Friday Freebies - 31/8/2012

It's been another week of misbehaving computers round here. If anyone would like to buy me a new hard drive, or indeed a whole new computer, that would be smashing. Maybe I should start a Kickstarter or something. Donate £20 and you can punch me in the face.
Enough of my complaining though, it's freebie time. Fans of reading stuff at lunchtime will be happy to see I'm back on an earlier schedule this week too.

Mondegreen
A mere year and a half since releasing their first EP, and a year since Peenko and I roped them into gigging for us, Mondegreen have gotten round to making a second one. I was just thinking on the bus today about how long I've enjoyed this band - I think about weird things on the bus - and the answer involves things like exchanging messages on MySpace, so ages. Mondegreen play The Glad Cafe on the southside of Glasgow tonight, then at Bloc on September 13th (two days after you are all coming to my next gig yeah?), all of which seems like an awful lot of activity from them. Anyway, go get Aberdoom! here, because it is ace.

Falls
Speaking of people I've put on at gigs (have I mentioned that I've got another one coming up soon?), loud and handsome Welshmen have gone and slung out a free new single. Two thumbs up for this, one for being right good, another for being well named. Get Heisenberg for free here.

Music Language Festival
The Music Language festival takes place across various spots in Glasgow on this Saturday and Sunday, for full details pop over to the website. To get you into the spirit of things there's a 19 track download compilation available for whatever price you want here. Some of my favourites from the compilation are Aggi Doom, Hector Bizerk, Big Ned (who I thought had vanished entirely), Palms, Rob St John and Mother Ganga, but there's plenty more good stuff in there too.

Idle Fret
Lots of good stuff on this compilation from London club night/record label, Idle Fret. Favourites of mine in there include a new song from Monster Island, an oldie but a goodie from The Lovely Eggs and Giant Burger sneaking in to make back to back Friday Freebies appearances. Snag the compilation here.

Congregations
This submission came with an offer to kill to have it included in the freebies. I'm saving the email, just in case I need to call in a favour in future. Circular Ruins is a bit of ambient/electronic music, the kind of stuff that I need to be in a certain mood to properly enjoy, but handily caught me in that mood at about 3am on the first listen, so enjoy it I did. You can name your price for the download from Bandcamp.

Secret Motorbikes
I'm possibly just tired, but the info section of the Secret Motorbikes Facebook page has highly amused me. Here's a new song from them. It's free here. Good too. "Good too" - an internet blog.


The Darien Venture
The Darien Venture have a new EP somewhere up their sleeves, due out later in the year. To help you work up an appetite for it you can get hold of a free three song sampler here.


Gastric Band
I won't lie, I've barely listened to this, and it is being included almost entirely on the basis of the pervy album art. I'll listen to it later, if it turns out to be terrible I'll quietly edit this part out and hope no one notices. Download Party feel here.

The State Broadcasters
This has been a bit of a week for "blimey, I've not heard anything from them in ages!" entries. The State Broadcasters have been fairly active of late, with gigs and singles and such, but it has been a long time since that first album. Not to worry though, their second album is just a few weeks from release - of of the perks of being a barely known internet blog is that I've heard it already, and liked it plenty - and they've got a new, free single available now to put you in the mood for Ghosts We Must Carry. Download Kittiwake for free here.

I'm out of clever ways to plug the next Aye Tunes gig - some might say that I never had clever ways in the first place - so here's a clumsy and inelegant reminder that I'M PUTTING ON A GIG ON THE 11TH AND YOU SHOULD COME. Thanks.

Presenting Again

Goodness, it hardly feels like any time at all since I was a nervous wreck about the last Aye Tunes gig, but here I am with the next one less than two weeks away already.

Continuing our nomadic existence we're off to another venue again, this time we'll be setting up shop at The 13th Note on Tuesday, September 11th. I'll try my best to say nothing inappropriate about the date.

Here's what's in store.

Behold, the Old Bear
Once a side project, now a real grown up band, Behold, the Old Bear are the new ship captained by Raindeer of Mitchell Museum fame. A five-piece making "Melodramatic Polar Blitz Alt Pop", with a debut album coming soon on Gargleblast Records. There's heartbreak in there too, Peenko sometimes needs a wee cuddle after hearing 7 Maybe 8. Probably my favourite "new" band of the year too. Come and find out why I like them so much for yourself.


Plastic Animals
I've been trying to do something with Plastic Animals for ages, even more so after bonding over a shared love of Urusei Yatsura, and finally the stars aligned this time round.  Formed in Edinburgh way back in 2006, they finally got their shit together in 2011 and expanded both their sound and line-up to which has helped develop the sound much more. They make atmospheric, guitar-driven, harmonious noise. They released an EP under the name of "Automaton". After the first hand-made batch sold out, Scottish DIY label Strange Fish Records are re-releasing it in September. Plastic Animals have shared stages with some terrible bands over the years, but also some great ones like PS I Love You, Milk Maid, Broken Records, The Scottish Enlightenment and PAWS.


Left of Venus
Left of Venus is the solo guise of Thomas Campbell,  instrumental guitarist from Glasgow, blending ambience, minimalism, classical, and noise by way of the electric guitar.


So there you go.

That's Behold, the Old bear, Plastic Animals and Left of Venus at The 13th Note, on the 11th of September.
Doors open at 8pm, and it'll cost you five quid on the door to get in.
Should you be so inclined, you can claim you are coming on Facebook here, but I'll be happier to see your faces on the night.