Friday Freebies - 10.05.2013

What, no six week gap between freebies? Shocker.

Adam Stafford
There's a new album from long term blog fave Adam Stafford coming up in a couple of months. Smugly I'll now tell you that I've already heard it. It's brilliant. It'll be released by Song, by Toad Records in July, which is good, since it keeps up Adam's recent track record of releasing things with labels I really like, what with his last single having been on Gerry Loves Records and all. You can get a wee taster for yourself now, with the first single from the album, Please, available as a free download here.

Sparrow and the Workshop
Carrying on the "really good bands with albums out from Song, by Toad" theme, here's a new single from the always ace Sparrow and the Workshop. The Faster You Spin is the second single to be taken from their new album Murderopolis, and you can download it for free here. If you like the sound of that - and why wouldn't you? - then you can buy yourself a copy of Murderopilis here.

Kellar
Cash always tend to be pretty tight around Aye Tunes towers, so it's a compliment and accomplishment that every time Kellar stick out a new album I happily pay money for it at the earliest possible opportunity. Their last album Fulminant was no different. The band have made some stuff available for free now, so I'm off to grab them post haste. Get your paws on four out takes from Fulminant for free here.You can get some free remixes here too.

Cuddly Shark
I love Cuddly Shark. Great band, fab name, swell songs. They've got a new single out this week, which I also, unsurprisingly, really like. Out of Sight, Out of Mind is a pay what you want download, available here.

The Lonely Oatcake
I went to a Lonely Oatcake gig years ago, really enjoyed it, but could never get anything to listen to afterwards. Lots of patience has apparently paid off though, as along comes an EP at last. A free one at that, meaning I get to plug it here. A Portrait of the Oatcake as a Young Man is available as a free download here. I rather enjoyed it.

Book Group
Rounding off this week is one of my favourite new bands. One of your favourite new bands too, if the last set of Readers' Poll results are to be believed, though there's been a name change since then, with The Bad Books moniker being dropped in favour of Book Group. Their debut EP Homeward Sound is out at the end of this month, but the lovely Book Group gentlemen will let you have one song, Year of the Cat, from it right now for absolutely free, over here. Edinburgh dwellers can thank them and buy a copy of the EP at the launch gig on May 18th, tickets for that are available here.

Friday Freebies - 03.05.2013

I knew I'd been lazy recently, but I didn't realise quite how long it had been since the last Friday Freebies.

Oops.

There's probably millions of things have come out since the last time I wrote one of these, but I'll likely miss out loads of them or else this will go on forever. Here's a handful of things that are either free or name your price to keep you going.

Royal Edinburgh Music
Derek from Evil Hand shared a couple of songs from this band with me a while ago, as they'd been recorded at the EH Studios. The stuff I heard then was great. I was really rather pleased then when a few weeks ago Royal Edinburgh Music offered up a full album of goodies for whatever anyone fancied to pay. Even more pleased when the album was pretty bloody ace, so much so that I even *gasp* paid money for it! Get your paws on a copy of the self titled album here.

Little Anchors
Former Pensioner fella Ross Middlemiss has a new thing going, that being Little Anchors. A Searing Analysis of Pretty Much Everything is a fab five track slice of rock, available for whatever price you fancy here. Any money raised is going to the Scottish Association for Mental Health, so don't be afraid to chuck in some money for it.

GUMS!
Ooh ace, a new GUMS! EP! (Well, it was new a few weeks ago anyway) Antipathy is splendid, go get it for free here.

Thirty Pounds of Bone
New anything from Thirty Pounds of Bone is cause for celebration round here (and probably at Elba Sessions too, I assume), so it's party central at the moment as the fine Mr Lamb has a new album out next week, a long awaited follow up to 2010's brilliant Method. You can pre-order that here, and having had a sneaky advance listen I can assure you that doing so wouldn't be a bad move. A free single from the album, The Truth of the Matter, is available to download here.

Nevada Base
Good news for those of you that prefer to shimmy and shake rather than jump around, Nevada Base have a new single out, and you can certainly wiggle your arse to it. Foresight is available here, name your price.

Baby Godzilla
Baby Godzilla are a band to whom a stage is treated more like a serving suggestion. Their on and mostly offstage carnage could easily, as is the case with many other bands, be used to mask them being not actually very good, but it isn't. Best played at a volume that is likely to cause hearing damage* most recent single A Good Idea Realised can be had in return for your email address here, there's older stuff for free download here.

Eureka Machines
Pretty much my favourite pop band on the planet, after about a four year wait I recently got to see Eureka Machines twice in the space of a few weeks. That was most enjoyable. I also saw the aforementioned Baby Godzilla at both those gigs too, enhancing the enjoyment. With three swell albums now under their belts, Eureka Machines have a sort of Best Of available for free here, go have a listen.

You Already Know
Aye, I still miss them. One from under the floorboards here, as you can download YAK's Test the Pie for free here. It features the best use of the Take the High Road theme tune ever if you ask me. Identifying that theme tune in there took me ages, but helped me win a big bag of swag a few years ago.

*Aye Tunes do not condone causing yourself lasting hearing damage. Listen responsibly kids!

Friday Freebies - 08.03.2013

It's another one of those weeks where I've came across very little I've liked enough to stick in the freebies, believe it or not there is some element of quality control in here.

Edinburgh Man had some good stuff on his podcast this week though, so I've nicked some of that.

Bianca
Sneaking in late, after I'd already drafter up this post, so missing out on an cough illustrious position on the wee reciept, are the first freely available from Bianca. They are fairly recent additions to the Good Grief family, a family who haven't disappointed me yet. Mellower than their label mates, the two free tracks from Bianca available here are still rather fine.

Joshua Burnside
This being the first of stuff heard on Edinburgh Man. I've only listened to half of the Black Dog Sin EP as I'm writing this, but I've enjoyed that half, and don't expect it to go wildly off the rails from here on. Grab the EP for whatever you want to pay here.

Baffin Island
Our second "you lazy bugger, you swiped that from a podcast" freebie of the week comes from transatlantic collaboration Baffin Island. Idaho and Glasgow combine for some lovely indie pop, free download here.

Mad Nurse
Aaaaand here's the "shocking lack of research" selection. The self titled Mad Nurse EP seems to be pretty old, the release date is listed as 2011, but I've only just found it on Bandcamp today. Look, shut up and stop complaining and just go get it here, right?

