Six Things For Saturday

I'm a rubbish blogger, clearly. Rather than spend another weekend not writing proper blog posts and leaving things silent, here's a random selection of free music to briefly entertain you at the weekend.

Randolph's Leap:
Randolph's Leap launch their new album, Randolph's Leap and the Curse of the Haunted Headphones with a gig at the Captains Rest tonight. Contrary to the poster above I'm told that doors are at half seven, with the first band on at eight, so get along early. The album will be available on cassette at the gig, though there are very limited quantities available, before being put up on Bandcamp later. As a wee taster you can download Dying In My Sleep from the album here.


Julian The Apostate:
The man behind Julian The Apostate used to be in a band I liked, but now he's going solo instead. There's a couple of EPs and some demo recordings available for free from Bandcamp, and I'm promised there'll be more going up regularly, so keep an eye out.


Human Don't Be Angry:
The man behind Human Don't Be Angry used to be in a band I liked, but now he's going solo instead. Oh, wait... Anyway, yes, Human Don't Be Angry is the latest project from Malcolm Middleton. The album will be released on April 23rd - I've had a sneaky advance listen, it is, not very surprisingly, a bit good - but ahead of that there's a free download available of H.D.B.A. Theme. The first Human Don't Be Angry gig with a new full band takes place at The Arches a week today, as part of the Margins festival. There's not many tickets left, so you'll have to hurry if you want to go but don't have one yet.

Night Noise Team:
I rather enjoyed the album, Slow Release, that Night Noise Team put out last year. It was a mixture of dark, broody, poppy and electro, sometimes all at once. There's a free track, The Gift, available here, and more freebies from other Permwhale bands here. Slow Release is available to listen to and buy here.


Fay Wrays:
Ditching Scotland, off we go to Fresno, California, for something new from the Fay Wrays. Their album Strange Confessor popped up at random in my inbox last year, and ended up one of my favourite albums of the year (you can get that album for free here), so I was rather happy when they sent me through a new song at the start of the week. Cars is really rather good, and you can have it for free here.


Magnetic Island:
Continuing the rather random hopping around the globe today, let's stop off in Brooklyn, New York, for a little something from Magnetic Island. Their new self titled album is really, really good, and I urge you to have a listen to that here, and buy it if you like it. There's a host of free stuff from Magnetic Island on Bandcamp too, so go ahead and fill yer boots, but the freebie I'm featuring here popped up just the other day. It's a cover of a song by the Au Pairs, who I must confess to being completely unaware of, so I can't compare the cover with the original. The Magnetic Island version of Headache For Michelle is ace though, so go download it.


Finally a reminder that I recorded a podcast with Insularis Records, you can find more about that, and have a listen, here.

Shambles Sells Out, or Free Shambles Miller!

Given that I had him along to play at my last Aye Tunes gig in 2011 you shouldn't really need to be told that I rather like Shambles Miller. If you haven't heard the man himself yet to find out why I like him you won't get many better chances than this.

You see, Shambles has now sold out of physical copies of both his EPs, Shambles Vs The Dragonwizard and Shambles Sails The Clockwork Sea. To celebrate the sell out status the kind Mr Miller is making both EPs available, for a limited time, to download for whatever you want to pay for them.

Both are available from Bandcamp, where you can have a listen and get yourself a digital copy for however much you fancy paying.





Shambles Miller: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Five Things For Thursday

One of my aims for this year is to stop hearing something I like, thinking "yeah, I like this, must put it on the blog sometime" then completely forgetting to put it on the blog ever. With that in mind then, here's a handful of music for you with minimal chatter from me, all either free or "pay what you like" to download.

Fat Janitor - Lurk
You always knew the school janitor was up to no good, didn't you? Well, here's some proof. Lurk is available to download free from Bandcamp. Play loud.


Aloha Tigers - The Kind of Girl U Like
Ian that used to write Have Fun at Dinner has been talking about this band for as long as I can remember, and is now going one step further by making them the first release on his new tape label, Kirkcudbright Tape Club.
The Kind of Girl U Like is the first single released, free to download.
Aloha Tigers - The Kind of Girl U Like by kirkcudbrighttapeclub

Hipster Death Squad - Good Times Again
A band that I found through Peenko's Friday Freebies, Hipster Death Squad have been firing out a fair amount of new songs since I first started stalking following them. They've just released a new single as a free download from Bandcamp, and I really like this one, so here you go.


