Ben Kweller - Changing Horses

Well, I've been a wimp up to this point about leaked albums, but I figure one day in advance isn't going to kill anybody... Eh? I guess I shouldn't have not posted the new Bruce Springsteen Album. Anyways, this is Ben Kweller's album being released tomorrow. Enjoy being able to purchase it tomorrow for a physical copy especially if it's vinyl. I think you'll find this to be more of a country feeling album than his previous.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ccnzyzlmynz

Ben Kweller - Changing Horses

The New Enemy - Outsourced EP

Clint McLean of the Toronto punk band The New Enemy recently emailed me asking me to post their lastest EP which they put up for a free download on their website. He also thanked me for having such a great blog and boosted my ego a little. Maybe I can boost his a little too. I gave the band a listen and it's actually really good. It's five tracks and a Kid Dynamite cover which is really a nice addition and I'm glad they added it. It's pretty hardcore, but if you like punk, I think you'll find this a fine addition to your collection. Plus, you get some underground rep because these guys are pretty new forming in 2008 yet all band members having heavy experience in other bands. Support bands that want us to support them. I appreciate bands/artists giving music for free so show your appreciation and at least listen because I'm sure you'll like it.

http://www.thenewenemy.net/download-album/

or listen/friend on myspace
www.myspace.com/thenewenemy

The New Enemy - Outsourced EP

Buddy Holly - The Singles+

Also... WHY HAVEN'T I POSTED BUDDY HOLLY!??! While being one of the leading forces in what Rock and Roll is today, he wrote cute bitty bop songs and was always America's hearthrob. Take that Zach Efron! He's definitely a classic by anybody who doesn't suck at music or something. Sporting those thick rimmed glasses, all the hipsters wanna be like him. Fishboy also made an entire rock opera devoted to Buddy Holly and Weezer made a song about him. The day his plane crashed and he died was called "The Day The Music Died". I also use that term for the day Fall Out Boy became a band.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6JIZ1O6K

Buddy Holly - The Singles+

Mischief Brew - Songs From Under The Sink

Mischief Brew is one of those bands I sort of assumed that I already posted and forgot about because they are just that good. If you enjoy folk-punk, you'll recognize Mischief Brew as a legendary band. Headed by Erik Petersen, you'll enjoy plenty of neat instruments coffee driven guitar. Favorites are "Coffee, God, and Cigarettes", "Children Play With Matches", and "Dreams of the Morning" all three which are all in a row so you wont have to skip around. Also, he Erik likes to preform solo sometimes and I'll be posting something of that nature sometime.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xmmjjiwjnzu

Mischief Brew - Songs From Under The Sink

This Town Needs Guns - This Town Needs Guns

I know, what's with the double self titled albums, right? This Town Needs Guns are a math/indie rock band originating from Oxford, United Kingdom. They were formed in 2006. Over the years the band’s musical style has progressed and changed, although the focal point of their style has been the impressive guitar work of Tim Collis interspersed with solid, and at points highly complex, drumming and sparse, melodic bass.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5Y0XQ11J

This Town Needs Guns - This Town Needs Guns

French Quarter - French Quarter

French Quarter is a lo-fi accoustic indie rocker. Not much to say about him, but he's good if you're a fan of Mt. Eerie sort of stuff.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=42LOAPOG

French Quarter - French Quarter

Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams

Throw Me The Statue is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington which has caught my fancy after a friend of mine sent the track "Lolita" to me. I decided to get the entire Moonbeams album and it was a great idea. Not only does the nude female diving into water attract my attention, but upon listening I was thrilled. Amazon rates this the 16th best album of 2008 even though it was released in 2007. Probably re-released because it didn't make the cut for 2007. Whatever.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mbwituhmzyy

Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams

Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends

Yes, it is possible to make to make Black Moth Super Rainbow more awesome than it already is. That is to let Tom Fec(Tobacco) to do a solo album. He keeps the same Black Moth Super Rainbow sound and molds it into his own style which is more of a hip-hop blend of some sort. Aesop Rock is even featured on the track "Dirt". There are vocals which is also a plus on top of Black Moth. Indieducky placed this album on their "Best of 2008" list for a reason. Well, 2008 did suck for music, but you know what I mean.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ithyydjd1qb

Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends

Ben Kweller - Sha Sha

Ben Kweller was found by my roomate when he opened for Connor Oberst and his Valley Band or whatever he is called now. He's become one of our favorites and this album is definitely reaching my top favorites at the moment quickly. This 2000 album is his first and is probably his best. To be honest, it feels like one of Weezer's lost albums especially in "Wasted and Ready" and "Comerce,TX". Please comment on this post if you think it sounds remotely like Weezer so I know I'm not going insane. Even the his voice sounds like Rivers Cuomo. Enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zjjm5yvzg3b

