Free EP album... Richard Swift

Singer/songwriter Richard Swift's lofi, sepiatone style harkens back to the tin pan alley age. Born in 1977, the California native spent his youth locked in his room with a fourtrack recorder, a device thatalong with a computerthe artist continues to utilize to this day. Influenced by everyone from Bob Dylan to earlyseventies dub acts like the Congos and Lee Perry, he has provided keyboards for shoegazeers Starflyer 59 and released two records of his own, Walking Without Effort and the Novelist, both of which were reissued on Secretly Canadian as a doublealbum in 2005. Kisses for the Misses arrived two years later. In 2008 Swift released Richard Swift as Onasis, a double disc EP.

Secretly Canadian is pleased to announce Ground Trouble Jaw, a new digital ep from RICHARD SWIFT, which is being given away for free for a limited time via our friends at EMusic. The EP is sure to please fans of classic Swift, as the five tracks run the gamut from 60s girl group pop to Motown soul to Onasis-flavored 50s street gang doo-wop to synth-fueled pop classics (think Prince sitting in on the "Plastic Ono" sessions) -- all with Swift's emerging trademark vocals which bring his songs to life like few other singers do today. Recommended!

Richard Swift - Ground Trouble Jaw [EP] | alt link
Richard Swift @ MySpace

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INFO: I'll have my vacation in the next days, so expect the new posts at the end of the month. I wish you a very very hot summer, be relaxed and have some good time. Don't forget to buy music and support your favorite artists! See you soon!

Golden Bloom

An ability to play a large crop of instruments with equal amounts of precision and passion allows Golden Bloom frontman, Shawn Fogel, to take the wheel in his own band while holding on to his solo roots. Blossoming into an artist who is as comfortable solo as he is with a band, he now calls seasoned veterans such as Michael Azerrad (Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Our Band Could Be Your Life) his band mates when calling in for back-up.

Currently in the studio with producer/engineer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Mates of State), Fogel plans to release Golden Bloom’s first LP in early 2009. Taking a cue from its first single, “The Fight at the End of the Tunnel”, the new LP directs much attention at today’s shifting political climate and the state of our turbulent society. Hopes for constructive political change and undertones of doomsday devices all settle in fittingly with Fogel’s brand of power-pop rock.

Virtually playing all the musical instruments on his five solo albums, Fogel’s most recent EP, One Day in the Desert, garnered distribution through recordhead (former label home of Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard). Collecting accolades for its Americana homage and power-pop sensibilities, WXPN’s Bruce Warren praised “Fogel manages to offer a fresh take on ye olde tradition of sensitive power pop.” Recommended!

Golden Bloom - The Fight At The End Of The Tunnel
Golden Bloom @ MySpace

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Free album... Oceansea

Daniel Catarino is a self-taught musician from Alentejo, Portugal. He began playing guitar when he was eleven, and since the beginning he thought about writing his own music. The years went by, and things started to get into shape.

He has now 3 bands, the Electro/Grunge/Psychedelic Moneymaking Machine, the classic rock-ish Delay Lama, and the metal blast of Seven Thousand (where he plays bass, in the other two he plays guitar and sings). But his finest works are on his 3 (!!!) solo projects: the experimental soundtrack ambients of Long Desert Cowboy, the Portuguese songwriting and rock deviations of Landfill, and the acoustic folk approach of Oceansea, which he now debuts with this self-released EP, “Songs From The Bedroom Floor”.

Just as the name of the album suggests, it was recorded only with a guitar and a microphone in the floor of his bedroom, in order to keep it as simple and real as possible, so that the songs get in front of ambient, which he prefers to explore in his other projects. And the result is surprisingly good. The songs are beautifully crafted, with simple chord progressions, verse-chorus-verse structures and very poetic lyrics, in which it is clear that Catarino has a true gift with words, just as he has with music.

It's now available, through a Creative Commons licence (which allows downloading, copying and free distribution), the first Oceansea EP. Recommended!

Oceansea - Songs From The Bedroom Floor [EP]
Oceansea @ MySpace

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Roses Kings Castles

Roses Kings Castles is a solo project of Adam Ficek, Babyshambles drums player.

The music is a cobblestone bridge lying somewhere between the pastoral warmth of Belle & Sebastian and the suburban, quixotic pop of Syd Barrett. Directionally guided by sole member Adam Ficek, the project first came to fruition during intervals within first love, Babyshambles. Thus began the perfect platform to air and share the artist’s songs and melodies.

Roses Kings Castles demos are free to download from it's homepage. Some of the demo songs will be featured on Adam Ficek's debut album that will be named same as his project Roses Kings Castles. The album will be available at September 22nd. The first single Entroubled, will appear at Sept. 7th. Recommended!

Roses Kings Castles - Demos
Roses Kings Castles @ MySpace

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Jars Of Clay

Since the launch of their career in 1995 with the hit song “Flood,” JARS OF CLAY—Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason and Matt Odmark— has amassed more than five million in career sales (5 Gold, 2 platinum and 1 double platinum certifications), three GRAMMY Awards, an American Music Award nod, 17 No.1 radio hits, and numerous film credits and BMI honors for songwriting and performing. In June of 2007, the band blazed a new trail with the creation of their own label imprint, Gray Matters, under the Nettwerk Music Group umbrella. Christmas Songs was the first album released through Gray Matters in the fall of 2007 has garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.

JARS OF CLAY are currently in the studio with producer Ron Aniello (Lifehouse, Guster, Barenaked Ladies) putting the final touches on their upcoming album, due out early next year on the band’s own imprint label Gray Matters. They are then set to join Third Day Live, Switchfoot and Robert Randolph & the Family Band on the “Music Builds” tour, which kicks off August 21st in Detroit and wraps on October 12th in Denver. The tour will benefit local affiliates of Habitat For Humanity (tour dates below).

JARS OF CLAY will release CLOSER EP through all major digital service providers on August 5th. The 5-song EP will feature two brand new tracks (“Closer” and “Safe To Land”) that will be included on their forthcoming full-length album, as well as new versions of fan favorites including “Flood” and “Love Song For A Savior.” The band will also make the EP available physically both on tour dates and through their website (www.jarsofclay.com) beginning August 19th. Recommended!

Jars Of Clay - Closer
Jars Of Clay @ MySpace

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