Free Download Friday #73: Band of Skulls

I mentioned last week (Free Download Friday #72: Support Acts) that I had other free downloads from Band Of Skulls that I was surprised that I had not already featured... well, better late than never!

I have found three tracks from this band... well three and a half because there are two different versions of the same track; a live version and a remix. Three tracks come from the RCRD.LBL site (which I have linked to before) and one from Paste Magazine (which I found while looking for Band Of Skulls music).

• Blood - a studio track. I read a review somewhere (can't remember where now) that said the Band Of Skulls sound like The Black Keys. I'd say this track was the most Black Keyish if the tracks on offer here. There is an interesting noisy guitar solo towards the end (about three and a half minutes in) and the interplay between the vocals from Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson is excellent.
  
• Impossible (Live At The Troubadour) - a great live track with a seemingly endless section of noise at the end. Brilliant!
• Death By Diamonds And Pearls (MightyMetronoms Remix) - a dance remix which is OK if you like that sort of thing.
  

You can hear all of these before downloading thanks to the RCRD.LBL widget:

And from Paste Magazine:

• Death by Diamonds and Pearls - A live version of the track murdered by the MightyMetronoms above! As far as I'm concerned, this raw, stripped back version is so much better than the remix version that I almost considered not linking to the remix version on the RCRD.LBL site.

I think I like the power trio approach to music because, with only three people in the band, there is no room for passengers. All the members of the group have to step up and deliver and I hope you agree that Band Of Skulls deliver big time in at least three of the downloads on offer here!

I would like to hear more from this band... but I would really like to see them live.

Free Download Friday #72: Support Acts

Support acts often get a raw deal when touring with bigger, more established acts. Their first problem is that, in general, people have paid to see the headliners and may have no interest whatsoever in seeing anyone else. Even if the audience are willing to give a support act a fair hearing, it is likely that they will not be particularly familiar with their music, so there will be no instant connection and the band will have to work that bit harder to win the crowd over. Add to that the problem of squeezing equipment and sound check into what ever space has been left by the main act and it is clear that a support act's lot is not a happy one.

Muse @ Teignmouth
Originally uploaded by radio1interactive

I'm sure some established bands are better than others at giving space and time to support acts but it is not immediately obvious what could be done about the lack of recognition problem. However, Muse are trying to do something about even this problem. Over three shows Muse had nine different support acts and, as they say on their website:

"With the UK stadium shows almost upon us, we thought you might like a taster of the support acts playing with the band over the next two weekends... A selection of these acts have very kindly donated us a free track to give away here on muse.mu so you can check them out before the shows."

Brilliant! This is a great idea. Head over to the Download Support MP3s page and grab eight free tracks. And you don't even have to give your email address in exchange! The download has been available for about a month now, so sorry it has taken so long to post about it.

The tracks available are:

1. Percussion Gun by White Rabbits. Pounding drums at the start that keep it moving along at a fair lick. Good stuff! One of my favourites.
2. The Price Of Love by White Lies. Slow start but picks up and moves along with an all strings outro.
3. Back To The F*** Yeah by Pulled Apart By Horses. I'd say the vocals are a bit too shouty (he'll hurt his voice doing that) but the music sounds good.
4. Nun by I Am Arrows. This band was founded by the ex-drummer of Razorlight... which makes sense as there is a bit of a Razorlight feel to it.
   
5. Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool by Editors. Dark and disturbingly brilliant. Another of my favourites.
6. Velvet by The Big Pink. Industrial noise paired with a stong beat and low-key vocals. I'm surprised that I like this as much as I do... but it's another of my favourites.
7. Bubbles by Biffy Clyro. C'mon the Biff! It sounds like Biffy Clyro... and that's a good thing! I like this track.
8. I Know What I Am by Band Of Skulls. I like what I've heard from this band so far. A three piece band that makes an impressive racket! I have a few other free downloads from this band and I was surprised I haven't shared them on this blog yet... This track is a real foot stomper and another favourite.

Now I call that a pretty good haul. Eight tracks, not a duffer among them, and five out the eight rated as four stars or more in my iTunes.

What do you make of these tracks? What is your favourite? If you are already a fan of one of these bands, what album/tracks should I look for next?