Ben Kweller - Sha Sha

Hail Seizures - Hail Seizures

A great folky punk band that is definitely meant to be seen live. Not a very good recording but you will have a lot of fun listening to this album similar to Blackbird Raum.

http://www.mediafire.com/?d5jjyc1tzzm

Figured I'd take a band from a blog from our friend's list since they took a couple from ours.
thunderboltjackson.wordpress.com

Hail Seizures - Hail Seizures

Every punk band ever- Short Music for Short People

Circle Jerks. Blink 182. Black Flag. Tilt. 101 thirty second songs by 101 punk bands from all across the spectrum.

Listening to this album in its entirety is an experience difficult to describe. The album only lasts about fifty and a half minutes, but in that time you’re listening to exactly 101 different songs. This album will kick your brain in the balls, and, just maybe, in the heart too. In the days of yore when CDs were first manufactured, nobody imagined the day 101 songs would be packed together like this- and for that reason, the last three songs had to be combined on one track (track 99). But you can rest assured, my friend, that you’re getting the full 101.

Like your punk music, but can't decide which band to listen to? Put this puppy on and listen to every one. Don't like punk music, but you're thinking of getting into it in a small way? Listen to a few of these bite-sized songs to decide whether punk music is right for you. Got some punk chick you want to impress? Get this bad boy on your iPod and scroll through your artist list. She’ll be all over you like cheese on pie.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QF3T0YXA

Every punk band ever- Short Music for Short People

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Other People's Songs (Volume One)

Well, I officially have my first album of 2009. I'm glad to say that it is not a well-known artist even to hipsters and blog-scanners. The Sarcastic Dharma Society or pretty much just Matthew J. Vuksinich for the most part shot me an email asking me to listen to his work and tell me what I think. This local artist from the thriving music scene of Portland, Oregon has some real talent. Whenever I get emails from people with music to listen to especially if it's their own, I never have high expectations.

WRONG! I was simply blown away when I opened up the files he gave me which consisted of covers of some of my favorite artists. These are the likes of Andrew Jackson Jihad, Why?, The Beatles, Bright Eyes, and Mt. Eerie which I just recently got into.

The album consists of 10 songs all being covers of artists that I love from the start. Some of my other favorite tracks are "Don't Let Me Down" by The Beatles and "Shit On My Heart" by a local Portland band known as Meyercord.

If you want your band promoted, send me an email at songsfromtheroad@gmail.com because it gives me great joy. To make band promotion possible, please support this band to start off. Trust me, you won't regret listening to him.

http://www.mediafire.com/?h2w3gzjhwnm

Meyercord - Shit On My Heart(By Request)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KHSEPQZ0

Also, add him on myspace
http://www.myspace.com/thesarcasticdharmasociety

Fan him on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sarcastic-Dharma-Society/33774929503

Finally cllct
http://cllct.com/art/thesarcasticdharmasociety

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Other People's Songs (Volume One)

Tally Hall - Pingry EP

This is a very rare album from one of my favorites that was specially recorded for a show that the band played at The Pingry School in Martinsville, New Jersey on May 13, 2005. The band made the long trip from Michigan to New Jersey because member Andrew Horowitz is a Pingry alumnus.

I ran Cross Country against Pingry for 2 years before they were "Too good" for our conference. I have a grudge against the school, but Tally Hall is one of my favorites and they do an excellent cover of "Just a Friend" which to be honest is not as well recorded as some live videos I saw, but nonetheless makes a great mostly live album.

If you like this, listen to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Search it on the blog search mechanism thingy. It's somewhere.

http://www.mediafire.com/?gnonwmznelz

Tally Hall - Pingry EP

Propagandhi- How to Clean Everything

If you’re sick and tired of bands that use music to express their opinions on politics and issues in the world instead of just entertaining you, I would advise you to stay as far away as possible from Propagandhi.

Propagandhi is definitely known for the messages in their lyrics- they have songs written about sexism, homophobia, the Canadian government, and veganism, for example. But they’re an awesome band even if you don’t pay attention to the lyrics. They’ve got a sense of humour about themselves, the band is tight, the songs are catchy and the guitar chords are weird (I’d tell you exactly what about the chords is weird if I knew anything about guitar chords).

