Free MP3s are great, but they’re even better when they’re for new tracks from some of the bigger names in indie music. We also like to keep things fresh over here at Flavorpill, so we’ve also included a crop of new faces for your listening pleasure, too. Chances are you’ll probably end up liking them just as much — if not more. Click through for downloads from our last Viva Radio playlist, and be sure to check back and listen to the show itself. We update every week.
1. The Smith Westerns – “Be My Girl” The Smith Westerns play a stripped down form of garage-rock with such urgency and earnestness that they’re somehow able to wrestle cliché rock subjects like teenage romance into genuinely affecting songs that you end up listening to 30 times in a row. [Download Now] via The Fader
2. Fleet Foxes – “Blue Spotted Tail” The song actually only features singer Robin Pecknold and his guitar, but the stripped down sound and lack of baroque flourishes actually suits nicely, tempering potentially pretentious existential musings like “why is life made only for it to end?” [Download Now] via Stereogum
3. Fool’s Gold – “Surprise Hotel” This summer has seen a lot of great African-inspired tracks popping up from the likes of people like The Very Best and BLK JKS. Now we’ve got Fool’s Gold, whose joyous “Surprise Hotel” is a kinetic, near 7-minute dance epic. [Download Now] via Mixtape Riot
4. Spoon – “Got Nuffin” This solid new track is no huge departure in sound for Spoon, just a refinement of their classic elements. It’s a tight, propulsive and slightly stark rock song, just the kind of thing you’d expect from them. [Download Now] via awmusic.ca
5. Pictureplane – “Goth Star” Pictureplane is Travis Egedy, a Denver-based performance artist with a penchant for wearing ridiculous clothing and writing shimmering electronic songs that are a little too slow to dance to (despite their obvious nods to house and techno) but are too catchy to ignore. [Download Now] via Pitchfork
6. Nosaj Thing – “Coat Of Arms” Nosaj Thing is the rather unimaginative alias of Jason Chung, a 24-year-old LA-based glitch-hop artist and producer who crafts eerie and elegant tracks that derive their uncharacteristic sound from a wide range of influences, resulting in a sound that at times willfully strays entirely from the niche genre’s roots. [Download Now] via Nialler 9
7. Jay Reatard – “Wounded” Jay Reatard said that his newest album would be “twee-influenced” and he wasn’t kidding. It’s still very recognizably a Retard song complete with faux-English accent, but the intro’s acoustic guitar and backing “da da da” vocals are certainly a far-cry from the bludgeoning, lightning-quick tunes off his first LP. [Download Now] via The Needle Drop
8. Times New Viking – “No Time, No Hope” If you couldn’t listen to Times New Viking before then “No Time, No Hope” isn’t going to do anything to change your mind. If you’re already a fan then you’ll be heartened to know they’re just as abrasive, noisy, and melodic as ever. [Download Now] via Stereogum
9. The Almighty Defenders – “Bow Down And Die” Featuring members of both the Black Lips and The King Khan & BBQ Show, The Almighty Defenders are a gospel-inspired indie garage-rock super group with a knack for crafting snotty, lo-fi sing-alongs. [Download Now] via Stereogum
10. Grey Machine – “Vultures Descend” Grey Machine are signed to release their debut on the forward thinking LA-based metal label Hydra Head Records and consist of members from Isis, Jesu, and Godflesh. So yeah, it’s heavy, but it’s also experimental enough that it might appeal to musically adventurous non metal-heads as well. [Download Now] via Metal Sucks