Ten Kens - Your Kids Will Know (spin.com)

Leftfield Toronto quartet Ten Kens release their eponymous debut album this month on FatCat Records. Their sound schizophrenically jumps between progginess, near-metal rock and droning repetition, almost like a jumpy, Canadian Mogwai. The US' Spin magazine likens them to No Age and Liars, and you can download this track exclusively from their site at www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-new-ten-kens-mp3.

Plump DJs - Torque Of The Devil (Subs Remix) (inthemix.com.au)

Awesome, throbbing return-to-form for the sometimes loved, sometimes completely overlooked DJ duo. In the run up to their fourth album - and fifteen singles into their career - maybe it's time the Plump DJs were afforded a little of the heritage and credence that's heaped on lesser imitators. This free track is available only from the Aussie dance site In The Mix at www.inthemix.com.au/news/aust/38632/Exclusive_Plump_DJs_free_mp3_on_inthemix.

Dresden Dolls - War Pigs! (wippet.com)

When the Dresden Dolls recently toured Europe and the US they hit out against the Bush administration with a cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs. "We figured nobody could say ‘f*** this war s***’ like Ozzy could!" says Amanda Doll. Their performance at their homecoming Boston gig was taped and is only available as a 79p download. “We’re proud to offer this download exclusively,” say wippet.com. “You can’t get this anywhere else - no high priced PC maker or soft drink company posing as music lovers has the cajones to carry this one!"

Black Lips - Moma (blogs.guardian.co.uk)

We highly recommend The Guardian's ever-expanding and constantly updated Music blog, not just for news and gossip but for the exclusive MP3s that crop up from time to time. A recent favourite was this Bo Diddly cover/tribute that the Black Lips performed at Hoboken, New Jersey, recorded straight off the soundboard and posted to the Guardian blog for all and sundry to download at will. Grab it for yourself from blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/06/black_lips_tribute_to_bo_diddl.html.

Thompson Twins - Quick Step & Sidekick and Into The Gap (Edsel)

It’s nothing short of a travesty that the past couple of decades have seen the Thompson Twins back catalogue - eight albums across three distinct eras - completely overlooked by the record industry and media alike. They’ve been relegated to endless budget singles compilations while many bands who reached no greater heights than supporting them on tour have had the deluxe box set reissue treatment.
Sure, big hair went to the Twins’ heads for a while, but they did go from seven-piece squat-based indie band to US stadium tours in less than five years. And along the way they never spotted making pop music that was as experimental as it was commercial. Doctor! Doctor! was nothing more than an OK single, but they day I played the B-side, Nurse Shark, and heard a half-speed instrumental dub version of the A, I knew there was more to this band I had first thought.
Edsel have tackled the Twins’ two biggest selling albums with aplomb, adding scores of rare 12” and cassette remixes to build both into double CDs. The former, 1983’s Quick Step & Sidekick features Grace Jones and is the best synth-dance album to come out of Nassau, if only the world-at-large hadn’t been thrown off course by the inclusion of novelty hit We Are Detective. The latter is 1984’s Into The Gap where the highlights are the remixes, pointing the way to Tom Bailey, the musical Twin’s, highly accomplished future work in downtempo, dub and ambient house.

Various Artists – Stax 50th Anniversary (iTunes UK)

This has to be the easiest way to celebrate the birthday of a real legend: downloading 50 tracks for £14.99, or individual tunes for 79p each. Interesting to sort the content by ‘popularity’ too, which takes just one click, and has Booker T & The MGs’ Soul Limbo and Linda Lyndell’s What A Man coming out on top, with two tracks by the Soul Children, The Sweeter He Is and It Aint Always What You Do, bringing up the rear.

Steve Lawson - …And Nothing But The Bass (stevelawson.net)

This is a great download to familiarise yourself with one of the most gifted solo bass players on the planet. It’s his first album, recorded in 1999, now out of print on CD but back again on MP3 and with three extra tracks. One of the extras - the Inner Game - is a real piece of Lawson history: the first track he played at his first ever gig. If you’re new to his sound and amazing style, just type “Steve Lawson” into YouTube…

Future Sound of London – From The Archives, Vol. 4 (fsoldigital.com)

The Future Sound of London have thrown everything but the kitchen sink from their archives and back catalogue into a new download and CD store, FSOL Digital. The previous three volumes of their trawl through the DAT locker have been available on CD, but this one is currently download only and has some real gems, although they’re not annotated so which album sessions and eras they spring from is anyone’s guess. Either buy the album or pick a few select cuts - like Wookii and Mango Tree - which are available for €1.00 each.

Blancmange - Making Aeroplanes (MySpace)

“Oyez!! Oyez!!” reads the new, official Blancmange MySpace. “Now hear this! We are in the process of recording songs for a new Blancmange album…” And one of their new streaming demos is Making Aeroplanes, merging a stripped down, back-to-analogue backing from Stephen Luscombe with Neil Arthur’s northern ratings, and is an exciting taste of things to come.

Paul Simon – iTunes Originals (iTunes only)

This latest instalment of the iTunes-only compilation series combines interview snippets with back catalogue and exclusive live and acoustic recordings. There are 26 tracks in this set, including chatter on Brian Eno and Art Garfunkel and a great new rendition of My And Julio Down By The School Yard.

Richard Hawley – Live From London (iTunes only)

iTunes’ Live From London series underwent a face-lift last year but, musically, is still pretty much a yawn-a-thon with sets from the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, Kate Walsh and this 6-tracks-for-£4.49 session from Richard Hawley. His middle-aged crooning is a trial but he does start to deliver the goods with old age covers of songs by Ricky Nelson and Hank Williams.

