plan for worldwide electronic pop domination just took another leap forward. The Stockholm indie-darling duo Miike Snow has absorbed and mastered the technological advances that have happened since its 2009 eponymous debut. The first evidence is “Paddling Out,” a luscious pop song dressed in sharp underground dance finery: wicked drum machine programming, muted cowbells, tambourines, low-pass filter effects, and radical rhythms. “Paddling Out” appears on the new Miike Snow album, Happy to You.
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. Good Old War is a Philadelphia three-piece born from the ashes of Days Away. “Can’t Go Home” starts with an acoustic/vocal melody combo that activates fond Simon & Garfunkel memories before the adrenalin kicks in, the tempo spikes, and Good Old War rushes into contemporary indie waters. “Can’t Go Home” appears on the Good Old War album Come Back as Rain.
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. Brooklyn singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten excels in a powerful confessional aesthetic, where whispers speak higher volumes than screams. With “Serpents,” Van Etten uses churning, cascading guitars and choice words to cleanse her vulnerable wounds—it’s the ideal antidote to the venom circulating in her bloodstream. “Serpents” appears on the Van Etten album Tramp.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
