"My Maudlin Career" - Camera Obscura And speaking of reverb, well, here you are. Camera Obscura has built a sturdy sound around a spacious, melancholy reverb, affecting not just lead singer Tracyanne Campbell's voice but, it seems, the entire rest of the band as well. Combine this with a knack for nostalgic beats and bittersweet lyrics and we end up pretty much suffused with a happy kind of...
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Free and legal MP3 from Camera Obscura (happy/sad reverb rock, from Scotland)
Free and legal MP3 from Middle Distance Runner (engaging rock, with stylish drumming)
"The Sun and Earth" - Middle Distance Runner Drumming plays a tricky role in rock. Without drums, there's no rock to be had. You need them. But you also don't really want to notice them. Because there's almost no difference between noticeable and too noticeable when it comes to drums, and once they're too noticeable, the song doesn't have much of a chance. One of the reasons I like "The S
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Five free and legal MP3s but no reviews this week
Fingertips is taking a late winter vacation. There will be no "This Week's Finds" this week. The home office will be shut down through February 28. "This Week's Finds" will return on Monday March 2 (or, okay, maybe Tuesday March 3).For those who would like some new music, albeit without the usual commentary, here are links to five songs I've been listening closely in recent days (or, in some ca...
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Five free and legal MP3s but no reviews this week
Fingertips is taking a late winter vacation. There will be no "This Week's Finds" this week. The home office will be shut down through February 28. "This Week's Finds" will return on Monday March 2 (or, okay, maybe Tuesday March 3).For those who would like some new music, albeit without the usual commentary, here are links to five songs I've been listening closely in recent days (or, in some ca...
More >
Five free and legal MP3s but no reviews this week
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Artist:
Fingertips is taking a late winter vacation. There will be no "This Week's Finds" this week. The home office will be shut down through February 28. "This Week's Finds" will return on Monday March 2 (or, okay, maybe Tuesday March 3).For those who would like some new music, albeit without the usual commentary, here are links to five songs I've been listening closely in recent days (or, in some ca...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from the Asteroids Galaxy Tour (neo-R&B stomp from Denmark)
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Artist:
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Album:
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Track:The Sun Ain't Shining No More
"The Sun Ain't Shining No More" - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Every now and again the stars align and a song with all the makings of a pop sensation sneaks its way into Fingertips. Be not afraid; it is, rather, a cause for celebration when something this brash and delightful likewise reveals itself to be a worthy three and a half minutes of your time. A bracing amalgam of sounds past and...
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Free and legal MP3 from the Asteroids Galaxy Tour (neo-R&B stomp from Denmark)
"The Sun Ain't Shining No More" - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Every now and again the stars align and a song with all the makings of a pop sensation sneaks its way into Fingertips. Be not afraid; it is, rather, a cause for celebration when something this brash and delightful likewise reveals itself to be a worthy three and a half minutes of your time. A bracing amalgam of sounds past and...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from the Asteroids Galaxy Tour (neo-R&B stomp from Denmark)
"The Sun Ain't Shining No More" - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Every now and again the stars align and a song with all the makings of a pop sensation sneaks its way into Fingertips. Be not afraid; it is, rather, a cause for celebration when something this brash and delightful likewise reveals itself to be a worthy three and a half minutes of your time. A bracing amalgam of sounds past and...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from the Asteroids Galaxy Tour (neo-R&B stomp from Denmark)
"The Sun Ain't Shining No More" - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Every now and again the stars align and a song with all the makings of a pop sensation sneaks its way into Fingertips. Be not afraid; it is, rather, a cause for celebration when something this brash and delightful likewise reveals itself to be a worthy three and a half minutes of your time. A bracing amalgam of sounds past and...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Iran (at once lilting and noisy; features Kyp Malone of TVotR)
"Buddy" - Iran Talk about retro--this one swings with a '50s vibe, complete with doo-wop style backing vocals, a nostalgic bass line, and a simple piano vamp. At the same time, there is something unsettling in the air here. Aaron Aites' plainspoken, unstylized voice is not, to begin with, what one expects in a musical environment typically peopled by smooth crooners. Even less expected are ...
