It’s Friday, and we’re back with another installment of our regular roundup of downloadable MP3 goodness from around the web. This week, there’s a new Cat Power track (yay!), a new/old John Maus track (YAY!), a taste the new album from Purity Ring (definite yay!), more Clams Casinos instrumentals, another Peaking Lights mixtape, and a shitload of other tracks that definitely warrant various connotations of the word “yay.” In other words, there’s plenty of interesting sounds awaiting you after the jump, and since they won’t cost a penny or land you an RIAA lawsuit, as your attorneys we advise you to start downloading immediately.
Cat Power — “Ruin” There’s been a heap of online comment over the last few days about how different this sounds from Chan Marshall’s previous work (and also about her new haircut, which for the record we think is perfectly lovely). We’re also fans of this track, and are very much looking forward to hearing her new album Sun. Get it here.
John Maus — “Bennington” This is taken from the upcoming collection of Maus rarities and unreleased material, entitled, um, A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material, which is out on July 17. Get it via Maus’ record company Ribbon Music’s Soundcloud page.
Purity Ring — “Fineshrine” Another track from Purity Ring’s debut album Shrines, which is due out on 4AD next week. We are lucky enough to have a copy already, and we can report that it’s definitely gonna be worth investing in — in the meantime, you can grab this track via Stereogum.
Codeine — “Kitchen” If your week’s been like ours, then some stark, depressive acoustica from the newly-reformed Codeine may be just the ticket. So click right here and get amongst it.
Phèdre — “Haberdash” This post is generally for free downloads (hence, y’know, the title), but we’re making an exception here because the princely $1 fee you’ll pay for this new track by Phèdre benefits Toronto venue Unlovable, which was apparently shut down last week: “An unfortunate turn of events, a beloved Toronto institution, UNLOVABLE, was shut down last week. UNLOVABLE bar is run by great people who are friends to many and is a home to the local music and arts communities. Don’t let their livelihood get taken away. It will remain closed until the situation can be rectified through legal action. 100% of the proceeds of this track will be used to help cover legal bills as UNLOVABLE prepares for the fight to reopen.” Do a good deed here.
Dent May — “Shakedown Street” Our verdict on the Grateful Dead generally falls somewhere between broad indifference and mild distaste, but there is something to be said for this cover of “Shakedown Street” by the now ukulele-less Dent May. It’s available via Stereogum.
Hauschka — “Radar” (Michael Mayer remix) We generally very much enjoy trawling through XLR8R’s free download section, mainly because we’ve never heard of half the artists there and we always enjoy stumbling across strange new music from said artists. Occasionally, however, we come across something we’re very familiar with — so it goes with this remix of “Radar,” from Hausckha’s standout found-sound/piano composition album Salon des Amateurs. Kompakt founder Michael Meyer infuses the track with a beat and some semblance of a dance-floor sensibility, and makes a killer original even better. Result. Get it here.
Teen Daze — “Brooklyn Sunburn” (Lushlife remix) Chillwave never really went away, y’know. It just moved to Vancouver.
Clams Casino — various instrumentals If, like us, you foolishly neglected to actually download the killer instrumental mixtape we featured in this post a couple of weeks ago, you can salvage some sense of pride by grabbing the selection of tracks that are available via Stereogum. Also, if anyone still has a download link for the mixtape, um, let us know in the comments.
Peaking Lights x The Horrors — Bollywood mix Much as we love the Peaking Lights album, we’re just as enamored with the apparently endless series of esoteric mixtapes and DJ mixes they’ve been dropping of late. Here’s yet another: a Bollywood-themed playlist made with Tom Furse of the Horrors. If you’re wondering quite what either party might bring to such a mix, well, us too — but the results are pretty great, actually. Download it here.