Six Things For Saturday

I’m a rubbish blogger, clearly. Rather than spend another weekend not writing proper blog posts and leaving things silent, here’s a random selection of free music to briefly entertain you at the weekend.

Randolph’s Leap:
Randolph’s Leap launch their new album, Randolph’s Leap and the Curse of the Haunted Headphones with a gig at the Captains Rest tonight. Contrary to the poster above I’m told that doors are at half seven, with the first band on at eight, so get along early. The album will be available on cassette at the gig, though there are very limited quantities available, before being put up on Bandcamp later. As a wee taster you can download Dying In My Sleep from the album here.
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Julian The Apostate:
The man behind Julian The Apostate used to be in a band I liked, but now he’s going solo instead. There’s a couple of EPs and some demo recordings available for free from Bandcamp, and I’m promised there’ll be more going up regularly, so keep an eye out.
&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://juliantheapostate.bandcamp.com/album/home-recordings-1-chaos-ex-nihilo”&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Home Recordings #1: Chaos Ex Nihilo by Julian the Apostate&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Human Don’t Be Angry:
The man behind Human Don’t Be Angry used to be in a band I liked, but now he’s going solo instead. Oh, wait… Anyway, yes, Human Don’t Be Angry is the latest project from Malcolm Middleton. The album will be released on April 23rd - I’ve had a sneaky advance listen, it is, not very surprisingly, a bit good - but ahead of that there’s a free download available of H.D.B.A. Theme. The first Human Don’t Be Angry gig with a new full band takes place at The Arches a week today, as part of the Margins festival. There’s not many tickets left, so you’ll have to hurry if you want to go but don’t have one yet.

Night Noise Team:
I rather enjoyed the album, Slow Release, that Night Noise Team put out last year. It was a mixture of dark, broody, poppy and electro, sometimes all at once. There’s a free track, The Gift, available here, and more freebies from other Permwhale bands here. Slow Release is available to listen to and buy here.
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Fay Wrays:
Ditching Scotland, off we go to Fresno, California, for something new from the Fay Wrays. Their album Strange Confessor popped up at random in my inbox last year, and ended up one of my favourite albums of the year (you can get that album for free here), so I was rather happy when they sent me through a new song at the start of the week. Cars is really rather good, and you can have it for free here.
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Magnetic Island:
Continuing the rather random hopping around the globe today, let’s stop off in Brooklyn, New York, for a little something from Magnetic Island. Their new self titled album is really, really good, and I urge you to have a listen to that here, and buy it if you like it. There’s a host of free stuff from Magnetic Island on Bandcamp too, so go ahead and fill yer boots, but the freebie I’m featuring here popped up just the other day. It’s a cover of a song by the Au Pairs, who I must confess to being completely unaware of, so I can’t compare the cover with the original. The Magnetic Island version of Headache For Michelle is ace though, so go download it.

Finally a reminder that I recorded a podcast with Insularis Records, you can find more about that, and have a listen, here.

Shambles Sells Out, or Free Shambles Miller!

Given that I had him along to play at my last Aye Tunes gig in 2011 you shouldn’t really need to be told that I rather like Shambles Miller. If you haven’t heard the man himself yet to find out why I like him you won’t get many better chances than this.

You see, Shambles has now sold out of physical copies of both his EPs, Shambles Vs The Dragonwizard and Shambles Sails The Clockwork Sea. To celebrate the sell out status the kind Mr Miller is making both EPs available, for a limited time, to download for whatever you want to pay for them.

Both are available from Bandcamp, where you can have a listen and get yourself a digital copy for however much you fancy paying.

<a href=”http://shamblesmiller.bandcamp.com/album/shambles-vs-the-dragonwizard”>Shambles Vs. The Dragonwizard by Shambles Miller</a>

<a href=”http://shamblesmiller.bandcamp.com/album/shambles-sails-the-clockwork-sea”>Shambles Sails the Clockwork Sea by Shambles Miller</a>

Shambles Miller: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Five Things For Thursday

One of my aims for this year is to stop hearing something I like, thinking “yeah, I like this, must put it on the blog sometime” then completely forgetting to put it on the blog ever. With that in mind then, here’s a handful of music for you with minimal chatter from me, all either free or “pay what you like” to download.

Fat Janitor - Lurk
You always knew the school janitor was up to no good, didn’t you? Well, here’s some proof. Lurk is available to download free from Bandcamp. Play loud.
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Aloha Tigers - The Kind of Girl U Like
Ian that used to write Have Fun at Dinner has been talking about this band for as long as I can remember, and is now going one step further by making them the first release on his new tape label, Kirkcudbright Tape Club.
The Kind of Girl U Like is the first single released, free to download.
Aloha Tigers - The Kind of Girl U Like by kirkcudbrighttapeclub

Hipster Death Squad - Good Times Again
A band that I found through Peenko’s Friday Freebies, Hipster Death Squad have been firing out a fair amount of new songs since I first started ~~stalking~~ following them. They’ve just released a new single as a free download from Bandcamp, and I really like this one, so here you go.
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As In Bear - Mr Glued
Last night my readers voted them one of the best new bands in the poll, today a free download arrives in my inbox. That’s what I call good timing.
Mr. Glued by As In Bear

mi mye - the time and the lonleyness
I had mi mye on the Advent Calendar last month, along with a mental note to myself to keep an eye out for more from them. Turns out I didn’t have to wait very long. They say that the time and the lonleyness, their new album, isn’t officially out until February, but you can download it right now from Bandcamp, so why don’t you?
&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://mimye.bandcamp.com/album/the-time-and-the-lonleyness”&amp;amp;amp;gt;the time and the lonleyness by Mi Mye&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

We’re Only Afraid of NYC - zero.four [Free Download]

Time to sneak in a quick plug for something that isn’t draped in tinsel and glitter, I think!