This album’s from 1993 and it’s amazing. Key tracks: Anti-Manifesto (about the punk rock music industry), Ska Sucks, Stick the Fucking Flag Up Your God Damn Ass You Son of a Bitch (about the Canadian government), Hallie Sallasse, Up Your Ass (about religion)… all the songs on this album have a certain lovable quality about them, really. Give it a listen.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K7MYGJPZ

Propagandhi- How to Clean Everything

The Superfantastics - Pop-Up Book

Busy, busy, busy. Spent the weekend I was supposed to shape up the blog with in Annville, PA at Trunks & Tale's house which turned into an amazing show and a weekend involving a slumber party with the band Let Me Run. Nice guys that recently played with the Gaslight Anthem and Bouncing Souls so check them out and see them on a tour near you.

http://www.myspace.com/babyletmerun

Pressing on...(Braaah!) got this band from a friend of mine who listens to good music. I gave it a listen and it's really good. I trust that it's superfantastic but I'll let last.fm help me with a description since they are a relatively new band to me.

One late summer eve, following a game of tips (sort of like frisbee), Steph mentioned that she would like to learn how to play the drums and that the best way for her to learn would be if someone played guitar so she would have something to drum along to. Matt agreed to help her out. thus began The Superfantastics.

http://www.mediafire.com/?txlzqkyyqdn

The Superfantastics - Pop-Up Book

Flobots - Fight With Tools

Usually I avoid rap like pin-less hand grenades, but the alternative hip-hop band "Flobots" have put a wonderfully close-to-home twist on their music with unconventional brass and string instruments composed perfectly to compliment the other aspects of the music, not sounding the least bit out of place. I can listen to the same song three or four times over focusing on different parts of the music, and it never seems to get old. I didn't expect it, but the album flowed together extremely well. There weren't weak points of the album that bored me and made me skip ahead, which have put a big dent in other albums all too often. It all fit together, and whether you appreciate it or not the message the album gave was presented extremely well.

I could be called a little biased as I'm a pretty big sucker for the viola, but I would say that you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of this album, whether you are a fan of rap or not. Put plainly, the composure is brilliant and the lyrics are fun to listen to and think about. The album ended with me still wanting more flobots.

Some tracks I enjoyed in particular were:
"There's a War Going On for Your Mind"
"Rise"
"Stand Up"

http://www.mediafire.com/?jybgcydhqmu

Flobots - Fight With Tools

Hi-Standard - Making the Road

When I think of Japan, a few things come to mind right away: cheesy anime shows, tentacle pornography, and vending machines dispensing used panties. There are also some negative things.

Out of the land of the rising sun comes Hi-Standard, an excellent hardcore punk rock outfit. Don’t worry, they sing in English, though you might have to look up the lyrics if you have any interest in actually learning what they’re saying. I would describe them as NOFX with a Japanese accent.

Key tracks: Teenagers are All Assholes, Please Please Please, Green Acres (A punk cover of a TV show theme) and the hidden bonus track called “Sexy Girlfriend” which is a heartbreaking little acoustic number about a young man and a pair of his ex girlfriend’s panties.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AJSZEUVP

I’m not sure if the picture above is actually of Hi-Standard. There were only two English words on the page I got it from, and they were "Hi" and "Standard". I’m making an assumption here. Let me know if I’m wrong.

Hi-Standard - Making the Road

Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

I have to admit, I have a crush on this band at the moment. This seven piece band from Glasgow does not have a bad album despite their seven albums and countless singles. They are often described as Indie Pop, althought they have aspects of folk-rock and 60's pop giving it a sort of vintage retro feel. Trust me, you will get addicted to this band.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wyztry5mvnv

Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Bon Iver is all I hear about in the indie/folk music scene. If it isn't some girl crushing on Justin Vernon's beard, you'll hear about some hipster adding this one to their top ten albums of 2008 while high fiving his buddys. Well, I'm here to add to the list of fans of Bon Iver. Bon Iver, taken from the french phrase "bon hiver" for "good winter" definitely knows how to catch my attention. First of all, he recorded the album correctly for a folk masterpiece having stored away for four months in a far away cabin in Wisconsin. I guess that's just enough time to grow a beard that can cut glass and an album made of platinum. Overall, I'd say that you're gonna like this album and if not you need to learn to like it. I regret not giving it a full listen until recently because the first time I blew it off as blog banter, and also sorry for the late post and lack of posts, I have some good stuff coming up when I get the time.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tzzlmatzkyi

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

We All Have Hooks For Hands - The Pretender

With an interesting name, you have to look into them. Well, that's my rule at least but this nine member band from Sioux Falls definitely caught my attention even after actually listening to them. They play a folky pop sound including keyboards, violins and trumpets to the average lineup. I'm glad my rule didn't lead me to find another band that sounds awesome but really is some post-rock nonsense like The Samuel Jackson Five. I think you'll like this.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jm4zzj2m1f5

We All Have Hooks For Hands - The Pretender