Let's Talk About Space
They used to talk about trees, now they've gone off planet, grab the latest song from Let's Talk About Space here, for free!

HCBP
I'm sure someone from HCBP is in another band I like, and they'd tweeted the link to this album. I now have no idea who it was though, since I'm too dim to keep notes. I can tell you that HCMP's album, Charger, is a fun little rocky bluesy romp though, and you can pay what you want for it here.

That's your lot for this week. Good luck to Neil from Scottish Fiction in finding something in there to stick on his Friday Freebies slot on the radio show.

Friday Freebies - 01.03.2013

It's a small but perfectly formed selection of freebies this week. Dig in and see if anything floats your boat.

Walker Smith Jr.
I really like two piece bands. Joining the list of bands I like who happen to only have two members are Walker Smith Jr. Kyle of Lovers Turn To Monsters was talking about this lot last week over on Scottish Fiction and it seemed like they'd be up my street. I didn't have to wait long, as they've stuck three songs up on Bandcamp to download for whatever you want to pay. I was right though, they are right up my street. They pretty much sound like approximately 14 of my favourite bands crammed in a washing machine. That's a compliment.

Cleavers
Cleavers have only been together a bit over a year, but in that time have been busy wee beavers. A steady stream of gigs have been accompanied by a nice wee bunch of releases, and they've pretty rapidly become one of my favourite new(ish) bands from these shores in ages. At some point I'll trick them into an Aye Tunes gig if I have my way. This week they've flung out a cover version of Joy Division's Transmission, which manages to dodge the usual results of a Joy Division cover by being not shit. You can grab that here. For their own songs just delve into their Bandcamp, where everything is available as name your price downloads. I'd especially suggest giving their most recent single, Life Is Shit, a listen. Good art too.

Flutes
Like an idiot, I keep forgetting to include this freebie from Flutes. In fact, I geenrally just keep forgetting to say nice things about Flutes on here. Their self titled album from last year was fab, but due to my continued inability to review anything I never got round to saying so. Flutes have a new single, Kilburn, out at the start of next month which you can listen to here. The b-side is a cover of Haddaway's What Is Love? and you can get your paws of that for free right now here.

Slutever
Great name, ace scuzzy pop songs, shouty girls and references to Josie and the Pussycats, it's like Slutever tapped into my brain for stuff that will make me pine after them. There's lots of stuff to grab for whatever you want to pay for it here.

Friday Freebies - 22.02.2013

Everyone's band name is too long this week.

The Earth has revolved the sun enough times that freebies are due again, so here are some.

Lovers Turn To Monsters
Heaven forbid I miss the chance for a gig plug. Ahead of Saturday's gig, Lovers Turn To Monsters staged a takeover of Scottish Fiction. Included in that was a free EP of Lovers Turn Top Monsters covering songs by Paws, So Many Animal Calls, Honeyblood and Chvrches. Get that here.

Northern Alliance
With an entire discography shoved out for the price of your choice this week Northern Alliance could practically have filled the freebies column on their own. Four Northern Alliance albums, and one under the guise of The Ossians, can be yours here. I'd previously only heard little bits of the band before, so I was particularly happy to get my paws on all this, most of which has been listened to and thoroughly enjoyed this week.

Universal Disappointment Sponge
I had Fashoda Crisis on here a few weeks ago with an EP I really liked. The marvelously names Universal Disappointment Sponge are a side project of one of that band, and it's their turn to come along with a fab EP. Name your price for Time to Surrender Puny Earthlings here.

In Session
Edinburgh radio show In Session have stuck out their selection of - funnily enough - session tracks recorded for the show. Tons of good stuff on this. It's a pay what you want download, with any money raised going to charity, here.

DanDanDan
Noisy Edinburgh tykes DanDanDan have a new EP out, available for whatever you want to pay here. Excellent song titles.

Run/Lucky/Free
Indie-pop types Run/Lucky/Free have decided to split up. They are giving away a free download of a four track EP here as a parting gift.

The Girobabies
I always forget to include The Girobabies in the freebies when they have one, no idea why. My mind usually remembers they had something an hour after posting, then shuts down again if I go to do an edit. The freebie they passed on to me to include this week isn't actually available to download, though you can listen to it here, so instead I'll mention that you can still get Bus Stop Apocalypse album here for whatever price you want.

Friday Freebies - 15.02.2013

Hi. I like what you've done with your hair today. If you don't have any hair then I like that too.
"What music can I get off the internet at minimal cost to myself this week Jim?" I hear you say. The doctors tell me this is perfectly normal though, and I shouldn't worry about it too much. They are getting me a special jacket to wear so I can cuddle myself while I hear voices asking me things on the internet.

Pinact
Pinact have a new EP out now. Or they have a zine out, which comes with an EP. Look, Pinact have a thing out, right? You can buy it here. That's not free, but their first EP, the quite splendid Spill Your Guts, Let Out Some Noise can be had for whatever price you want to pay for it here. While I'm plugging, I should mention that they've got a few tasty looking gigs next week in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. Go on over to their Facebook for all the details on those.

The Big Nowhere
My old mates The Big Nowhere have been promising a second album for about as long as I can remember. It's still not ready. They have put together a wee song for Valentine's Day though, which I bring to you a day late, like a bouquet of petrol station flowers bought in a panic at 5am. I'd never do something like that, my 5am petrol station purchases are far less romantic. Enough about that though, get hold of The Big Nowhere's cover of Gene Clark's Through the Morning, Through the Night over here.

Randolph's Leap
Ahead of their big gig at Edinburgh's Queens Hall on Saturday night, long time blog favourites Randolph's Leap have a new single. News is available here as a name your price download. It's fab.

Hey! Hello!
Somewhat carrying on the day late Valentine theme, we've got Hey! Hello! I'll forgive you if you aren't familiar with the band name, but once I tell you that one half of the band is one of the major Aye Tunes mancrushes I expect you to pay attention. Hey! Hello! is a side project of sorts, set up by Ginger of The Wildhearts fame - because he doesn't have quite enough projects on the go at any one time, with Victoria Liedtke. Together they've put together an excellent punky pop album, the first single from which is Black Valentine. Get yourself a download of the track here, for whatever price you fancy. If you like the single, you can get hold of the alum right now through Pledge Music.

