"To Ohio" - The Low Anthem

This week's Free Single is a laid-back road song from songsmith trio The Low Anthem. "To Ohio" is a chilled out, summery track that seems to conjure up images of campfires and cowboys. Saddle up the ponies, its rustlin' time! Aside from the clichéd use of the harmonica amongst the acoustic melodies, lead singer Ben Knox Miller does kindly refrain from actually talking about sleeping under the stars, which would make sense seeing as he's from New Jersey. It'd be like me slapping on a Cockney accent and complaining about how my market stall in the East End isn't attracting very much business these days, and how I'm having "an auntie an' uncle finding some bunsen".

The folk-rock feel of this track evokes similarities between Iron & Wine or even José Gonzales, though keeps a marked independance from the more recognisable artists present in the genre. It seems odd that even though The Low Anthem have two full studio albums, they have only just been featured on IFS; this song appears to have "compilation album" stamped all over it.

"Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" and "What The Crow Brings" are both up for sale on iTunes right now - get them while they're still cheap because they're probably not worth spending real money on (it would damage the hobo-image they are so painfully projecting. "Look at me, I have fingerless gloves and I eat out of cans! Let me play you a bluegrass song!!!").

Genius reccomendations for this song were; The Felice Brothers; Jack Johnson; Alabama 3; A Weather and Iron & Wine

"I Go I Go I Go" - Wave Machines

The reason I enjoy the iTunes Free Single so much is that it's completely random. Far from being that obnoxious friend who forces their music onto you at the slightest provocation, it knows its place. You've got to take it with a pinch of salt; sometimes it will be absolute crap and sometimes you find a diamond in the rough.

"I Go I Go I Go" by Wave Machines is an example of this cross-section of music at it's finest. Similar to the hybrid-genre edginess of previous IFS resident folktronica act James Yuill, this track is quirky pop gold. With clear influences eminating from disco, Bowie and the current New Romantic resurrection reverberating throughout the indie world, I Go I Go I Go is fun and eclectic. The mishmash of acoustic guitar and polka-dot electronica scream 80's revival. If you want a overview, think Pet Shop Boys in a car crash with The Invisible. It really should be in the charts because most of the stuff up there is rubbish; alas, nothing on IFS ever makes it on there (it would defeat the purpose).

"I Go I Go I Go" is a bouncy, chromatic, careless track - what it may lack in emotional substance it makes up for with its sense of youthful energy. Wave Machines' album is currently available on iTunes and elsewhere, so listen to the track and decide for yourself.

The Genius reccomendations for this track were; Brakes; Detachements; Phenonema; White Rose Movement and We Have Band.