As In Bear - Mr Glued
Last night my readers voted them one of the best new bands in the poll, today a free download arrives in my inbox. That's what I call good timing.
Mr. Glued by As In Bear

mi mye - the time and the lonleyness
I had mi mye on the Advent Calendar last month, along with a mental note to myself to keep an eye out for more from them. Turns out I didn't have to wait very long. They say that the time and the lonleyness, their new album, isn't officially out until February, but you can download it right now from Bandcamp, so why don't you?

We're Only Afraid of NYC - zero.four [Free Download]

Time to sneak in a quick plug for something that isn't draped in tinsel and glitter, I think!

We're Only Afraid of NYC - AKA one of our favourite bands in Scotland - have a new EP out now. As ever Team NYC are being far too kind to us by offering the EP for free. You can get zero.four - and their previous three EPs - for no cost at all over on Bandcamp.

We're Only Afraid of NYC are a band I've been stalking for ages, ever since I caught them supporting Mitchell Museum way back in the early days of this blog, and I'm always pleasantly surprised that every time I see them or they release something they've improved again. They were hardly poor in the first place, I wouldn't have kept following them if they were, so that they can continue to up their game every time round is getting a bit frightening, frankly.

Anyway, listen before and get stuck in over at Bandcamp.



We're Only Afraid of NYC: Bandcamp - Facebook

The Spook School - Are You Who You Think You Are? [Free Download]

I like The Spook School loads. They are quite lovely too, so much so that they came through to Glasgow back in September to do a gig for me. You probably never came, but more fool you, as it was pretty good and we all enjoyed ourselves without you. Anyway...

The Spook School have some new songs available for download. You can have them for free, or you can pay for them if you want to, but either way you should probably go and get them.

A bit like their previous single History/Hallam, they've gone for a fast song/slow song approach to the new single.

Are You Who You Think You Are? jangles along brightly and all smiley, despite lines about heartbreak
Devil Of Mine is a slower, quieter and sounds quite melancholy.
In depth reviewing there, eh? Look, just listen to them yourselves, or you'll make me sad, and no one likes a sad Aye Tunes.



The Spook School play the Beard of Truth Heavy Xmas Pop Party at Edniburgh's Wee Red Bar on December 3rd, and Glasgow Popfest at Heavenly on December 9th.

The Spook School: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea [Free Download]

A few weeks back I babbled a wee bit about a Rob St. John and Ian Humberstone split 7" (short version, it's really blooming good) and now with the release of Weald, Rob St. John's new album, just around the corner there's a new, free single available to share with you.

Like Your Phantom Limb, the last single, I find myself incapable of doing much more than pointing at Sargasso Sea and shouting "THIS IS ACE!" so just a listen to it below and download it if you like it, it is free after all.

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad

There's a lovely wee video to go with the song too, for those of you who want to engage your eyes as well as your ears.


Rob St.John 'Sargasso Sea' from rob st john on Vimeo.


Weald by Rob St.John is released on gatefold 12” vinyl and download by Song, by Toad Records on November 21st, but if you order a copy of the vinyl, which comes with a download code for the album, from Song, by Toad you'll likely get it early.

The Hazey Janes - Girl In The Night [Free Download]

The Hazey Janes release a new album, The Winter That Was, next Monday through Armellodie Records.
Ahead of the release, there's a free download available of Girl of the Night, taken from the album.
Listen to and download it below:
Girl in the Night by The Hazey Janes by Armellodie

There's a launch gig for the album this week too. It takes place at The Captains Rest on Tuesday October 18th (that's tomorrow, for those of you who are date challenged), with support coming from The Brazen Cars and Loudon.

The Winter That Was is available to pre-order now from Bandcamp.

New Release: We're Only Afraid of NYC - We Lived Here [Free Download]

I don't know, you hear nothing from We're Only Afraid of NYC for about a year then all of a suden you get a flurry of activity.

Back in August the band released Walls as a free download and played King Tuts as part of Rock 'n' Roll Damnation, and this week they have another new single our.

We Lived Here is, as always with We're Only Afraid of NYC, a free download, available now from Bandcamp. Consistently a band that I enjoy, We Lived Here is no change there. Quite downbeat and mellow for the most part, with explosions of furious noise breaking out just when you are sitting comfortably, We Lived Here is another welcome reminder that while We're Only Afraid of NYC might not have been terribly visible for a large chunk of the last year, they haven't been wasting their time.





We're Only Afraid of NYC: Bandcamp - Facebook

Free Songs From Poor Things

Poor Things have a wee freebie to offer you. I mentioned this last week while pimping out their gig that was taking place last night, but now the free stuff is available this is a gentle reminder to start downloading and get your virtual paws on some swag.