Andrew Pearson and the Riflebirds
Last time I had Andrew on the blog it was Christmas. Goodness, how time flies. Mr Pearson and his Riflebirds have a new album out on Monday, but you can get yourself a single from the album right now! Ribbons comes with a plethora of remixes, and is a free download here.

Did you all have a nice Valentine's Day, or did you all ignore it? I went to see A Good Day To Die Hard with my ladyfriend. It was here idea, honest. I don't advise going to see the film unless you bloody love incoherent direction and plotting or didn't think Die Hard 4 was quite orange and teal coloured enough for your liking.

Friday Freebies - 08.02.2013

After a week off to rest my weary head, and because there was hardly anything to post last week, here's the freebies back again. I fine line-up this week, if you ask me. But then I would say that, since I tend not to post things I think are shite. You may disagree with the quality.

Machines In Heaven
Long term pals of the blog Machines in Heaven have taken their sweet time to finally get round to releasing something, but I can stop badgering them about that for the moment. They have released The Glasgow Jihad EP today, and you can get hold of a copy for whatever you want to pay here. I really quite like it, which means we don't need to have a sad break-up. Good.

The Plimptons
After 13 years, The Plimptons are going away. I'm quite sad about that, as they are still one of the most fun live bands around. As a parting gift, you can pick up their final release, The Plimptons are Dead! for free here. There's more freebies on their Bandcamp page too, if you poke around. They'll be finishing things in style with an all day going away bash on March 30th, split between Stereo and The Old Hairdressers, you can get tickets for that on Bandcamp too. Awkwardly, me Neil and Lloyd have one of our gigs that night, meaning I may need to don a disguise to go see The Plimptons instead...

Song, by Toad
I think in all the time it has been running, Song, by Toad Records has only put out one thing I didn't really like. That's either a pretty good track record, or I'm just easy to please. The 2013 label sampler is out now, and available as a free download here. Doesn't look like there's going to be anything coming from the label I don't like any time soon on this evidence, especially with the additions of Adam Stafford and Sparrow and the Workshop to the roster. Add in the next split 12" with Plastic Animals, Le Thug, Magic Eye and Zed Penguin and you've got a handful of folk who have either done gigs for me, or place very high up the wishlist for future. Excellent work toad people.

Jim Bob
We bloody love Carter USM round here. We also bloody love Jim Bob's solo stuff. So much so that I've had this for ages, since it came as a free download with the latest Jim Bob novel (we also like his books, and should stop saying we). I'm so cool. Though not as cool as Last Year's Girl, who put him on in Glasgow. The Day Job EP is now available to everyone, for whatever you want to pay for it, here. As an added bonus, it has the man behind Thirty Pounds of Bone on it, we like him a lot too.

Zombie Girlfriend
I'd call Zombie Girlfriend my favourite lo-fi band from Hungary, but they are pretty much the only band I know from Hungary, so I won't. I do really like the band though. Nab yourself a free download of Aglaope here, it's quite lovely. Gentler, more restrained and quite different to most of their stuff, all of which is worth investigating here.

Laurence and the Slab Boys
Last year Laurence and the Slab Boys put out their debut album, Lo-Fi Disgrace. It was good. I completely neglected to mention this fact on the blog. The description on Bandcamp for the just released Songs For B-Movies EP says it is a secret, but I'm going to stick it in here and hope Larry doesn't batter me. Name your price for the EP here, and check out the album here.

It Girl
The one thing I did want to post last week, but it had to wait. It Girl's debut album Neon Signs is out now, available to download for whatever price you want here. Particularly worth looking at if you like Interpol.

Friday Freebies - 25.01.2013

I was rather hoping to get away without writing the freebies this week. There hadn't been much around, and the blog is going to be even more neglected than normal for the next wee while due to personal issues, so I was taking a week off, with a gig plug going up instead. A few things worth mentioning have popped up though, so rather than skip them for now and inevitably forget about them, here's a hastily assembled freebies.

There'll still be a gig plug later too.

Disclaimer: increasingly the freebies are actually name your price downloads, but Friday Pay What You Want is a terrible title for a blog post. If you've got some spare cash I encourage you to pay for the things you like.

Now Wakes the Sea
Once again I get to refer to the Best Albums of 2012 list that I never published. The Now Wakes the Sea album from early last year, Fluoxetine Morning, had a spot in the top five on the list. That's not what the freebie is, but you should go have a listen to that album sometimes, I bloody loved it. New from Now Wakes the Sea is a collection of Burns songs - my, how timely! - called Addressing the Haggis. The album is a name your price download here. I can take or leave Burns in general, but this album is a swell listen.

The Cherry Wave
It barely seems like any time since I was talking about The Cherry Wave's first EP, yet here they come with their second one already. I do enjoy speedy service. I also enjoy The Cherry Wave, so this all works out nicely for me. Blush is available for whatever price you pick here.

Good Grief
Ooh, I like it when things tie together! Good Grief put out the first Cherry Wave EP. They also put out downloadable compilations to go with their Hey Man fanzine. The third compilation is available now, for free, here. It includes songs from Bianca, Sun Dogs, Owls In Antarctica, TIDINGS and Black International. Black International are playing tomorrow night's Scottish Fiction/Aye Tunes/Peenko gig as late substitutes for King Post Kitsch. In your fucking face Kevin Bacon.

Black Books
My favourite Texans ended up rejigging most of their plans last year, but did manage to sneak out a new single at the tail end of 2012. I don't think I've gotten round to mentioning it here before, and it's really good, so go get double A-side Like You Best/Shipwrecked for your choice of price here.

Aloha Tigers
What happens when a band from Illinois team up with a fella in Edinburgh? You end up with the self titled Aloha Tigers album being released by a Scottish tape label. Cracking album this, it came out away back near the start of last year, but all the tapes are sold out, so you can pick up a download for whatever you want here.

Our Smallest Adventures
Rounding things off this week are Fifers Our Smallest Adventures. Their self titled debut EP is available for free here.

Friday Freebies - 18.01.2013

You can pay for things too.

What delights has the internet thrown at us this week then? Let's have a look and find out.

Fashoda Crisis
Kicking us off this week is something blooming ace, from token English entry Fashoda Crisis. It's always nice to keep the Southerners involved in things. I kid, I kid. Anyway, the new Fashoda Crisis EP, The Jowls of Justic, is available as a pay what you want download here. Somewhere in the art-rock region, packed with dark wit and social commentary, but far far better sounding than what I just wrote, this gets a big thumbs up from me. Go listen and see what you think for yourself, you do have your own ears after all.

