Magnifier

Magnifier Goodies Now in Google Play

2012-12-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Magnifier's mission has always been to bring you amazing new free music every day. Back when we launched, this site was the most convenient way for you to add those songs to your Google Music locker. From exclusive live tracks by the Rolling Stones to the hottest songs by emerging artists such as Twin Shadow and Grimes, we've always emphasized music we feel passionate about.

Since then, of course, we've unveiled Google Play, where you can supplement your music collection with even more songs, both free and paid. So, while our mission isn't changing, our venue is. From here on out, all of Magnifier's features will live within Play. Free Song of the Day will continue to update on Play’s Music home page, as will our monthly Antenna roundup of new artists and recurring video interviews/performances.

You'll find much more as well, from all the latest new releases to themed discounts. Basically, it's Magnifier times 1000.

Enjoy.
–Tim Quirk, Google Play

A Fine Frenzy, "Now Is the Start"

2012-12-07T06:00:00.001-08:00

Ethereal as ever, A Fine Frenzy (a.k.a. Alison Sudol) pushes her vocals into an electropop dance realm on "Now Is the Start," the first single from her third studio album Pines. The inspiring sing-along anthem pairs synths with poetic lyrics that turn into a call to arms: "Do you hear that sound/ It's the sound of the lost gone found/ It's the sound of a mute gone loud/ It's the sound of a new start." – Laura Checkoway, Google Play

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Erran Baron Cohen, "Ocho Kandalikas"

2012-12-06T06:07:00.002-08:00

Erran Baron Cohen, who also scores the infamous work of his brother Sacha, was inspired to make Songs in the Key of… Hanukkah after noticing a decided lack of good Jewish holiday albums. Cohen's playful, yet mature album includes this tango take on "Ocho Kandelikas," enlivening the Sephardic song with splashes of flamenco and the powerful but honey-smooth vocals of Israeli-Ladino singer Yasmin Levy. This buoyant tune will make you want to light the eight candles all year round. – Craig Phillips, Google Play

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In Memoriam: Dave Brubeck

2012-12-05T17:19:00.002-08:00

One of the towering figures in jazz, Dave Brubeck passed away on December 5, 2012, a day shy of 92. The maverick pianist, composer and bandleader was a major star for decades who kept writing new works and playing until the end. "Take Five," written by Paul Desmond and recorded by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, became the first million-selling jazz single and remains probably the single most recognizable jazz tune across the globe. Sometimes attacked for his success, Brubeck created his own sound and style; he never copied artists such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, whom he celebrated and revered.

Raised to be a rancher, Brubeck used to create songs in his head to the clip-clop of his horse's hooves. After serving in Europe during World War II, he returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area, where he studied classical music theory on the G.I. Bill with Darius Milhaud. The noted French composer and teacher encouraged Brubeck greatly, and he started playing an often experimental variation of swing and bebop with future stars such as Cal Tjader and Paul Desmond.

Partially paralyzed after a serious diving accident, Brubeck developed a hard-hitting, sometimes pounding piano style out of physical necessity and started working extensively with Desmond, a brilliant alto sax soloist. The two very different personalities (musical and otherwise) formed a lifelong friendship and a breathtaking improvisational bond where the pianist's often tough, daring ideas were countered by the saxophonist's swingingly romantic, airily melancholic sound. Each have fine albums under their own names but were never better than when they played together.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet, which finally settled on bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello, put Fantasy Records on the map and became even more popular when they started touring universities as well as nightclubs, earning them the kind of hip audiences who listen to indie rock and electronic music today. The Quartet's unique sound and near telepathic interplay helped define West Coast cool jazz and made them critical darlings and fan favorites.

Miles Davis was recording Brubeck tunes over at Columbia Records and the pianist's star only grew larger at that label. He scored his greatest popular success with 1959's Time Out, which popularized odd musical time signatures that were studied by musicians at the time. Fronted by the hits "Time Out" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk," the album is second only to Miles' Kind of Blue as the best-selling acoustic jazz record of all time. Time Out is still a delight today: the fact that its songs now sound natural speaks to the wide impact Brubeck has had on jazz.

A fine, underrated songwriter, Brubeck kept experimenting with, and incorporating, ideas from World, classic and folk music into compositions and kept playing straight-ahead jazz for decades after his quartet with Desmond called it a day. He was also an early champion of civil rights, fought segregation and refused to tour South Africa in the 1950s—decades before most Americans had even heard the term "apartheid."