R U Sitting Comfortably is a three track free download. You can grab it from Bandcamp or from the handily embedded players below.

Festival by POOR THINGS

The History Society by POOR THINGS

Retreat by POOR THINGS

Another Plug - Supermarionation

It has been a bit of a hectic week, so I've forgotten to mention half the things I'd meant to. Sneaking this one in just under the wire then, as it takes place tomorrow.

Edinburgh noise mongers Supermarionation have a new EP to launch, and they are doing so with a gig on Saturday. I say noisemongers, but the new EP is actually an acoustic one, so it isn't that noisy. It is good though, so I'll forgive them being quiet.

Hastily assembled to replace what they had planned to release, Amongst the Northern Lochs doesn't sound like it was thrown together. Had I not known that it was put together at short notice I wouldn't have even noticed. The EP will be available to download for free from here.

A limited number of CDs will be available at the launch gig on October 1st. The gig takes place at The Wee Red Bar.Supermarionation will be playing two sets, one acoustic, one with electricity and stuff. Support comes from Lee Patterson and Andrew Mill. Kicking off at 7pm the gig, like the download, is free, so if you are around you can go along at no cost, woo!

Something New From The Twilight Sad

The Twilight Sad's third album, No One Can Ever Know, won't be out until early next year, but you can grab the closing track from the album, Kill it in the Morning, for free right now.
Kill it in the Morning hints at a bit of change in sound for The Twilight Sad, while still retain the atmosphere and hint of menace I tend to associate with them. James Graham's vocals are as spine tingling as always, and work better than I might have expected to over the more industrial sound.

Have a listen:
Kill It In The Morning by The Twilight Sad

Download in exchange for your email address:

The album No One Can Ever Know will be released in February 2012 by Fat Cat Records.
The Twilight Sad - Website

New Release: Lovers Turn To Monsters - Pandas, Hearts, Blankets & Birds

Back in June Lovers Turn To Monsters, or Kyle as he's also known, released his first "proper" album in the shape of Beyond Glasgow Howls. It was really very good, but at the time I forgot to say much about it. It seems only right then that I give a proper mention to the new Lovers Turn To Monsters release then.

Recorded between June and September, Pandas, Hearts, Blankets & Birds is yet more proof that you never have to wait a long time for a new Lovers Turn To Monsters song. Unlike many Kyle seems to produce countless songs a year, and none of them are ever something that feels like it was dashed out in an afternoon to pass some time. The ten songs on Pandas, Hearts, Blankets & Birds are very much in the lo-fi indie pop ilk, and much less polished than a "proper" recording would be, but the home made feel to them holds a certain charm for me. Besides, it isn't as if they sound like they've been recorded in a shed with a cheap tape recorded, the sound is lo-fi, but still sounds fab.

10 tracks of indie pop loveliness then, available to download for free. What more do you want? Crudely recorded samples from The Simpsons you say? Well you're in luck, the album has them too!



Download Pandas, Hearts, Blankets & Birds for free from Bandcamp, or pay next to nothing for a home made CD. While you are there poke around the Bandcamp page a bit more and you'll see what I mean about Lovers Turn To Monsters being prolific, there's a ton of music up there, lots of it for free.

Lovers Turn To Monsters: Facebook - Bandcamp

Bizarre - 30th August

The latest showbiz, celebrity and entertainment news and gossip from Aye Tunes!

Well, if The Sun are going to nick my name I'm stealing theirs for News & Bits this week...

New Releases are getting covered in their own individual posts these days, as far as I can. Out this week are the third album from Butcher Boy, and a new single from Skies Fell. The second album by John Knox Sex Club, Raise Ravens, is also available to buy here, and I'll have more on that album later this week.

Hubby, Wells and Moffat:

RM Hubbert has announced he will be supporting Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat on their upcoming UK and European tour. Sadly Hubby won't be playing at the Paisley gig, which is the one I'm hoping to go to, but if you are planning to go to any of the other dates on the tour make sure you get along early to catch our favourite post-rock flamenco solo artist. All the dates are here.

Coming Soon:

A quick Twitter discussion with RM Hubbert and some others recently ended up in my listening to all my De Rosa albums instead of sleeping, which wasn't a bad trade and leads nicely on to the next bit of news. Former De Rosa frontman Martin John Henry releases his first solo album in October. You can pre-order The Other Half of Everything right now at Bandcamp and get a download of three tracks right away. Or, you could order it from ASDA (don't though, buy it from Gargleblast if you are going to pre-order). There's an album launch gig at Stereo in Glasgow on October 8th, with support from The Seventeenth Century.