From Paris To Prison
A bit alt-rock, a bit grungey, the self titled debut EP from From Paris To Prison is a decent wee listen, and available for whatever you want to pay here.

Secret Motorbikes
Shh. Vroom vroom. I like a bit of scruffy sounding surf pop, therefor I like Secret Motorbikes. You can too, to help you decide if you want to or not you can grab their Demos 2012 collection, which rounds up an EP and a single, for free here. Is it telling tales if I say that Neil keeps asking them to do one of our gigs and they keep saying no? It is? Forget you read that bit then.

Hunt / Gather
Hunt / Gather's debut album False Monuments was one of my favourites from last year. Noisy, angry, abrasive  and right up my street. If you missed it first time round you can snag a copy now with a pay what you want download here. Play loud.

Lawrence Made Me Cry
Another one of those pesky solo artists with a proper band name, Lawrence Made Me Cry is a lass from Wales, and she has a new single out. Between Destinations is available to download for your choice of price here.

The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse
Making certain that I can't fit all the bands included this week into one tweet sized round up comes everyone's favourite horse with the head of an eagle. I've not suddenly had a mental snap, I swear. At least I don't think I have... Get a free download of Am Twitchin' here (right click and save as if you have to).

Giant Squids
While Friday Freebies was posted absent for most of December I missed a bunch of stuff, like a new EP thingy from Giant Squidz. Catch up now by getting A Shanty free here.

Bottle of Steven
I missed this out in December, and Steven, he of the the "Bottle of" in the name, personally requested pimping, which is always a good way to get included here. Titbits of Turmoil is a wee collection of previously unreleased Bottle of Steven tracks, and you can pay what you want for it here.

The Strangers Almanac
Get your mitts on Ten Feet Tall, taken from the upcoming The Strangers Almanac album, for free here.

Friday Freebies - 10.10.2013

Woo, first Friday Freebies of the year, what a momentous occasion! Or not. First one I've remembered to do in a while, which is probably more momentous.

Let's see what we've got this week then, along with a few things I've missed previously.

The Plimptons
Sadly, The Plimptons have announced their intention to pack it in, with a farewell gig at the end of March being their last outing. Shame that, since they are one of the most fun live bands around, but at least there's one last chance to catch them on stage. Meanwhile, The Plimptons have made their last - in all senses of the word - album The Plimptons are Cynical and Bloated available to download for whatever price you fancy here.

Gums!
There's at least one Plimpton involved in Gums! and I didn't get round to posting their recent freebie when I came out, so here it is, a bit late. New Year is a free download here.

The Paraffins
Another old favourite round this way, The Paraffins have stuck out a live album, Armed Response, as a pay what you want download here. Recorded on phones and ghettoblasters, the results are somewhat rough. If you'd prefer something more polished then the first album from The Paraffins, Snout to the Grindstone, can be had for your choice of price at the moment too, here.

James Clark Jones
Taking a diversion away from our shores to Canada we have James Clark Jones, although his roots are firmly in Scotland, so don't be afraid of something from elsewhere. James has made his latest album available to download for what you like this week only, so head over here quickly. He'll be paying another visit to Scotland soon, so if you like what you hear keep an eye out for that.

Magnetic Island
While we are going round other countries, it's off to Brooklyn to pay a visit to Magnetic Island. I never did get round to writing up a best albums of 2012 list for the blog, but if I had, and on lists I submitted elsewhere, Magnetic Island's self titled album from last year took a top five place. You can grab a collection of all their singles for whatever you want to pay here.

Monster Island.
Sticking with bands I really like with Island in their name, time for a quick stop in Manchester. I mentioned the then upcoming new album from Monster Island a few times in the freebies before it came out, but never got back to telling you when the album was actually out. Well, the new album from Monster Island. is currently available. It's right good, and you should go and get yourself a copy of The Retaining Wall for free here.

Armellodie Records
Armellodie release some of my favourite records. This year shows no sign of that stopping, with new stuff from Cuddly Shark and Galoshins imminent. For a flavour of the label grab their free 2012 sampler here.

Luminous Monsters / Guanoman
Not many people can release a split single with themselves. Since Luminous Monsters and Guanoman are the same person, they (he?) could, and did, and you can get hold of it here.

The New Fabian Society
If you never got around to getting a copy of the first EP from The New Fabian Society then I've got good news for you, it's currently available to download free here. If you've missed out in the band in geenral up till now then it's not to late to get caught up. Have a listen, they are rather ace.

mylittlebrother
After something a bit more laid back and poppy? Then you could do worse than check out mylittlebrother's new EP. Hey Stethoscope is a name your price download here.

Friday Freebies - 23/11/2012

Before we fire in to the freebies, there's more self promotion to get through.
Tomorrow night (Saturday, just in case you don't know what day it is) we've got the second Scottish Fiction Presents: Aye Tunes Vs Peenko gig, or as I like to call it, the second Glasgow blogger circle jerk gig. It's at The Flying Duck from about half seven, and joining us this time are Gav Prentice giving his debuit solo album an overdue launching, Campfire in Winter and Behold, the Old Bear. Well worth six of your pounds, I reckon.
Last week's Aye Tunes gig went brilliantly too, so quick thanks to LeThug, Easter and Young Philadelphia for playing - and for all being bloody ace - and everyone who came along. I was happier with how things went at the end of the night that I have been at any of my other solo ventures, I think.
Enough of that though, on to the freebies.

No Island
Let's start with something brutal and loud again, shall we? No Island have a new free EP out, and boy is it good. Six tracks in a little over eight minutes, it is short, sharp, wastes no time and loud. Get Let Glasgow Perish here.

Mitchell Museum
New stuff from Mitchell Museum? Oh goodness, yes please. Their first release in in age, and the first with their rejigged, post-hiatus line up, it still makes me a happy bunny that Mitchell Museum are kicking around again. Their new EP, The Spanner Works, is also decidedly not shit, so that's a relief. You can download it for whatever you want here.

The Second Hand Marching Band
Old pals The Second Hand Marching Band have not only made all their releases to date available on a name your price basis here, they've also put out a couple of new demos. Grab the demos here and here.

