Dedicated Ears Legal / Free Album/ep List

Electronic, exp, dream pop from Melbourne, Australia based Wizard Oz. Thanks to Wizard Oz for the download!

This was first posted on FrostClick.com  a great place to find Creative Commons music, computer programs, games and more.

Have you ever wondered what you might get if you crossed Johnny Cash with Nick Cave? I bet the result would sound quite a bit like Declan de Barra. Not only does he tell his song narratives similar to Nick and Johnny, but he can sound similar to each one at different times on this brooding album that goes by the name Fragments, Footprint, and the Forgotten. Born and raised in Ireland, Declan has recently moved to Los Angeles. He record his first three albums in Ireland and it will be interesting to see how his move here affects his music.



"Call To Arms" opens the album and could easily be playing in the background an updated Western movies that show the truly tough conditions in the most visceral way.
In "Midnight Swell" Declan uses the higher range of his voice that is a welcome surprise upon first listen.
The rebel persona of Johnny Cash appears on the song "Fuck The Begrudgers". The dirty guitar and angry delivery of the vocals make for a rollicking track.
The lyrics and arrangements of this are never are too far from Irish folk music. Declan did everything but master this music. Because of this there is a consistency to this and much of the production is straight forward.


Thanks to DC from the The Waiting Room Radio Show for the tip on this cool album. The Waiting Room is an unbelievably source of great music you've never heard of The podcast is free on i-Tunes.

Originally posted by Dedicated Ears on FrostClick, a great place to find Creative Commons music, games and software!

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan is Sunlight Ascending, who play a brand of instrumental ambient/experimental rock that relies most heavily on the guitars to builder somber feelings as well as elation when they soar and reverberate. Their first album All The Memories, All The Time has a full range of sounds that deliver powerful emotions to the listener. The band formed as high school freshmen and this album is the result of three years of playing together. The impressive learning curve that finds a three year old band making such an accomplished and fully wrought album is a testament to Sunlight Ascending.



"Reverse The Dragons" is heavier on the progressive side as drums drive this song. The big guitars by midway through the song put an aggressive edge on the song. "Ocean Depth/Closing Paths highlights the subtle side of Sunlight Ascending. The guitars in this track come in subdues waves and there is a nice piano that accentuates the guitar parts.

Each song on All The Memories, All At Once are is more important withing the framework than alone by itself. Band members are James Schultz - Guitar/Keyboards, Jeremy Schultz - Drums, Trish Chisholm - Bass/Guitar, Andrew Mcilwain - Guitar/Bass, Sean Reed - Guitar/Viola. I love to hear a band push boundaries like Sunlight Ascending does. These songs have ambient, progressive, and bombastic elements that are fused together to create a sound of it's own. The band is on the very cool Net Label Future Recordings which has quite a few post rock/ambient acts on their Bandcamp page.

First posted on FrostClick.com. A  cool place to find Creative Commons programs, games, music and video.

From Seville Spain, Blacanova plays an indie rock that is equal parts ambient and shoe gaze on their Madre EP.  The mark of indelible music is that it transforms boundaries.  The Spanish language vocals on this EP could be an impediment for those who don't understand Spanish, but the composition and beauty of the vocals make a common spoken language unnecessary. The guitars are both shimmering and haunting as they lay a groundwork for an album that reveals more with each play.  Manuel Begines, Pepe Fernández, José A. Pérez, Inés Olalla, Armando Jiménez y Paco Arenas make up the band.

From the opening shoe gaze reverb on "La Incredible Verdad" it is apparent that Blacanova have a firm grasp on the overall mood of what they are trying to accomplish on Madre. The steady build on this song grows to a blissful point.
"Decima Victima", that hearkens to both early production from the Cure to the vocals that harbor memories of My Bloody Valentine. This is my favorite track on this very strong EP.   Another beautiful build to a prolonged wave of shoe gaze reverb.
The combination of Ines' sultry vocals and the texture of the guitar effects creates a haunting sound that forces you to pay attention.  Blacanova realizes a top level shoe gaze recording on Madre. The mix is brilliantly done and the smoldering sonic builds to crescendos are well thought out and leads to a hypnotic effect on the listener.  This is such an accomplished EP.

Originally posted by Dedicated Ears on FrosClick, a great place to find Creative Commons music, games and software!

Milk White White Teeth are a Leeds collective that play a brand of indie music that is a swirl of rock, folk, tropical, progressive  music that is infused with effective harmonies that makes for a beautifully big sound that sways as it unfolds.

Members are  James Hare, Jon Crabbe, Barrie Wilson, Alistair Grant, Polly Meadows, Michelle Clapham, Michael Gill, Chris Clark Alex Thomas and Alex Crabbe. Their latest release, The Holy Trinity Ep  has so many influences it's hard to nail them all down.  "Long Long (Before)" has echo's of post punk and the recent Canadian explosion of school band extroverts like Arcade Fire.  "Long Long (After) is rife with no wave synth influences and prog rock guitars.  My favorite track "Part III - The Father" falls somewhere between the pop of Crowded House and the world flavored music of David Byrne.  The reprise at the end of the song features a nice build in the loudness and tempo to the festive end of the track.

The structures of these songs are very interesting because they don't follow any one pattern. The band mixes up where the brakes and reprises are from song to song. These tempo changes gives the overall feel one of a progressive nature while still retaining a melodic pop sensibility. From the bands first EP to The Holy Trinity is quite a big step in terms of the scope of the sound scape of the EP's. The band has recently streamlined the group, after having played Leeds and Reading Fests. They promise a new EP is the near future.

Thanks to MWWT for the free download!

Longsleeves is James Mussleman and Ben Laatsch who have relocated from Indiana to San Diego where they make this cool music. These singer songwriter songs are sprinkled with just the right amount of electronic percussion. My favorite track is "Crowded Room" that has a glitch pop influence and a catchy guitar riff. Thanks to Longsleeves and The Sixty Years War for the free download! This album along with quite a few others are featured on the Sixty Years War site and their bandcamp account. It's a really cool site that gives voice to some unsigned, but very good, acts. Thanks  to Chris Darby for the tip on this great site. He also put together the first mix tape that Sixty Years War put out.