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Free and legal MP3 from Iran (at once lilting and noisy; features Kyp Malone of TVotR)
"Buddy" - Iran Talk about retro--this one swings with a '50s vibe, complete with doo-wop style backing vocals, a nostalgic bass line, and a simple piano vamp. At the same time, there is something unsettling in the air here. Aaron Aites' plainspoken, unstylized voice is not, to begin with, what one expects in a musical environment typically peopled by smooth crooners. Even less expected are ...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Iran (at once lilting and noisy; features Kyp Malone of TVotR)
"Buddy" - Iran Talk about retro--this one swings with a '50s vibe, complete with doo-wop style backing vocals, a nostalgic bass line, and a simple piano vamp. At the same time, there is something unsettling in the air here. Aaron Aites' plainspoken, unstylized voice is not, to begin with, what one expects in a musical environment typically peopled by smooth crooners. Even less expected are ...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Ann Vriend (Kate Bush meets Nanci Griffith, in Canada)
"St. Paul" - Ann Vriend Lastly this week I have another song that's been out in the world for a while, but unlike the previous two, this one has received next to no online attention to date. I pretty much stumbled upon it during my first run-through of the new SXSW MP3s. Serendipity rules. A singer/songwriter from Edmonton, Vriend has a voice that sounds a bit like Kate Bush doing a Nan...
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Free and legal MP3 from Ann Vriend (Kate Bush meets Nanci Griffith, in Canada)
"St. Paul" - Ann Vriend Lastly this week I have another song that's been out in the world for a while, but unlike the previous two, this one has received next to no online attention to date. I pretty much stumbled upon it during my first run-through of the new SXSW MP3s. Serendipity rules. A singer/songwriter from Edmonton, Vriend has a voice that sounds a bit like Kate Bush doing a Nan...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Ann Vriend (Kate Bush meets Nanci Griffith, in Canada)
"St. Paul" - Ann Vriend Lastly this week I have another song that's been out in the world for a while, but unlike the previous two, this one has received next to no online attention to date. I pretty much stumbled upon it during my first run-through of the new SXSW MP3s. Serendipity rules. A singer/songwriter from Edmonton, Vriend has a voice that sounds a bit like Kate Bush doing a Nan...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Faunts (sweet, glum, soaring neo-shoegaze from Edmonton)
"It Hurts Me All the Time" - Faunts Breezy and melancholy is a seductive musical combination, trickier to master than it may at first seem. The big problem when aiming for both pretty and glum at the same time is avoiding glib pastiche; in this day and age when knob-twiddlers rule the world, it's easy enough to combine disparate moods and sounds and harder than ever to make it sound a convi...
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Free and legal MP3 from Faunts (sweet, glum, soaring neo-shoegaze from Edmonton)
"It Hurts Me All the Time" - Faunts Breezy and melancholy is a seductive musical combination, trickier to master than it may at first seem. The big problem when aiming for both pretty and glum at the same time is avoiding glib pastiche; in this day and age when knob-twiddlers rule the world, it's easy enough to combine disparate moods and sounds and harder than ever to make it sound a convi...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Faunts (sweet, glum, soaring neo-shoegaze from Edmonton)
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Artist:
"It Hurts Me All the Time" - Faunts Breezy and melancholy is a seductive musical combination, trickier to master than it may at first seem. The big problem when aiming for both pretty and glum at the same time is avoiding glib pastiche; in this day and age when knob-twiddlers rule the world, it's easy enough to combine disparate moods and sounds and harder than ever to make it sound a convi...
More >
Free and legal MP3 from Stina Stjern (wonderful, scuffed-up rock from a singer/songwriter who has knitted her own record covers)
"The Horizon" - Stina Stjern Straightforward rock'n'roll with a scuffed-up edge, assured vocals, and a subtly powerful melody. The guitar work here is especially wonderful, all rough and crunchy and bendy, with a dissonant flair and offhanded discipline. There's a rumbly guitar at the bottom of the mix that gives the song a beat-up gravitas, and there's a rhythm guitar pretty much playing l...
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Free and legal MP3 from Stina Stjern (wonderful, scuffed-up rock from a singer/songwriter who has knitted her own record covers)
"The Horizon" - Stina Stjern Straightforward rock'n'roll with a scuffed-up edge, assured vocals, and a subtly powerful melody. The guitar work here is especially wonderful, all rough and crunchy and bendy, with a dissonant flair and offhanded discipline. There's a rumbly guitar at the bottom of the mix that gives the song a beat-up gravitas, and there's a rhythm guitar pretty much playing l...
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