Stephen A.J. Duffy – Because We Love You (Virgin, all platforms)

Duffy’s forgotten masterpiece is The Ups And Downs’ follow-up. Every track a winner and equalled (although not surpassed) by bonus B-sides and remixes, two of which - Cocksure and The Disenchanted - point the way to his adventures with the Lilacs. But as sugary pop classics go it’s hard to beat this album’s opener, Something Special, although its (hyper-rare) 12” ‘Inversion’ is tragically missing from the bonus tracks.

Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy – The Ups And Downs of… (Virgin, all platforms)

With his new Lilac Time album, Runout Groove, in the shops now, EMI have finally dug out Stephen Duffy’s first two albums and reissued them, although only online. So, no remastering, sleeve notes or artwork, but they have done well in digging out B-sides and remixes. This, his debut long player, is supplemented with eight extra tracks including the Mixe Plurale of Kiss Me and rare early 12” versions of She Makes Me Quiver and Hold It. But nothing surpasses the albums close-out track, The World At Large Alone.

George Harrison – Download Special (iTunes)

Back in November’s issue we assessed the arrival of John Lennon’s solo catalogue on iTunes, and now it’s the turn of George Harrison’s post-Beatles output. Although not his complete solo output by any means, Harrison’s is the last of the four solo Beatles to arrive online, not only on iTunes but all the major digital download platforms. As Olivia Harrison said of the releases, “George had begun the digital remastering of his albums, but had no idea how the digital world would change the way we access and listen to music…”

All Things Must Pass
The top selling Harrison song on iTunes is – unsurprisingly - My Sweet Lord, so and the album it comes from, All Things Must Pass is a great place to start exploring his catalogue. All the bonus tracks from the 30th Anniversary Remaster are available, including Beware of Darkness and the backing track to What Is Life. But you’ll find that the three songs that clock in at over five minutes (Isn’t It A Pity, I Remember Jeep and Out of the Blue) are available only when you download the full album. One thing you can download by itself though is the EPK for the album’s 2001 reissue which costs £1.89 for just over seven minutes of video.

Cloud Nine, Brainwashed
While middle-period Harrison catalogue might be an acquired taste, his later work – 1987’s Cloud Nine and his final, 2002 outing Brainwashed are both vital listening. The former houses his second-most downloaded song, Got My Mind Set On You and is bolstered by the addition of a little-heard title tune for the Madonna/Handmade Films clanger Shanghai Surprise. Stuck Inside A Cloud is a highlight of Brainwashed, as is the Grammy award-winning Marwa Blues.

George Harrison, Somewhere In England, Gone Troppo
These three albums from Harrison’s ‘middle’ period work well in the era of single track downloads. Because where they might not have hung together – or sold – particularly well as full albums, they contain scores of interesting songs and tracks which are well worth 79p as individual buys. Like the single Blow Away from George Harrison, which also contains Not Guilty (written for the White Album sessions) and a demo version of Here Comes The Moon. And if you only download one track from Somewhere In England, make it All Those Years Ago, his tribute to John Lennon. Coming fresh to 1982’s brilliantly-titled Gone Troppo, I found a whole set of songs that had a lovely Clapton, solo-Lennon feel to them, and am downloading several as I type.

Live In Japan
iTunes own write-up states this early 90s, 19-track live set “easily surpasses McCartney’s Tripping The Live Fantastic or Paul Is Live.” Highly contentious, but this is a must listen set if only to browse through the preview snippets of solo renditions of Taxman, Something and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Living In The Material World
This 1973 album is well worth downloading for anyone that either doesn’t already own it or hasn’t got round to buying the 2006 expanded reissue. A full-album download includes the US number one single Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) and the two bonus tracks, Miss O’Dell and Deep Blue, previously issued as B-sides.

Thirty Three & 1/3
One of Harrison’s lost classic albums, this one includes two instantly catchy, long-forgotten singles, This Song and Crackerbox Palace, and first appeared on his own Dark Horse label in 1976. It makes a confusing appearance on iTunes as two versions of the album are listed, one as the original release and the other as a 2001 remaster. But neither version includes the hilarious videos for the singles, so you’ll have to go to RC’s official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/group/recordcollector) to watch those. Also missing in action: three of Harrison’s biggest solo creative statements: the Wonderwall, Electronic Music and Concert for Bangladesh albums. Let’s hope these ones appear sooner rather than later.

Britney Spears – Gimme More (Junkie XL Dub) (iTunes)

Against all the odds, Blackout has been described as Britney’s best album to date. And it’s certainly the first to offer fans of bona fide mashed-up electro breaks something to get their teeth into. This remix by JXL is the best of three bonus tracks available exclusively on the iTunes version of the album.

Radiohead - In Rainbows (radiohead.com)

The most talked-about digital release of the year arrives just in time for our Christmas issue. As Time magazine said when the album was announced, “What makes In Rainbows important - easily the most important release in the recent history of the music business - are its record label and its retail price: there is none, and there is none.” So if you haven’t heard already, you can go to Radiohead’s website and pay what you want for the album, which comes as a 160kbps .ZIP file of MP3s. If you love physical product, there’s a very collector-friendly £40 box set version - or Discbox – available too. So, yes, you can download the new Radiohead album and pay nothing at all for it if you want to.

But there’s no such thing as a free lunch. They wont let you take it without handing over your name, email address, postal address and mobile phone number. And is the album actually worth download, even if you don’t pay anything for it? Tracks like Bodysnatchers, which has been in the works for several years, are interesting, possible classic Radiohead songs, but not quite. And while thumping pieces like Reckoner are surely going to go down well in the US, it’s climbing back into the fragile world of Radiohead in Nude, a ballad first heard on the OK Computer tour, that means that, yes, you should have a good listen to this album, regardless of what you want to pay for it.