Silicon Ballet
My submissions pile often contains a lot of dross, but there's great stuff in there too. So was the case when Silicon Ballet got in touch roughly a year ago to tell me about their debut EP. Released early this year, I really liked that EP, so was happy when they said that there'd be another one. The first taste of the second EP comes in the shape of Slowly Slowly, available for whatever you want to pay here.

NOSE
Stewart from Black International always gives me good bands to listen to. No change this week, as he pointed me in the direction of NOSE and their new single Cretin. Good stuff, this. Cretin is another name your price download, available here.

Slowcoaches
The latest in the Art is Hard Records Biweekly 5" Pizza Club series comes from Leeds trio Slowcoaches. I've heard the band's name a lot before, but very little of the music. The song on offer here is rather good though, lo-fi and scuzzy sounding pop, splendid. Get Proper Job here.

It Girl
Like Interpol? You'll probably like It Girl. I do, and I do. Free single Neon Signs can be had here.

Great Cop
The first release from Great Cop has been around for a wee while now, but I kept forgetting to get hold of it. They've now made it available to download for your choice of price, so I have no excuse now. Get Faint Light here.

The Miami
Another from the random stuff I've been sent pile, and proof that the strangest things will get me to listen to music. The email from The Miami describes themselves as "An exploration of traditional American lyrical poetry, mainly African-American (slave songs, gospel hymns, spirituals) reinterpreted by two middle-class, secular, well-educated college kids" to which my response was "Ok, I'm in". I liked their stuff quite a bit, latest release Ring Shouts is a name your price download here.

Friday Freebies - 16/11/2012

Let's start with the obligatory gig plug. Tonight at The Roxy 171 I've got the last Aye Tunes Presents gig for a while, with LeThug, Easter and Young Philadelphia. Things start around 8pm, it's six quid to get in, and you can hear all the bands here.

Now that's out the way, on to the free stuff.

Hunt / Gather
If you've been paying attention to how my tastes fluctuate, and I won't blame you if you haven't been paying attention, then you might have noticed that this year my barometer has swung towards "make my ears bleed with devastating noise, please". One of the best bands around recently at fulfilling this request are Hunt / Gather, so it is very happy news for me that they've got a new EP out. It's self titled, and available to download for free here.

Kowalskiy
Everyone's favourite Scottish blogger who is also a nuclear scientist (or something) has the latest of his free download EPs out now. The new volume has songs from Plum, Thank You So Nice, Saint Death, yaya club and White Heath. Download for free here.

Inverness
Quite how a band from Chile ended up taking their name from a place up the Highlands is a mystery, but that's what happened with Inverness. Both their albums are currently available to download for free from Soundcloud here. Well worth a listen they are too.

We Are The Grand
Staying in Chile - now there's a phrase I've never written on the blog before - we've got a new, free single from We Are The Grand. This lot came to my attention a while back when George, formerly one of the people behind Pop Goes the Revolution, included them in a guest post he wrote for me, and I've kept an ear out since. Save the Bullets can be downloaded free from here.

Mender
I promised last week that I'd remind you when the new Mender EP was available. Well, this is me reminding you. Asembulus is a name your price download here. Like I said last week, good stuff.

Beerjacket
Long a favourite round these parts, work on a new Beerjacket LP seems to be going well. As a sample, there's a new song, Antlers, available to download in demo form here.

Silver Caves
This band split a wee while ago, but from the vaults - recorded way back in 2010 - comes an EP. Make Gentle Day is a free download here.

Collar Up
There's always something I forget to include for a few weeks. Sorry Collar Up, I keep leaving you off these, it's my idiocy at fault, nothing else. Anyway, yes, Collar Up have a new single out. Tonight is pretty nifty, and available for free here.

Friday Freebies - 09/10/2012

Free stuff, woo! Also, this is your one week warning that there's an Aye Tunes gig imminent. Go here for more details on that, along with freebies from the bands involved. It'll be quite a quick freebie rundown this week, but here it is anyway.

Scottish Fiction
Blog buddy and lately gig comrade Scottish Fiction put their series of free EPs on hold recently, but there's still treats to be had. Back in July hidden tracks were added to all the available free EPs, if you missed them then you can grab them all together in one handy bundle here. With songs from Aye Tunes favourites like The Son(s), Randolph's Leap, Dolfinz, Lovers Turn To Monsters and Mitchell Museum you'd be silly not to.

Behold, the Old Bear (sort of...)
Speaking of Scottish Fiction and gigs, there's not long now till the pair of us and Peenko team up again for another gig night. Flying Duck, November 24th, with Gav Prentice, Campfires in Winter, and Behold, the Old Bear. This free EP only sort of comes from the latter. It's a collection of songs written by Raindeer a while back, and recently - and rapidly - recorded and released. A different kettle of fish from Behold, the Old Bear's stuff, but still ace.. To The Good Old Days is available to download for free here.

Beach Volleyball
Quite a lot of my favourite music I've stumbled across on the internet has been the result of pretty much randomly clicking things and seeing where I end up. So was the case last week, and a load of random clicking through Bandcamp landed me at Beach Volleyball.A shoegaze band from London, they've got two lots of demo recordings available for free download here. I rather like them.

Mistake Pageant
A boy and a girl from Glasgow. They've only got one song to listen to so far that I can tell, but it's a decent one, and you can get it for free here.

KiDD
Stuart Kidd plays in a couple of bands and that. He also does his own solo stuff, lots of which has been really good so far. The latest product of his home recording is an EP, Gone Awry, which you can name your price for here.

Very Well
Edinburgh alternative indie rock types Very Well have a tough to Google name, but they also have a new, free single. You can download the latter here.

Mender
Experimental-ambient-poppy-folky-electronica. Oh, I don't bloody know what I'm meant to categorise the new Mender album as, I just know I like it loads. There's a new EP coming next week, but in the meantime you can get the album The Subtle Sting of Change is available for whatever you want to pay here. New EP out on the 12th, I'll try and remind you later.

Friday Freebies - 02/11/2012

Let's see if we can't drag these back into something resembling a normal schedule, shall we?

Easter
This week's first freebie comes with a gig plug, again. On Friday November 16th I'm putting on the rather swell line up of LeThug, Easter and Young Philadelphia at The Roxy 171 in Glasgow. A ticket link will be going up tomorrow, along with a proper blog post, but for now you can indicate your attendance over on Facebook. LeThug and Young Philadelphia have been mentioned round these parts a few times before, so you may have already noticed I like them lots. Easter come from Manchester, their debut album Innocence Man was released earlier this year, and the album has been one of my favourites of the year so far, so I'm delighted to be having them up here doing a gig for me. You can download Damp Patch from the album for free here.