Aye Tunes Elsewhere:

Other than having my name nicked by a tabloid rag which we all hate anyway, I've popped up this week over at The Pop Cop. I was asked to write a bit for The Pop Cop's student guide, which meant trying to find nice things to say about Paisley. Add in that I haven't been a student in 13 years and my advice might be a bit dodgy, but you can find it here anyway.

Low, Low Prices:

Everyone loves free stuff, and happily bands always seem to oblige us by giving us songs for nothing, something which is of course covered in depth every Friday at Peenko. Here's a few that I've dug up myself recently.

My Tiny Robots are giving away Rock Bossa Nova Four Beat Black’ as a precursor to their release of a series of three singles on digital and as very special limited physical starting in October. You can download the song here, or below.

My Tiny Robots - Rock Bossa Nova Fourbeat Black by My Tiny Robots

The Darian Venture have a giveaway of their song Animals here.

Aminals by the darien venture

Flying Man Shark officially release their debut album on October 1st, but if you swing by their Bandcamp page you can download it for free now.

Monsters On Movie Posters have made their debut album Our Four Left Feet, released earlier this year, available for free too, grab it here.

News & Bits - August 1st

Pinch punch first of the month. A fair amount of news this week, and a chance for me to reference one of my favourite songs, which goes some way to making up for the fact that I'm supposed to be in the pub right now instead of writing this.

New Releases:

Jonnie Common - Master of None. This snuck a little early digitally, but is officially released today. You can buy it from iTunes. A limited vinyl version is available here.
Lady North/PAWS - Split 7". On the off chance you've missed all my mentions of this so far, the latest Gerry Loves Records split single is out today, buy from Bandcamp. There are launch gigs in Edinburgh tonight (Monday) and in Glasgow on Wednesday too.

The Mouse That Ate The Cat - Falling Down. Brand spanking new single from TMTATC, available from Bandcamp.

The Pineapple Chunks - A Dog Walked In. New album from The Pinapple Chunks, available now from Bandcamp for a very low price.

Note: I make up the new releases section by adding in what I know is out and going over new additions to eMusic on a Monday. eMusic hasn't yet updated with new releases today, so I'll come back and fill in any blanks once it does.

Ah Yes, Ain't That Fresh:

Fresh Air have released their second Inside Track compilation. 18 tracks of top notch Scottish music, including Loch Awe, Black International, Supermarionation, Plastic Animals, Trapped Mice, The Spook School and loads more, all for the minimum price of £2, with proceeds going to Waverly Care. You can download the album here.

Staff:

Adam Stafford releases a new single on Friday. Fire & Theft will be available as a free download from the Wiseblood Industries site from August 5th. You can hear a b-side, Miaoux Miaoux's remix of Shot Down You Summer Wannabes below. Adam launches his new album at Stereo on August 20th, with Miaoux Miaoux, PAWS and Mondegreen all supporting. You knew that already though, right? Tickets for that gig can be bought here, or from myself, Peenko or any of the bands.

Summer Wannabes (Miaoux Miaoux remix) by Adam Stafford

Branching Out:

Olive Grove Records have announced that the latest members of their family are The Moth and the Mirror. Debut album his World, Honestly is set to be released through Olive Grove on October 10th, and you can grab a free download of a new track, Lights in the Sky, from here.

Still Afraid:

I got a lovely wee surprise in my post the other day, a promo CD containing two new songs by We're Only Afraid of NYC. The band had been very quiet, but popped up again at the end of May with a new video and song, Walls. Walls will be released as a free download on August 22nd, but you can get your hands on it right now with a purchase of a ticket to see the band support LightGuides at King Tut's on August 28th here. As someone that has been following the band for quite a while now I'm delighted to see them back, and even happier that the new material is another step forward for them.

Stuff:

Due to it having a mid week release, I missed out the new Scrap Brain single last week. You can download Take It for free here, and see the video here.

Make Sparks have been awfully quiet of late, but have sprung back into action in the last few weeks. A new single will be released in September, with the band going on tour to accompany it. In the meantime they've kindly packaged up a bunch of their old songs as a cheap download from Bandcamp, and are also giving away the b-side to the new single for free.

Martin John Henry releases his debut solo album in October, but you can get a wee taster right now. First Light is available to download for free from Bandcamp, and has me eager to hear the rest of the album.

