Phenomenal Cat have informed me that the allotted 200 free downloads of "postcards From The British Empire" are nearly all out on their bandcamp page.
These songs are really great and if you haven't already downloaded them, go and get them now whilst there are still some free downloads left and remember to go to the facebook page and click on the "LIKE" button to keep up with the new release every month for the whole of the year, these will also be limited to 200 free downloads!!!!!!
I don't know an awful lot about The District Attorneys other than what is on their bandcamp page, but I do know they make good music with some lovely vocal harmonies and they are giving two EP's away for free!!
Every now and then my inbox is graced with something sweet, almost familiar but somehow different.
Today it was The Candy Strypers, the brainchild of Paul Hughes, a Manchester lad who passed through the same school as one Mr Ian Brown and one Mr John Squier, listening to a couple of riffs on this album, you can imagine they could have had the same music teacher?
Not only does the album have traces of the Roses in there but also present are The Byrds, and Big Star, but Paul, very nicely, puts his own stamp on the recordings making them all his with some beautiful vocal work to boot!
The Flamin' Groovies' debut album went almost directly into the cut-out bins within a year or so of its 1969 release. Fortunately, the band survived the neglect heaped on that record, and has survived in one form or another into the 21st century. And in the ensuing years, Supersnazz has achieved an exalted reputation among not just Groovies fans, but lovers of rock & roll in general, having held up extraordinarily well across the decades and still able to make its own case for greatness as an astonishing document of straight-ahead rock & roll circa 1969 -- fully contemporary to its time (and, by extension, almost timeless), with none of the artificial period nostalgia (and parodying) that was already creeping into the "oldies" scene. But it's also a lot of fun; in fact, based on the evidence, Supersnazz may well have been the most fun record of 1969. Roy Loney, Cyril Jordan, Tim Lynch, George Alexander, and Danny Mihm run through a quirky mix of Loney and Loney/Jordan originals and standards, encompassing styles from proto-'70s punk (want to bet the Ramones wore out copies of this album?) to '50s New Orleans R&B, country music, and even ragtime, and while a small bit of it is compromised by the presence of some too-prominent clarinet and saxophone, the whole record is a rollicking good time, made even better by the sequencing, which offers a full range of surprises, even on the fourth or fifth listen -- one can never settle in with this record before something weirdly wonderful comes along to draw the listener in yet another direction. From the fiery, Brian Jones-era Stones-style, fuzztone-driven opener "Love Have Mercy," the band shows what it can do in everything from straight-ahead boogie to slow ballads ("A Part from That") and '50s rockers ("The Girl Can't Help It," "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu"), country ("Brushfire"), and R&B, all done with a unique array of stylistic flourishes that made this one of the most original long-players of 1969. By the ninth track, the pounding, punk-driven "Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama," the whole album achieves a kind of otherworldly continuum, like something out of a strange and wonderful corner of the universe that -- though none knew it at the time -- pointed the way to a coming decade of achievement by the likes of the Ramones, Jonathan Richman, et al, not to mention the Groovies themselves. The 1969 LP was wonderfully offbeat and perfect in its presentation, and recent CD reissues, incorporating the single mixes on four of the tracks, are also a bit of an insult. It seems almost like sacrilege to place anything after the catchy group singalong "Around the Corner."-AMG
“Time Cuts The Ties” is Dropkick’s 4th release on Swedish label Sound Asleep Records. Coming less than 6 months after their 2010 Christmas EP “25th December”, the album sees the band reverting back to their original line-up with the return of founding member Ian Grier after a 5 year break. “Time Cuts The Ties” is Dropkick’s most varied and accomplished collection of songs to date, demonstrating a new maturity in their songwriting and arrangements. The generous sprinkling of piano, organ and strings has added new textures and an extra dimension to their already well established alt-country powerpop sound.
Dropkick’s profile has risen significantly since the release of their self-titled debut album in 2001. The band have now released a further 9 albums and 2 EPs, mainly on their own label Taylored Records label. Their 2008 album “Dot The i” was re-issued on Rock Indiana Records of Spain and was also made “album of the week” on BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal’s Rapal show. Since autumn 2008, Dropkick have released material on Sound Asleep Records of Sweden, including the critically acclaimed albums “Patchwork” and “Abelay Hotel”.
Dropkick have played hundreds of gigs (including several headline Scottish tours, the Darvel Festival, Tartan Heart Festival, International Pop Overthrow Festival and most recently, 4 sell-out headline shows in Spain) in the past 5 years. They have also had significant airplay over the same period, including BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland’s Tom Morton, Brand New Country, Get It On, Vic Galloway and Janice Forsyth shows. Many local UK radio stations also regularly play Dropkick’s music, as well as countless stations throughout the world, particularly in Spain where the popularity of the band’s music has increased dramatically thanks to the internet. Dropkick have performed 10 songs live on the Tom Morton Show on BBC Radio Scotland, firstly on an outside broadcast in July 2007 and then at the BBC studios in Nov 2007, the latter being part of a Children In Need special. They also played live on the same station’s ‘Highland Café’ show in July 2008 and again in July 2009.
In recent years Dropkick have shared the stage with acts such as Marc Olson, Seasick Steve, The Primary 5, Half Man Half Biscuit, Snow Patrol, Kit Clark (ex Danny Wilson), Nigel Clark (Dodgy), Sid Griffin, Roddy Hart and ‘Guitar George’ Borowski.
The album can be downloaded from the following sites:
Physical copies can be purchased via Amazon on the bands site or through Sound asleep Records.
Dropkick recently made 59 previously unreleased recordings free to download from their website: HERE all of which are well worth downloading, but don't stop there, the bands previous recordings are all highly recommended.
Disappear Here is an album that is built to be enjoyed in the classic Silver Sun style. This is how pop music should be made; ten tracks and it`s all over in exactly thirty minutes as the band adhere to the three-minute template of the perfect pop record. It`s impossible not to get that adrenalin rush you get from hearing boisterous guitar pop catchier than a dose of chicken pox. You just can`t help but to want to dance to this record. Nowhere is this more evident than on the first single taken from the album, `Bubblegum`. As the album opener this sets out the Silver Sun manifesto in three perfect minutes. The guitars crunch gloriously, while the melodies forcefully implant themselves in your brain. By the time the `na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na` section kicks in it`s sugar-coated power-pop heaven.. hopefully the world will be ready this time around for Silver Sun`s brand of high energy power-pop and this album will see the band back in the spot-light in 2005. As James Broad advises in the sleeve-notes, `the way to enjoy this? - play it loud.-Americana-UK.com.