We’re Only Afraid of NYC - AKA one of our favourite bands in Scotland - have a new EP out now. As ever Team NYC are being far too kind to us by offering the EP for free. You can get zero.four - and their previous three EPs - for no cost at all over on Bandcamp.

We’re Only Afraid of NYC are a band I’ve been stalking for ages, ever since I caught them supporting Mitchell Museum way back in the early days of this blog, and I’m always pleasantly surprised that every time I see them or they release something they’ve improved again. They were hardly poor in the first place, I wouldn’t have kept following them if they were, so that they can continue to up their game every time round is getting a bit frightening, frankly.

Anyway, listen before and get stuck in over at Bandcamp.

<a href=”http://wereonlyafraidofnyc.bandcamp.com/album/zero-four”>zero.four by we’re only afraid of NYC</a>

We’re Only Afraid of NYC: Bandcamp - Facebook

The Spook School - Are You Who You Think You Are? [Free Download]

I like The Spook School loads. They are quite lovely too, so much so that they came through to Glasgow back in September to do a gig for me. You probably never came, but more fool you, as it was pretty good and we all enjoyed ourselves without you. Anyway…

The Spook School have some new songs available for download. You can have them for free, or you can pay for them if you want to, but either way you should probably go and get them.

A bit like their previous single History/Hallam, they’ve gone for a fast song/slow song approach to the new single.

Are You Who You Think You Are? jangles along brightly and all smiley, despite lines about heartbreak
Devil Of Mine is a slower, quieter and sounds quite melancholy.
In depth reviewing there, eh? Look, just listen to them yourselves, or you’ll make me sad, and no one likes a sad Aye Tunes.

<a href=”http://thespookschool.bandcamp.com/album/are-you-who-you-think-you-are”>Are You Who You Think You Are? by The Spook School</a>

The Spook School play the Beard of Truth Heavy Xmas Pop Party at Edniburgh’s Wee Red Bar on December 3rd, and Glasgow Popfest at Heavenly on December 9th.

The Spook School: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea [Free Download]

A few weeks back I babbled a wee bit about a Rob St. John and Ian Humberstone split 7″ (short version, it’s really blooming good) and now with the release of Weald, Rob St. John’s new album, just around the corner there’s a new, free single available to share with you.

Like Your Phantom Limb, the last single, I find myself incapable of doing much more than pointing at Sargasso Sea and shouting “THIS IS ACE!” so just a listen to it below and download it if you like it, it is free after all.

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad

There’s a lovely wee video to go with the song too, for those of you who want to engage your eyes as well as your ears.

Rob St.John ‘Sargasso Sea’ from rob st john on Vimeo.

Weald by Rob St.John is released on gatefold 12” vinyl and download by Song, by Toad Records on November 21st, but if you order a copy of the vinyl, which comes with a download code for the album, from Song, by Toad you’ll likely get it early.

The Hazey Janes - Girl In The Night [Free Download]

The Hazey Janes release a new album, The Winter That Was, next Monday through Armellodie Records.
Ahead of the release, there’s a free download available of Girl of the Night, taken from the album.
Listen to and download it below:
Girl in the Night by The Hazey Janes by Armellodie

There’s a launch gig for the album this week too. It takes place at The Captains Rest on Tuesday October 18th (that’s tomorrow, for those of you who are date challenged), with support coming from The Brazen Cars and Loudon.

The Winter That Was is available to pre-order now from Bandcamp.

New Release: We’re Only Afraid of NYC - We Lived Here [Free Download]

I don’t know, you hear nothing from We’re Only Afraid of NYC for about a year then all of a suden you get a flurry of activity.

Back in August the band released Walls as a free download and played King Tuts as part of Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation, and this week they have another new single our.

We Lived Here is, as always with We’re Only Afraid of NYC, a free download, available now from Bandcamp. Consistently a band that I enjoy, We Lived Here is no change there. Quite downbeat and mellow for the most part, with explosions of furious noise breaking out just when you are sitting comfortably, We Lived Here is another welcome reminder that while We’re Only Afraid of NYC might not have been terribly visible for a large chunk of the last year, they haven’t been wasting their time.

<a href=”http://wereonlyafraidofnyc.bandcamp.com/track/we-lived-here”>We Lived Here by we’re only afraid of NYC</a>

We’re Only Afraid of NYC: Bandcamp - Facebook

Free Songs From Poor Things

Poor Things have a wee freebie to offer you. I mentioned this last week while pimping out their gig that was taking place last night, but now the free stuff is available this is a gentle reminder to start downloading and get your virtual paws on some swag.

R U Sitting Comfortably is a three track free download. You can grab it from Bandcamp or from the handily embedded players below.

Festival by POOR THINGS

The History Society by POOR THINGS

Retreat by POOR THINGS

Another Plug - Supermarionation

It has been a bit of a hectic week, so I’ve forgotten to mention half the things I’d meant to. Sneaking this one in just under the wire then, as it takes place tomorrow.

Edinburgh noise mongers Supermarionation have a new EP to launch, and they are doing so with a gig on Saturday. I say noisemongers, but the new EP is actually an acoustic one, so it isn’t that noisy. It is good though, so I’ll forgive them being quiet.

Hastily assembled to replace what they had planned to release, Amongst the Northern Lochs doesn’t sound like it was thrown together. Had I not known that it was put together at short notice I wouldn’t have even noticed. The EP will be available to download for free from here.

A limited number of CDs will be available at the launch gig on October 1st. The gig takes place at The Wee Red Bar.Supermarionation will be playing two sets, one acoustic, one with electricity and stuff. Support comes from Lee Patterson and Andrew Mill. Kicking off at 7pm the gig, like the download, is free, so if you are around you can go along at no cost, woo!