Former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra is playing at Glasgow's O2 ABC next week. Support comes from Desalvo and Bronto Skylift. Half price tickets are available here, just enter desalvo as the promo code.

The Red Show release a new EP on Friday. You can pre-order it at Bandcamp, and find all their previous EPs there too.

French Wives have announced an intimate Glasgow show to celebrate finishing the recording of their debut album. The gig will take place in The 13th Note on September 4th. You are advised to turn up early. French Wives are also playing at the first Tidal Wave of Indifference gig in Edinburgh on September 24th, with Star Wheel Press, the douglas firs and Lost Telegrams, tickets available here.

Bellow Bellow have stuck up a couple of demos for free download.

The Whisky Works are joining the club of bands who are releasing something and at the same time splitting up. They will release new EP In Fiction and play their final gig at Stereo on September 2nd, tickets are available here.

News & Bits - July 18th

I have nothing of interest to say in the intro. No change there then.

New Releases:

Fatherson - Fatherson EP. Available on iTunes.

Roddy Hart - Road of Bones. Album available from iTunes.

Kid Canaveral - And Another Thing!!! As mentioned last week, the new single from Kid Canaveral, backed with a remix by FOUND and a cover of Missionary, by the other KC. Available from Bandcamp, and now from iTunes.

Lach - Ramshackle Heart. Available on vinyl from Song, by Toad Records, download from iTunes.

The Last Battle - The Springwell EP. Y'know, that EP we had a launch for a couple of weeks ago. It is very good. Buy it from Bandcamp. Also go read an interview they did with my pal Last Year's Girl here.

Verse Metrics - Sleep & Wakefulness. Splendid new double A side single, available from iTunes.

Let There Be Light(Guides):

LightGuides have announced what will be keeping them busy for the next couple of months. They'll be releasing a 7 track mini album - Samba, Samba, Samba - through Alcopop! Records on August 29th. Also in August they'll be heading off on tour with label mates Jumping Ships.

The Scottish dates are:

August 25th - The New Market Bar, Thurso.
August 26th - Dexters, Dundee.
August 27th - The Greenside, Glenrothes.
August 28th - King Tut's, Glasgow. (Buy Tickets)

More info can be found here.

The Casting Call - LightGuides by alcopop

Computer Failure:

A Fight You Can't Win have let us know that The Computers have pulled out of their gig at Sneaky Pete's on Thursday. Bronto Skylift will now headline, with PAWS and AFYCW still playing, the gig is now free entry.

Silent Bells:

In November Gizeh Records are hitting the road, briefly. Sleepingdog, Conquering Animal Sound and Farewell Poetry will be taking part in the Silent Bells tour. On November 15th they'll be at the CCA in Glasgow, tickets available here, with gigs in Leeds and London on the following two days. More info here.

Stuff:

ballboy have put pretty much all their albums up on Bandcamp, giving you the perfect chance to have a listen and spend some money.

The Pineapple Chunks carry on putting up teasers for their upcoming new album. The latest, She Needs Answers, is available for free here.

Queen Jane have made their Confetti EP available for free here ahead of their appearance at King Tut's on Friday.

Linky Gray has a new song up on Bandcamp, and it is quite lovely. You can grab Sunshine for free here, if you haven't already then grab her My Mechanical Heart EP for free too.

I really enjoyed Peter Cat when I saw him support How Garbo Died at their EP launch the other week, so was happy to learn he has an EP available for download. You can pick that up here, at a price of your choosing.

News & Bits - July 4th

Happy Birthday America! Before I batter on with the news a big thank you to everyone who came along to Stereo on Friday for the Aye Tunes gig. Extra special thanks to The Last Battle, The Second Hand Marching Band and Loch Awe who were all excellent.

You've got a bit of a break from me harassing you about my own gigs for a little while now as I retreat to plan things for the autumn. Coming up in August though is, of course, the return of Aye Tunes Vs Peenko at Stereo on August 20th. Plenty of time to remind you about that though.

New releases:

Ed Muirhead - Cage for the Clouds. Available from Tattie Records, Bandcamp, iTunes.

The Japanese War Effort - Surrender to Summer EP. Available on very pretty 10" vinyl from Song, by Toad. Also available to download from Amazon and iTunes.

Le Reno Amps - Construction. First available as a bonus with early copies of recent, and excellent, album Appetite, Construction now gets a stand alone digital release. Available from Bandcamp.

Letters - Flash! Lights. New single available free from the website. Good too.

Lou Hickey - Minutes, hours, days EP. Available from iTunes and Amazon.