Young Philadelphia
While writing up the entry for Easter I skipped over to Young Philadelphia's Bandcamp page to grab a link to it, and well well well, what do we have here? They've only gone and made their recently released debut EP available for free download! Grab RESI for nowt here, then come see them on the 16th. (You can also catch them playing at Broadcast in Glasgow tonight for free)

Martin John Henry
While on a solo acoustic tour round Europe Martin John Henry recorded some bits and bobs of his set. A live EP has been put together from results, featuring songs from Martin's solo album, some De Rosa songs, and a few covers. The Live On Land EP is available to download for the price of your choosing here.

Verse Metrics
Old favourites and one time Aye Tunes birthday guests Verse Metrics have been quiet for ages, so it is good news indeed that a new EP from them is imminent. You can download Arches from the new EP for free here

i like ceareal, my friend.
Halloween has been and gone now, but I'd be slacking if I didn't mention this offering. Buy a CD or download Hallowtide for whatever you want here. While you are there you can do worse than pre-order a copy of the new Douglas Firs album too, here.

Thank You So Nice
Edinburgh indie rock types Thank You So Nice recently released their debut album, and they are so kind that you can have it for whatever price you want, even free. You can find Make Friends, Not Money here.

St Deluxe
Lateness of freebies meant that I only just got round to mentioning a new St Deluxe single last week, and there's another single along already. Evil Dead is the second single from their upcoming new album, and is a free download here. While you are at it, aforementioned new album Born Into Flame is available to pre-order here too.

Best Friends
Best Friends came to my attention, probably rather belatedly, when they put out a split tape with Grazes which paid tribute to Hardcore Legend Mick Foley. I bought the tape pretty much on the strength of the Sock connection, and it turned out to be a fine purchase. Best freinds have a new, free download available now, as part of the Art Is Hard Pizza club. Hawaii 666 is all kinds of ace, and free here.

Tiny Birds
Finally, a very late mention for our favourite jangly banjo weilding Londoners, Tiny Birds. Their new EP, Local History, came out weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to mention it. You can download it for the price of your choice, or buy a nice CD, here.

Friday Freebies - 26/10/2012

Oh, hello. Your hair looks nice tonight, are you going somewhere fancy?
As you probably haven't noticed since no one reads this anyway, it's been a couple of weeks since I've done a Friday Freebies. I could blame various things, but really it's just my fault for being a bit rubbish.
Due to two missed weeks I've got a bit of a backlog, but I won't post them all today. For one thing, there'd be too many for anyone to pay attention to, and for another thing I've started writing this at 11:15 on Friday night after coming home from work, so I've only got a small amount of time to get it finished before it is officially late again.
Backlogged freebies will appear over this and the next few weeks instead, maybe even a bonus midweek freebies if I can be arsed. Probably not then.

French Wives
Freebie number one for the week comes with a big ole plug too, bonus! On Saturday night myself, Peenko, and Scottish Fiction are teaming up to put on the first of our new regular gig nights. It takes place at The Flying Duck from 7pm, with French Wives, Cancel the Astronauts and The Bad Books all playing songs for you to listen and dance to. Do come along, please.
French Wives meanwhile are offering up the seasonally titled Halloween, taken from their debut album, as a free download at the moment. The album version differs quite a lot from the old single version, which was the first song of theirs that made me pay attention to them. Different, but no less ace. Download Halloween free here.

Drunk Mule
A band that made frequent appearances in the freebies when Peenko did them, Drunk Mule have gone and released a new album, available for the price of your choosing, which gets them in here too. I Built a Death Ray is available here.

Monster Island.
A new monster island single just a few weeks after the last one? Those kind Manchester gents really do spoil us. Shaking Hands is the second single from their upcoming new album. The album will be out in December, the single is available for free right here now. Go get it, I like this lot. Oh, there's a video for the single too, you can watch that here.

The Yawns
I don't know a great deal about The Yawns, which fulfils my regular "you haven't researched this at all, have you?" freebie slot. What I do know is that a) they have an album out now, released by Electropapknit, who always put out decent stuff and b) the album is really good. Download the self titled album for free here.

Jo Mango
I made the Jo Mango/Joe Mangel last time I posted new stuff from Jo. It wasn't funny then, and I now wish I hadn't brought it up. Can I distract you from the terrible joke by pointing you towards a new, free Jo Mango single? I can? Excellent. Go over here for the download then.

Loch Awe
You may remember Loch Awe from such things as playing at one of my Aye Tunes gigs, being generally pretty good, or having the dubious honour of being in my rubbishy but standard "ones to watch" list this year. Proving once again that I know nothing, they split up a wee while ago. Happily, they've made two of the songs they recorded at Chem 19 Studios earlier in the year available as free downloads, as something of a parting gift. Annoyingly, the songs sound really bloody good. Ah well, we'll enjoy them anyway, even if there won't be any more. Get the downloads here.

Fat Goth
Fat Goth seem to attract quite a lot of interweb attention from their name alone. They have rather good songs too though, the latest example being Debbie's Dirty Harry, available to download free here.

St Deluxe
After what feels like a looooong time in hiding, the good news is that a new St Deluxe album is imminent. Even better news is that there's a new, free single from the band out now to get your appetite for the album going. Get Born Into Flame here.

And now time grows short, and my cold infested body is ready to give up on me, so that's your freebies for the week. Enjoy, share, tell us what you liked, and come to my gig on Saturday, please?

Friday Freebies - 05/10/2012

Hi. Friday. Stuff. Free.

op
Take a handful of John Knox Sex Club, add a pinch of North American War and what do you get? Some kind of horrendous cake made of humans, possibly. Or, you could get op. Baby I'm Breaking Up With You, complete with minimalist track titles, is available here for whatever you want to pay for it, and it's good.

Trapped Mice
Trapped Mice did my first ever Aye Tunes Presents gig, so it wouldn't be unfair to say I've not got the most unbiased opinion of them. As always with these things though, I wouldn't have asked them to play a gig for me if I didn't like the band. I've had a copy of their their upcoming album Winter Sun for the best part of a year now, so I'm very happy that it has found a home and will be out soon for other people to hear to. You can get a taster of what's in store with a free download of Mona Lisa here.

