Monday Night Singles: Richard Turgeon, Ken Sharp, Ballard, Shake Some Action, and Butch Young

Yes, Keanu is a popular meme now with his John Wick movies and Richard Turgeon is riding that popularity with his new single “Keanu Reeves.” And a FREEBIE too!

Ken Sharp‘s newest single “Rock & Roll Supershow” is a love letter to Glam Rock with the help of Fernando Perdomo. For fans of T-Rex, Slade, and Sweet this is a “must-buy.”

While I expected something funny from Ballard, “I’ll Drop My Trousers To The Ground” is the bleakest, darkest, and most depressing song I’ve heard all year. You’ve been warned.

Shake Some Action has a new release coming very soon, and here is one of several good singles: “Stanger In The House” has this awesome echoing surf guitar. Check it out.

Nick Lowe

I have to say that Big Stir Records is doing a tremendous job. They have monthly singles out (currently at #32) and the artists keep getting better.
My favorite of the new bunch is Butch Young‘s “Captain Serious” b/w “Beautiful Dreamer”, the first new music from him in three years since Mercury Man. I don’t have a sample to post, but trust me this is good! Visit The Big Stir Digital Singles Page to hear it.

Freebie Fridays (early): Myracle Brah, Ballard, Doc Vinegar and The Legendary Losers

Normally I’d close out the week with some great new free music, but the bounty of awesomeness was too good for me to wait til Friday…

Myracle Brah

Baltimore’s Myracle Brah is an one of the best loved American power pop bands, lead by singer-songwriter Andy Bopp (Love Nut). It’s been a while (since he’s involved in several other bands) but the long awaited return of Myracle Brah is cause for celebration, and a FREE Bandcamp EP is just the icing on the pop cake, including a cover of The Troggs “A Girl Like You.” Stop reading, download and just listen!

Ballard

Coming from the UK, Ballard has been putting out EPs for a while now. He’s a self described 40- year old malcontent that spews lo-fi Garage pop with a touch of bubblegum soul. He loves recording things spontaneously and mixing it up in mono – and its totally DIY cool. Check out his latest FREE Download.

Doc Vinegar

Straight from Aubagne, France comes Doc Vinegar,  Psychedelic Pop with a 60’s vibe influenced by The Byrds and The Kinks (with a French accent). This retro-nostalgic sound is always a guilty pleasure of mine, and Doc Vinegar does a really sweet job with this music. 12 big tracks here – just say “Oui” to a FREE Download. Merci, Doc!

The Legendary Losers

The Legendary Losers, an Albany three piece band is on a mission to bring music (played with real instruments) back to the masses. The opening track is a rant about “electro-freaks and techno-geeks” messing up rock and roll. Dave Graham has a rough vocal, but he sings with solid conviction about “The Rock That Makes Me Roll” and it reminds me a little of Paul Collins mixed with Mojo Nixon. Enjoy the FREE Download, even if you have “a Green Day sticker on your BMW.”

Free Music Monday: Yonder, Ballard and Baz Francis

Yonder is a Seattle Band self described as “a blooming penumbra piercing a livid pitch.” Yeah, whatever. Big echoing alt. pop music. It’s all good.

 

Ballard is back! The raw punk pop goodness is ready for you just like his past goodies. Build Break Repeat is no exception, plenty of driving beats and head shaking riffs. Gratis! Enjoy!

 

Baz Francis (Magic Eight Ball) was as a guest writer for the UK blog Über Röck. He put together an article about one of his favorite bands Everclear and their 1995 album ‘Sparkle And Fade.’ As a companion to the article Baz did a cover of “My Sexual Life.” Another great freebie!