Many critics turned on Dave Brubeck after he achieved great commercial success. The irony being that he achieved popularity with a sound and style all his own (his record company originally didn't even want to release Take Five, which they considered too strange). Brubeck followed his own positive path his entire life and openly collaborated on projects with his wife and kids. While he took constant detours into extended composition, he always seemed to find almost as much delight in playing the piano as his fans did in listening to his music. – Nick Dedina, Google Play

XTC, "Senses Working Overtime"

2012-12-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

XTC were five albums in when "Senses Working Overtime" broke through to FM radio and the then-new MTV network. A still-succulent mix of grey-skied British freak-folk verses and soaring Beatles-style sunshiney choruses, the band was poised to take over the world when group leader Andy Partridge's intense stage fright turned into a full-blown breakdown at the start of their American tour. XTC never played live again and became a beloved cult favorite instead of a global pop institution. – Nick Dedina, Google Play

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El Perro Del Mar: Siren Song

2012-12-04T10:30:00.001-08:00

El Perro Del Mar rises from the same Gothenburg, Sweden indie pop scene that has produced artists such as Jens Lekman, Jose Gonzalez, Love is All, and others. What unites El Perro Del Mar (a.k.a. singer/songwriter Sarah Assbring) and these artists, besides geography, may be a certain soft-spoken way with Sweden’s famous prowess for international pop, a gentler touch than their Stockholm peers, from ABBA on down to Robyn.

That touch is mostly felt in Assbring's murmuring vocals, soft-edged to the point of shushing off consonants, alluring in a way that makes you want to lean in closer. It’s a delivery that lets her songs about heartache and loneliness feel like a welcome bed of down pillows, instead of the concrete cell those emotions can be in real life.

On new album Pale Fire, Assbring combines those vocals and her typical melancholy with newly electronic backdrops--including one striking sample of Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy”-- toying with faint echoes of house and especially of ‘90s trip-hop and chill-out music, as with the deep-muted funk bass, piano chords, and busy-skittering backbeat of single “Hold Off the Dawn.” – Eric Grandy, Google Play

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Antenna: New Artists You Need To Hear

2012-12-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

In a year when many genres seemed to reinforce themselves—indie folk got folkier, retro soul more soulful and so on—December's Antenna recognizes some acts that have made late 2012 that much weirder and wilder, from electronic eccentrics to acid rock purveyors to less categorizable artists.

Gary Clark Jr. is one such hard-to-pigeonhole artist: a superb blues guitarist with pop tendencies (he's worked with Alicia Keys) who also lets loose with raucous riffs, as on the fuzzed-out "Numb." There's also plenty of heaviness in Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats' "I'll Cut You Down." Comprised of monster guitars and menacing vocals, it's rock 'n' roll fried, melted and psychically distressed.

Contrast that with Sweden's El Perro Del Mar's sweetly melancholic "Hold Off the Dawn," which equally balances modern indie pop with '80s synth undertones, while polished R&B vocalist Mikky Ekko's "Pull Me Down" draws you in with confident hooks.

Hip-hop is firmly represented by Long Islander Roc Marciano's meticulous metaphors and by razor-sharp Detroit combo Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson, who've been heard on Stones Throw releases from J-Dilla and Madlib.

There's a psychedelic aspect to both Prince Rama and Black Moth Super Rainbow's engaging takes on idiosyncratic electronic music. Prince Rama's "Those Who Live for Love Will Live Forever" employs mystical, cultish chanting over elastic, exercise-ready dance beats. Black Moth Super Rainbow, the live band of Anticon producer Tobacco, go somehow even further out there on "Windshield Smasher."