How To Swim
Mostly seen round these parts due to their unfailing ability to have something for me to post in the Advent Calendar series every December - an ability which I'm told will continue this year - How To Swim have a new, free single out now. Download It Doesn't Even Have To Be You here. There's a video here too, if you like to watch things.

The Cherry Wave
Another repeat freebie this week. I've mentioned The Cherry Wave's debut EP here before, but since they are having a launch gig tomorrow night, I'll mention them again. The gig is at The Roxy 171, with support from The Scottish Enlightenment, No Island and Ursula Minor, which is rather tasty looking. Download the EP free here, or buy it on tape at the gig.

Allan J Swan
If Allan puts music on the internet for free, I'll plug it. That's the deal. New song Unrequited Love (It's Not Enough) is very different from Allan's other recent solo work, such as his Don't Look Down album, but every bit as good.. Download the track for free here.

The Ritas
It's all been very Scottish so far this week, so time to venture south, I think. Some glitter pop music from that England then, courtesy of the always ace Odd Box Records then? Yes please. Download She's With The Band/Slash Fic for free here.

Johnny and the Giros
And back up the road to Scotland again, as Johnny and the Giros have a new, free single available from today. I Don't Need a Lover can be downloaded for nowt here.

Matchstick Maker
There's often someone I know next to nothing about in the Freebies, so let's keep up that tradition by throwing Matchstick Maker into the mix this week. I'm very thin on details, but the Fireside EP was recorded in a day, and released not soon after, and available for you to download for free here. This also handilly ticks the lo-fi folkish Scottish indie box for the week, magic.

NeonFaith
We'll finish off the freebies this week with another trip outside Scotland. All the way we go to New York City, to find NeonFaith, and a nice wee bit of dark electro indie, which pushed my buttons. Download Mercury for free here.

Friday Freebies - 28/9/2012

Well, it's that time of week again. Here's some free music.

Rollor
Not a new freebie, in fact it has already been included in one of these before, but it's getting mentioned again. I saw Rollor for the first time in bloody ages last night, along with Black International, and my ears are still ringing a bit today from the quality noise both bands provided. Rollor have a few free things on their Bandcamp, the most recent being latest album Beasts In Men Shapes. Go here and get some music.

Sex Hands
In full giving credit where due mode, and at the risk of looking like a suck up, Song, by Toad Records are probably the most consistent label going round these parts in terms of putting out stuff that I like. Their recently released split 12" featuring PAWS, Dolfinz, Waiters and Sex Hands is no exception. One of the Sex Hands tracks from the 12", Chandler In a Box, is currently available to download free here.
Sex Hands play at The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh this Saturday, along with Plastic Animals, Zed Penguin and The Scottish Enlightenment. That looks brilliant.

Randolph's Leap
Long time blog favourites Randolph's Leap have just gone and signed to Fence Records, but have also managed to find time to stick out a new album on Peenko Records. Despite that label, just like Song, by Toad, being run be a deplorable bastard, I'll mention it anyway. As Fast As a Man is a follow up of sorts to previous release The Curse of the Haunted Headphones, in that it was mainly recorded by Adam from the band on his own, in his house. It's a lovely wee lo-fi affair, and available to buy here. Goodbye from the album is a free download here.

Monster Island
Always a pleasure to fit these fine Manchester folks into the freebies, and always good to hear new stuff from them. They've got a new album coming out in December, but to keep us going until then there's a new single out now. Ferris Wheel can be downloaded free here. It's ace, so go and get it.

The Japanese War Effort
Professional tall person Martin Moog always gives good songs, and great song titles. He has a new collection of such things available now, so go help yourself to It's All Downhere From Hill here.

Arran Arctic
Singer/songwriter type Arran Arctic has a new, free single out. Covers is taken from his upcoming album Like Lovers, and available to download free from his website.

200peoplefaint
I'm very short on details for this one, but that never stops me. Doxa is a nice wee bit of layered, looped ambient noises, I really liked the EP, and you can here it for yourself and download it here.

Good Grief
Not content with putting out good records like Young Philadelphia's EP, Good Grief also put out the occasional wee compilation, like a tape with a fanzine. The latest one includes The Cherry Wave, Mondegreen, Without Aeroplanes and Atlas : Empire, all good stuff. Grab the compilation here.

Friday Freebies - 21/9/2012

Well, this will be interesting. Due to starting a new job (the official first day of which I'll be at when this posts, so any complaints will be dealt with later) I've barely been on the internet all week.

As well as having a massive pile of unread emails, I've also not had a chance to plug the next gig I'm involved in. More pertinently, I've not been keeping an eye out for freebies terribly well, so this week might end up being a bit of a random selection. I'm also operating on not much, so I'll keep this pretty brief too.

Lovers Turn To Monsters
I really like Withered Hand, but then, doesn't everyone? Lovers Turn To Monsters certainly does. As a challenge to himself Kyle has covered the Withered Hand album in its entirety, which you can listen to and download here. Lovers Turn To Monsters is too long to fit on the wee receipt up top though.

Kowalskiy
Another monthly compilation from the Kowalskiy blog, with Aye Tunes favourites King Post Kitsch and Bottle of Steven on board, as well as tom, who was in the freebies a few weeks ago, with Be Like Pablo and Greyhound Out of Mainline rounding things out. Grab the EP here.

Evil Hand
The sometimes other half of Bottle of Evil, along with the aforementioned Bottle of Steven, Evil Hand popped up in here just a few weeks ago. An unusually quick reappearance then, with a cover of a band who are quite well know. Download the Evil Hand take on Territorial Pissings here.

Giant Squidz
This lot popped up in the Christmas Advent Calendar posts at the end of last year. I'd probably have included them on name alone, but handily I liked the release they had at the time too. Anyway, now they've thrown a new song into the wilds of the internet, which you can download for free here.

Rob St John
Last year's album from Rob St John was pretty blooming swell. Now here what happens when a bunch of other people are let loose on it, with a free remix album here.

Olympic Swimmers
Round about now the sleep deprivation is really kicking in, so I'll do this entry in the style of an over enthusiastic press person, many of whom have emails unread in my inbox right now. New Olympic Singers single! Free download! Remix from Miaoux Miaoux! Free! Here!