Mickey 9s - A Thing To Try and Dance To. Available from iTunes.

Mitchell Museum - What They Built. I picked up my copy at the launch gig on Saturday, on the not at all unusual format of miniature keyboard. the single is also available in the more standard digital format from iTunes and Amazon. A few keyboards are left, keep an eye on the Mitchell Museum website if you want to snag one.

Spaghetti Anywhere - Doolally. This slipped my mind last week. With the current sunny weather it seems fitting that Spaghetti Anywhere have something new to offer us. The 3 track Doolally EP is available free from Bandcamp.

Sucioperro - Land/Slide. Available from Bandcamp.

What's On?

I skipped the gig guide this week not because I'm lazy (although as you know by know, I most certainly am) but because there isn't an awful lot on. There's still a couple of gigs worth checking out though. Such as...

Sicknote, The Girobabies, Ghosts of Progress & more at Pivo Pivo on Wednesday. This is a warm up gig for the Free in the Park event taking place at a so far secret location at the weekend.

Lydia Lunch at Stereo on Thursday. Influential, individual and uncompromising, Lydia Lunch sweeps into Glasgow on Thursday for a one off performance,. Tickets are available here.

Plastic Animals, Trapped Mice and Yusuf Azak at The Wee Red Bar on Friday. Launch gig for Plastic Animals' debut EP, A Dark Spring. The EP is out now, available from Bandcamp, and very good. I'll try and elaborate on that a bit later this week.

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How Garbo Died, Tangles, Uzuruzu and Peter Cat at Stereo on Saturday. Launch gig for How Garbo Died's first "proper" EP, Muted Response. We like these guys, so will be heading down on Saturday to catch them and pick up a copy of the EP. I've not yet managed to see Tangles either, and this is the first outing for Uzuruzu - a new project featuring Guanoman, Noma and members of The Cosmic Dead and Ug! - which all adds up to a pretty decent night, and a nice change from jangly guitars.

How Garbo Died will be doing it all again on Sunday through in Edinburgh at Sneaky Pete's, with Simon Herron and The Spook School joining Peter Cat in support. Entry for both gigs is a mere £3, which also gets you a copy of the Muted Response EP.

Spend, Spend, Spend:

Gizeh Records are celebrating the launch of their new online store by offering 20% off everything for one week only. If you haven't yet bought Conquering Animal Sound's Kammerspiel album, or the more recent remix album, now is your chance to save a few quid on doing so. The Gizeh shop is here.

Bits:

The Martial Arts have stuck their back catalogue on Bandcamp, all of it either free or available for you to name your price.

The Phantom Band have been playing with Bandcamp too. Go here to have a listen to both their albums, a couple of singles and some other stuff. Some free downloads are available too.

On The Telly:

Scotland Rocks at SXSW is on BBC Two at 9pm on Tuesday night. Filmed at SXSW, oddly enough, this summer, the show has Vic Galloway join the Scottish bands taking part to document their trip. I look forward to pointing out folk I know to my Mum and acting like being an unpopular Scottish music blogger isn't me wasting my life. I feel a little sorry for the band who dream of visiting Inverness though. Here's a trailer:

The Aye Tunes Birthday Bash

As I've mentioned already, I'm putting on a wee birthday gig.

Aye Tunes, the blog you are currently looking at, started up three years ago this week on June 1st 2008. Admittedly it took around a year between starting up and me actually doing anything, but we'll gloss over that part.

It is also my birthday on June 18th. I'll be a good bit older than the blog.

On the 17th, two weeks today, the birthday gig takes place at The Flying Duck in Glasgow The Flying Duck is a wee bit hidden, but once you work out where it is it is a doddle to find. It is on Renfield Street, just across from the big Cineworld, there's a map and stuff on the website.

Playing at the gig are The Big Nowhere, Black International and Verse Metrics. On the off chance you don't know the bands don't worry, I'll be introducing them to you between now and the gig here. You can get a head start by reading the interview Black International did a with me last November, or indeed the track by track guide to their debut album In Debt.

If you are into that kind of thing you can let me know you are coming on Facebook.

Everyone is invite to come along and partake in some good music, some beverages, and watching me stress out. There's a catch though, I'm going to make you pay for the pleasure. Entry is £3, which isn't too shabby for three bands.

Sorry, but to try and minimise the chances of my head exploding I need to try and not make it both the most stressful and the most expensive birthday I've had!

News & Bits - May 23rd

I almost got hit by a flying bin earlier today, and the wee plastic greenhouse in the garden has lost its cover. Now, on to the rest of the news.

