A Free Man

The Chapin Sisters, two of whom actually are sisters, are based out of L.A. They got a bit of attention with a cover of “Toxic” last year. What I’ve heard of their new LP “Lake Bottom” sounds pretty good - twisted Americana a la The Be Good Tanyas.
MP3: The Chapin Sisters - “Washed Away”
Speaking of […]

The older I get, the more I appreciate the darkly twisted Nick Cave. He and his Bad Seeds have a new record out, “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” which is just pure art. Check out the title track for a glimpse.
MP3: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!”
London based singer-songwriter Owen Duff has […]

Let’s kick it off with the vastly underrated Wolf Parade. The Canadian quartet’s 2005 debut “Apologies to the Queen Mary” was one of that year’s best albums that you might not have heard. Their sophomore effort, “At Mount Zoomer, is due out in North America on Tuesday from Sub Pop. What I’ve heard so far […]

Success! With this post A Free Man is caught up with all MP3s sent through over the long month that I was off line. What a great sense of accomplishment. What follows is my ten favorite tracks that I’ve received in one way or another over the last month or so. Some of them are […]

Before I blaze in with my new favorites, I have a few new (well, new at the time) artists to whom I want to give a bit of press. For those of you that were paying attention, I had hoped to feature the music of the Sunshine State. Well, Florida was a musical bust so […]

A Free Man is been in Sweden for nearly a week now. During my time here, I’ve been astounded by the amount of great music coming out of this country. There are the ones we all know about - The Hives, Peter, Bjorn & John, Jose Gonzalez and their ilk. But through my interviews I’ve […]

There are some bands that just shouldn’t make a comeback, beautifully illustrated by the recent release of The B-52s’ “Funplex” - their first original album in nearly two decades. There’s nothing wrong with the music, at least what I’ve heard, it sounds a lot like the last B-52s’ record “Good Stuff”. I just don’t see […]

OK, these songs have nothing to do with Easter but are some of the best tracks zipping around the interweb this week. They are late and sparse due to an iMac meltdown. Hey Apple, I thought your OS was meant to be stable?!
Liam Finn, son of Crowded House front man Neil Finn, released his […]

I listened to k.d. lang’s album “Drag” on repeat while I was quitting smoking last year, so she’ll always have a special place in my heart. Her new LP, “Watershed” came out in January and what I’ve heard of it is outstanding. The steel guitar alone on “I Dream of Spring”, an appropriate track for […]

The Deal sisters are back with a new LP. The Breeders‘ “Mountain Battles” is due on April 7 from 4AD. It’s their first since ‘02 and if the first single, “Bang On”, is any indication - a stylistic departure. They come at you with a fuzzy, hip-hop bass beat and Pixies-esque vocals. A must. Pre-order […]