State Broadcasters
To celebrate the release of their second album (Ghosts We Must Carry, available here) State Broadcasters have gone and stuck out a free EP to go wit the album. Different versions and non-album tracks make up the Table EP, which you can get your paws on here.

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
This one comes via the other half. Can we call her Ms. Tunes, or will she hit me for that? Either way, it nicely fills the "something foreign" space that I like to have in the freebies for this week, since I've not had a chance to look properly myself. Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson hail from Oslo, and are offering up Past/future on a pay what you want basis here.

Finn LeMarinel
The Trapped In Kansas fella Finn has his debut solo record coming out soon. As a wee teaser you can download Places Known for free here. The album, Violence, comes out on October 17th.

Bellow Below
Southern Opal is the lead single from a new Bellow Below EP. The EP is out in October, the single is free here.

Eh, aye, that'll do. Properly written and researched freebies will return in a couple of weeks. Well, I say properly...

Friday Freebies - 14/9/2012

It is Friday afternoon, that means it must be freebie time. Yes, it's a wee bit later this week, that's because last night I was out boozing and watching bands. I'm sure you coped with the wait.

Scottish Fiction
Blog buddies Scottish Fiction have the latest - and penultimate - of their monthly free EPs out now. Featuring songs from Algernon Doll, Drunk Mule, Vcheka and 7of7, you can download free here. Side note, Vcheka's album is ace.

Algernon Doll
If Algernon Doll's inclusion on the Scottish Fiction EP isn't enough for you, then you can also go grab yourself a download of his latest album, Camomile, for the price of your choosing here.

Cuddly Shark
New stuff from Cuddly Shark makes for a happy wee Jim. Good news then that a new EP will be along in a couple of weeks. Help yourself to the title track, Body Mass Index, here. If you are feeling flush you can pre-order the EP here too.

Allan J Swan
I've still not entirely gotten over You Already Know calling it a day, but I'm getting there. Former member Allan J Swan has always dabbled with other styles of music, the latest results being the solo album Don't Look Down. You can pick up a copy of that pretty cheap here. This is Friday freebies, not Friday Cheap Stuff though, so skip over to Soundcloud and snag yourself a free download of In Me from the album.

Hypstonite
New Edinburgh gig/club night Hypstonite have a compilation of the bands playing their first night up for free download. For zero pence you get songs from Capitals, Honeyblood, Dead Boy Robotics and Sun Dogs. Download it here, where you can also get cheap tickets for the October 5th gig.

Young Philadelphia
This lot have their first EP on the way soon. Get yourself a nice noisy taster of it with a free download of The Bad Fire here. There's an EP launch gig at Pivo Pivo on September 21st, which also features the rather splendid Battery Face.

FUCK!
Any excuse to type swear words in all caps is one I can't miss. Murderburgers spin-off FUCK!* (It's Pronounced SHIT!)* deliver the excuse this week, with a free EP available here.

Katerwaul
Ahead of the release of their new album The Dirt & the Trees in October Katerwaul have a new single out to give you a hint of what's in store. Download February for whatever price you want here.

Friday Freebies - 07/09/2012

I'll spare you much preamble this week. I know no one reads it anyway. I could say anything in this bit and never get caught. But onward, to music!

Behold, the Old Bear
Handily timed to allow me to mention once again that I have a gig on next week, not that I need an excuse, Behold, the Old Bear have popped up a wee song for you to download for free. Grab their cover of Harry Nislson's Swee'Pea's Lullaby, from the soundtrack to the Popeye film, here. Then come to the gig on Tuesday.

Carter USM
Opportunities to talk about Carter USM don't come up too often on the blog, so when one presents itself I'll take it. That opportunity this time round is a live recording from 1991, made available by Carter for the price of your choosing over here. There's releases of 30 Something and 1992: The Love Album coming out in November, so if anyone is planning a Christmas present for me at the moment, they'd be good. If you can get me into their November gig at King Tuts that would be excellent too.

Edinburgh School for the Deaf
It's been a while since I've heard anything from this lot. Their debut album from last year went in one of my lists, before line-up changes seemed to derail them slightly. They've been playing plenty gigs over the past wee while, but it was still a wee surprise to see something new from them appear quite suddenly. The new thing is In Dreams Lie Guilt, which at 5 tracks falls into the hazy ground between EP and mini album. Whatever you want to class it as, it is good, and you can pay what you want for it here.

The Barents Sea
Someone else I've not heard from in ages! Also, confusing typing time, since The Barents Sea is sort of a band, but only has one proper member, so now I need to work out whether to say he or they. We'll go with the later, since a full band was involved on these songs. I'll now end the rambling, and direct you towards a pay what you want EP by The Barents Sea here.

Overlook Records
Spiffing Glasgow label Overlook Records gave away a free sampler CD at their first birthday party a wee while back. I couldn't go, so missed out on one, as well as missing out on fun. This annoyed me, since I like fun, and free things. They've now made the label sampler available as a free download though, so that's very nice of them. Redrum has tracks from The Darien Venture, Trapped in Kansas, Salò, Bellow Bellow, So Many Animal Calls, Vasa and Crusades on it, and you can download it here for free.

Jo Mango
When did yer man from Neighbours become a Scottish woman? Oh, sorry, I thought you said Joe Mangel. My mistake. Anyway, Cordelia is a taster of Jo's imminent second album, and is available to download here.

Turn Off Your Television
Mainly Scottish freebies this week so far, except from Carter. I have a cosmopolitan image to keep up though, so quickly, overseas! Lovely Swedes Turn off your television have released a new single, Blanket of shame, taken from their upcoming album Humble Waves. You can grab that here for the price of your choosing. If you like what you hear then you can get hold of their last album on Bandcamp on a pay what you want deal too.

Crab For Darkfast
Not nearly enough bands give you recipes. Thankfully Crab For Darkfast have spotted this gap in the market , and a download of their EP will also yield four free recipes, so you can cook while you listen. Food not suitable for vegitarians though, so set your excitement levels accordingly. Get The Whole Hog here.

Golden Fable
Welsh due Golden Fable release their debut album Star Map this coming Monday. Ahead of that they are giving away an acoustic version of Always Golden, which also appears on an acoustic EP available with the deluxe edition of the album. Download the freebie here, the album can be ordered here.

tom
I know next to nothing about tom. Do research then you say? Well, that's no fun. I do know that I was pointed towards Ohneiros, his new album, during the week, and said album is really good. Find out for yourself by getting it here.