New Releases:

Aviation For Kids - This Airplane... (EP). Available from Bandcamp.

Dead Boy Robotics/The Machine Room - Tape Singles Club #1 (Split Single). Buy from iTunes.

Mogwai - San Pedro (Single). Buy from iTunes.

Miaoux Miaoux - Hey Sound! (single). Buy from iTunes/Bandcamp. CDs available at tomorrow's launch gig, with extra tracks too.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears - Sapling (single). Buy from iTunes.

She's Hit/Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers - Shimmer Shimmer/Lemonade (split single). Buy from Bandcamp.

Zoey Van Goey - Mountain On Fire (Single). Buy from iTunes.

Aye Tunes (Wants) Presents:

Not content with an Aye Tunes Presents gig in July and the return of Aye Tunes Vs Peenko in August, I'm cramming in a gig in June too. We'll be having a special birthday bash on the 17th of June at The Flying Duck to mark the blog turning three (even though I did next to nothing in the first year) and me turning quite a bit older than that. I can't tell you who is playing just yet though, mainly due to not having finalised the line-up. So, if you want to volunteer...

Tickets for the upcoming gigs are available here.

Bits:

Blank Canvas have made a recording of their gig back in March at Edinburgh's Wee Red Bar available to download free here. They'll also be playing a free gig at The Wee Red Bar with Discopolis on June 18th, my actual birthday.

DanDanDan release an EP, Happy Happy Joy Joy, on June 10th, but you can pre-order it right now and get a couple of tracks straight away here. There's a few free downloads on their Bandcamp page too.

More pre-order goodness comes from Steven Flavahan with his Memories + Tragedies EP here, and Mike Nisbet with his album, Vagrant, here.

How Garbo Died will be launching their first proper EP in July with a couple of gigs around the place: 9th July - Stereo, Glasgow, with Tangles, Guanoman and Peter Cat, 10th July - Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh and 18th July - The Tunnels, Aberdeen. Have a listen to their home recorded batches on Bandcamp.

Golden Grrrls have a couple of things available on Bandcamp, choose your price.

Carnivores have made their Nights To Infinity EP available to buy from Bandcamp. CDs are still available from their BigCartel store.

The Spook School have CDs to sell you, which you can buy here for a measly £1. There's also free downloads there, which I think I mentioned before. If I didn't then I meant to.

News & Bits - March 28th

Time for me to delve through an inbox full of press releases, trawl Bandcamp, and generally recycle information to pad out my blog posts, hooray. I've been updating this all night, so if you read it when it was first posted there's some new stuff in here now.

New Releases:

New music released this week.

Admiral Fallow's excellent debut album Boots Met My Face gets a full UK wide reissue today. The album is available from all the usual places including eMusic and iTunes digitally and Amazon, HMV and straight from the band's store on CD and of course from all good record shops.

Robin Adams isn't happy releasing just the one album, he has two out today. Be Gone is a stripped back, intimate affair, while Robin Adams' Train Crash Choir is an altogether noisier album. Both are released today.

Errors have a new single out. Magna Encarta is available as a limited 7" and as a download from eMusic, iTunes and Amazon.

GoGoBot release their second single, First Class Fool. Buy it from iTunes or HMV and watch the video here.

Let's Talk About Trees join the Eli and Oz family with the release of their Lumberjack's Lament single. You can get the single from Bandcamp and iTunes.

Profisee becomes the fourth release on the Phuturelabs label with the Logan's Run EP. The EP is available here, or from Bandcamp where you can also pick up previous Phuturelabs releases, all for free.

The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse has a new EP available on all the good download sites, but you can pick it up for only £1, cheaper than anywhere else, at Bandcamp. Check this week's gig guide for details on a special event The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse is taking part in on Saturday too.

Weather Barn's latest single The Boat Ride also gets a release today. It too is available from eMusic, iTunes and Amazon, and there's a video here.

How Garbo Died have been busy recording, yet again. I swear if you turn your back on that pair for a minute they record another mini album worth of stuff. The latest collection of recordings, Batch 4: Kai Su Teknom, is available from Bandcamp for free now.

The Darien Venture's new EP, Indications, will be available to pre-order from here on Tuesday morning. Pre-orders will be limited to 30 copies, with a whole host of extras.

Fundraising:

The DF Concerts Charity Cup has been put together to raise money for the Save The Children Japan Emergency Appeal. You can find more details and donate here.

