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 glut of music about dreaming, including the suitably fuzzed-out return of Tame Impala, gentle reverie from Taken by Trees, and dreams of chillwavin’ by Puro Instinct. Elsewhere, there’s a great new tracks from Starred and ERAAS, Innergaze remixing Walk the Dog, a free Frank Ocean track, and also something new from Jimmy Cliff (today only!). 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.
Tame Impala – “Apocalypse Dreams” We’ve long had a soft spot for unfairly talented Australian trio Tame Impala, and while we’ve enjoyed their flirtations with other projects (such as the largely underrated Pond record from earlier this year), we’re also glad to see that they’re back working on their “real” band again. “Apocalypse Dreams” is a suitably fuzzed-out psych monster, and you can grab it right here.
Taken by Trees – “Dreams” Also on the dreaming tip, here’s the new single by ex-Concretes singer Victoria Bergsman. Her last record East of Eden, recorded in Pakistan, was one of our favorites of recent years, and this track finds her evoking the sounds of “floating in the ocean off Hawaii.” Also, is it just us or is there something a touch Grimes-y about the intro and backing track? You can download it now via Stereogum.
Puro Instinct – “Dream Lover” Are you sensing a theme here, then? Here’s yet another dream song, this one from precocious siblings and Ariel Pink affiliates Puro Instinct. Happily, this isn’t a cover of the Mariah Carey track of the same name – it’s their own composition, and it’s more than a little chillwave-y, but we like it nonetheless. Get it here.
Starred – “No Good” File under: Mazzy Star, Cowboy Junkies, and many other good things. This track is one of the better things we’ve heard in recent weeks, a somber ballad that announces Starred’s vocalist Liza Thorn as a talent to watch. Even better, though, is the arrangement, all lonely, empty space and late night ennui. (According to Pitchfork, where this track is hosted, Thorn used to be in a band with Girls’ Christopher Owens called, um, Curls.) Get the song here.
ERAAS – “Fang” Here’s a tip for an album to watch out for in October – ERAAS comprise former members of Apse, and their music reminds us a whole lot of Snowman’s Absence, one of the more overlooked masterworks of the last couple of years. Their debut album is all ghostly, atmospheric sounds and tribal beat – less about dreams than nightmares, you could say – and this is its lead single. Grab it here.
Walk the Dog – “I Can’t” (Innergaze remix) We are all for anything involving Brooklyn duo Innergaze, so here they are remixing Walk the Dog’s track “I Can’t.” It’s a suitably bass-heavy killer of a reinterpretation, and you can grab it via XLR8R.
Cult of Youth – “Man and Man’s Instinct” We’re also generally for anything on Sacred Bones, so we’re jumping all over this solemn track from Seth Ragon, aka Cult of Youth – it’s a quietly reflective ballad, and it reminds us heaps of someone from the post-punk early ’80s, but we can’t for the life of us remember who. Feel free to help us out – you can download the song now via Ragon’s Soundcloud page.
The Helio Sequence – “October” And while we’re on solemn balladry, here’s a new track from The Helio Sequence – it’s the lead single from their upcoming album Negotiations, which is due out in September. The song’s, y’know, OK – see what you think here.
Jimmy Cliff – “One More” We grew up listening to Jimmy Cliff and the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, and we’ve always got room for one more track from the reggae legend. As it were. This song is available via KCRW’s website – as ever, it’s up there for one day only, so grab it while you can by clicking here.
Frank Ocean – “Sweet Life” And finally, in amongst all the kerfuffle about Frank Ocean’s sexuality last week, we neglected to post a link to this free download of one of the tracks from his new album Channel Orange. If you don’t have the record yet, then at least grab this song via Pitchfork.