It’s Friday, which means another installment of our regular roundup of downloadable MP3 goodness from around the web. This week there’s the first of the new season of indie Christmas songs, courtesy of Sufjan Stevens, along with pleasantly heavy action from Grails and Horrid Red, a killer new track from our own Silent Drape Runners, an excellent new Lindstrøm remix, the entire remastered After Dark compilation, a lovely new piece from Ulrich Schnauss, and a whole lot more (including an exclusive mixtape from your correspondent himself). Since all this action costs precisely nothing, what are you waiting for? All the download links await after the jump.
Sufjan Stevens — “Ding-A-Ling-A-Ring-A-Ling” As the rather silly title might suggest, this is a Christmas song. Ye gods — we’re already getting Christmas songs and it’s only October? Sigh. Still, this is new Sufjan, and you can download it for free via Stereogum.
Grails — “Wake Up Drill II” We’ve always liked portentous Portland doom merchants Grails, so we’re delighted to see that they’ve got a installment in their Black Tar Prophecies series on the way — this is Vol 5, and it’s due out at the end of the month. In the meantime, you can grab this track, which is also a sequel of sorts — specifically, to “Belgian Wake Up Drill”, from their 2006 record Black Tar Prophecies Vols 1, 2 and 3. It’s available right here.
Silent Drape Runners — “Ten Se” In which our de facto house band Silent Drape Runners drop a track that basically sounds like having a panic attack — and it’s really good. At this rate, our social media department is gonna end up being more famous than we are. Ahem. Download it via Diffuser.fm.
Various Artists — After Dark Now, look, here’s a treat for the weekend. The Italians Do It Better compilation After Dark, containing tracks from Chromatics, Glass Candy, Mirage, Farah and various other neo-Italo luminaries, was one of our favorite records of 2007 — and now the ever-beneficent Johnny Jewel is giving away a remastered version of the whole thing via his Soundcloud. As your attorneys, we highly recommend grabbing this action ASAP — get it right here.
Lindstrøm — “Ęg-gęd-ōsis” (Lemonade remix) We’re generally up for anything Lindstrøm-related, and we also enjoyed the remix that San Fran trio Lemonade did of Blood Diamonds’ “Phone Sex” a few weeks back, so this is a pretty fine combination. Get it via XLR8R.
Ulrich Schnauss — “A Long Way to Fall” A lovely piece of lush (mostly) instrumental atmospherics from the ever-intriguing German producer. This reminds us of something off Brian Eno’s hugely underrated Small Craft on a Milk Sea, which is a definite compliment as far as we’re concerned. Download it here.
Horrid Red — “Heavy Night of Eyes” Yay for heavy psychedelic weirdness. As with 90% of the stuff on 20 Jazz Funk Greats, we don’t really know a great deal — or, actually, anything at all — about Horrid Red, but this track is weird and ominous and generally excellent. Grab it here.
Gallops — “G Is For Jailee” Math rock isn’t dead, clearly — not if this is anything to go by, anyway. If we’re honest, this lead single off UK group Gallops kinda gave us a headache, but your mileage may vary, as they say in the clichés. Get hold of it via our friends at The Quietus.
Pearl and the Beard — “40K” “You never come when you say you will,” lament Pearl and the Beard on this lushly forlorn ballad, which provides a rather fine introduction to the band’s signature three-part harmonies and their love for the cello — a rather underrated instrument, if you ask us. The song’s available via their SoundCloud.
The Ramona Flowers — “Dismantle and Rebuild” (D/R/U/G/S remix) Meanwhile, here’s a pleasantly funkified reworking of the abstract textures of The Ramona Flowers’ slightly overblown debut single. Like the original, this remix starts out promisingly and gets a bit overblown, but still, it’s worth hearing — get it at RCRD LBL.
Bonus link: And finally, if you’ll permit a little self-promotion, here’s a mix your humble correspondent made for excellent UK music blog Toxic Island Radio. You can download it right here.