Mentioned this in the gig guide yesterday, but just a wee reminder that at the Endor, Randolph's Leap, Amber Wilson and Esperi gig at The Captain's Rest on Thursday, there will be some more fundraising action. I'll have more details shortly, but I hear rumours of face painting, home baking and a special little one off album. You can get tickets for the gig here.

At Blacklands Bowling Club in Kilwinning this Saturday there's a fundraising gig for Yorkhill Hospital. It all kicks off at 1pm and carries on till Midnight, costing a fiver. Playing are The Girobabies, The Paraffins, Annie Stevenson and loads more, full details here.

Stuff:

Dave Hughes, fast becoming a regular at getting things plugged round here, has been giving his website a rejig. Have a visit, and pick up some free music while you are there.

The always excellent Miaoux Miaoux is nearing completion of his second album. As a celebration he is very kindly giving away the first Miaoux Miaoux album, Rainbow Bubbles, as a free download this week. You can get that here.

Another giveaway comes from Shambles Miller. Recorded at his recent appearance at Words Per Minute you can download a little medley, Alice's 99 Problems, here.

Would you like a free sampler of recent and upcoming releases from the Song, By Toad Records label? If you answered no you are an idiot, if you said yes, fill yer boots. That's 16 tracks from the likes of King Post Kitsch (who incidentally I met at the weekend, ruining his enigma reputation), Jesus H. Foxx, The Savings & Loan, Lil Daggers, Meursault and lots more, all for free.

Laeto have popped up again to offer up their first album, Make Us Mild, for free. Get that, and their third album released at the end of last year, here. More offerings from the archives are promised too, so keep an eye out in future.

Rounding off the free stuff for now is a new single from Pose Victorious. Get Cold Hands/Warm Heart here.

Literary Death Match is coming to Glasgow. Working in conjunction with Cargo Publishing, this will be their first ever visit to Glasgow. Award-winning novelist Helen Fitzgerald, performance poet Tim Turnbull, the multi-talented Alan Bissett and promoter and writer Kirstin Innes will be doing battle for literary supremacy under the watchful eye of Scots Makar Liz Lochhead and two other judges at The Arches on April 14th. Advance tickets are £5, available from The Arches, or £8 on the door on the night. More info here.

United Fruit have announced details of their debut album. Titled Fault Lines, the album will be released on May 30th. The band head off on a UK tour on May 12th, ending with an album launch gig at Bloc in Glasgow on May 28th. Here Go Away, Don't Leave Me Alone from the album here.

Matthew Healy (We, The Plural/Loch Awe/General Busy Man) has a new "solo" thing, the recording can be heard here.

The Social Services have a new identity! They are now Tall Tales, and they have a new video to go with the new name.

Valentine Treats

Alternate names for this post included "Any excuse to use that card from The Simpsons" and "Oh God, Peenko is going to kill me again"

As you may have noticed from the screaming red shop window displays, lovey dovey couples, and muttering bitter single people (Hiya!) it is apparently Valentine's Day. We at Aye Tunes could care less about it, but some bands have gotten into the spirit and are giving away some free music, so we'll gladly tell you about that.

Spring Offensive are offering a new acoustic EP for one week only. It is available on a pay what you like basis. You can have it for free if you want, but if you feel like splashing out you can get a credit on their next release if you pay more than £4. Get it over at their website.

de Selby is Alistair Beith and some of his fellow Second Hand Marching Band/Benni Hemm Hemm/Tannahil friends, and they have a one day only free download, a cover of Prince's "If I Was Your Girlfriend". You can find it over on Bandcamp. While you are there check out the recently released Sisyphus EP, which I've forgotten to mention here until now. It is really rather good though.

Taken At The Flood I know nothing about, other than there's a Valentine download from them (Him? Not sure) over on Bandcamp. There's an EP up for grabs there too, and Taken At The Flood will be supporting the excellent Trapped Mice at their upcoming Edinburgh EP launch gig, alongside the also excellent Loch Awe on the 5th of March at The Wee Red Bar.

The Belle Hops have made their wee EP free for this week only as a special treat. Isn't that lovely of them?

Karlyn King is offering up a free download too. Nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but I might forget to mention it later, so it is getting included here anyway. Blue Painted Gates is a collaboration with Bill Wells, and can be found here.

Maple Leaves left their entry till late, but we'll forgive them since it seems churlish to complain about getting really good stuff for free. They've bundled up two of their previous single for a free EP, titled Threads. If like me you already have the singles then it is still worth a look, since the EP includes a previously unreleased Miaoux Miaoux remix. You can download Threads on Bandcamp.