Lastly, funky rockers Deep Cotton and post-dubstep electronic producer Starkey round things out for an Antenna set as fresh and eclectic as the year just gone by. Visit Google Play now to download more free tracks from this playlist and discover new albums by the artists. – Eric Grandy, Google Play

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Jay-Z, "December 4th"

2012-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Though it was announced as a retirement release, Jay-Z's The Black Album was equally a victory lap. It opens with "December 4th," Jay's formal toast to himself, complete with his mom narrating the day of his birth in between producer Just Blaze's triumphant chipmunk soul. It's now difficult for anybody who listens to rap to look at this date on the calendar and not think of Shawn Carter. – Andrew Nosnitsky, Google Play

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Paul Wall, "That's the Way Luv Goes"

2012-12-03T06:21:00.002-08:00

While Paul Wall's national popularity peaked shortly after the Houston rap gold rush of the mid-2000s, the rapper and his famous fronts have receded quite comfortably into his hometown's still-bubbling underground scene. "That's the Way Luv Goes" highlights his skills as a sensitive balladeer without completely abandoning his more playful instincts that once had the internet goin' nuts. – Andrew Nosnitsky, Google Play

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KT Tunstall, "Black Horse & the Cherry Tree"

2012-11-30T06:09:00.001-08:00

Scottish songbird KT Tunstall ascended to stardom in 2004 on the strength of this addictive tune. Tunstall tells a story that's a cross between a Brothers Grimm fable and a Gothic romance, but the whole thing revolves around her throaty, powerful pipes, insistently slashing acoustic guitar riffs, and some skeletal percussion, with ghostly "whoo-hoo" background vocals working as a sort of folk-rock Greek chorus to the tragic tale. – Jim Allen, Google Play

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David Axelrod, "Holy Thursday"

2012-11-29T06:10:00.001-08:00

David Axelrod created a soaring mix of soul-jazz, classical strings and acid funk-rock that was both of its lysergic era while still being totally ahead of its time. The completely mesmerizing "Holy Thursday," sampled by everyone from Lil Wayne to Sublime, is all about rhythm and its sacred, ecstatic mood (inspired by the work of William Blake). Melodic without really having a melody, it vamps its way to a sudden blast of divine transformation. – Nick Dedina, Google Play

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Youngblood Hawke, "Forever"

2012-11-28T06:11:00.001-08:00

This L.A. outfit are already turning heads with an upbeat, dance-rock sound that will instantly appeal to fans of Imagine Dragons, fun. and AWOLNATION. "Forever" starts out like a Traveling Wilburys guitar tune (!!!) before it merrily darts over to the dance floor, making it an anthemic natural for internet discovery, high school parties and FM to AM radio crossover. Also check out Youngblood Hawke's rising hit "We Come Running." – Nick Dedina, Google Play

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Choc Quib Town: Party In Colombia

2012-11-27T06:00:00.001-08:00

"Feel the conga," chants Colombian trio ChocQuibTown on their tropical hip-hop song "Uh La La." The track is built on Afro-funk rhythms with Spanish lyrics playfully calling out a series of dance moves. The presentation is so lively and infectious, how could you be doing anything but feeling the conga? ChocQuibTown hails from Quibdó, the capital of Colombia's Pacific coast rainforest region, Chocó, which gave the group its name. Their brand of Afro-Colombian club beats seem destined for international discovery just as previous generations embraced their nation's cumbia and vallenato music. For the members of ChocQuibTown, wider recognition—most recently a 2012 Latin Grammy nomination—is not only for their music but for Colombia's largely hidden African roots. The group freely mixes the Afro-Colombian tradition with hip-hop, soul and dancehall influences, their inspired, booty-shaking fusion summed up nicely by the title of their recent album, Eso es lo que hay (That's the Way It Is). – Judy Cantor-Navas, Google Play

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Guillemots, "Up on the Ride"

2012-11-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

This British collective, led by Fyfe Dangerfield, has thrown caution to the wind and recorded four albums to be released in quick succession, each celebrating one season. Hello Land! is Guillemots' ode to spring, with the endlessly inventive Dangerfield cramming two supple tunes into "Up on the Ride." The first half is a haunting beauty, while the second half is a charming '60s style sing-along hand-clapper that keeps building on itself. – Nick Dedina, Google Play

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Dr. Dog: Box of Wonder & Amazement

2012-11-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

Open Google Play's "Box of Wonder and Amazement" and there's no telling what you'll find. The idea is simple: Google Play invites bands to open up the mysterious box and make a song using whatever instruments they find inside. The results are always a surprise.

This time around, roving Philadelphia rock band Dr. Dog drop by to flex their improvisational skills. Dr. Dog's sound ranges from classic rock and Beatles-esque pop to the psych and folk sounds of the '70s, but one thing they almost always depend on is the classic combo of guitar, bass, and drums—none of which they'll find here. Instead, they get a ukulele, a melodica, a toy-sized Casio keyboard and a sampler. But their performance of "Jackie Wants a Black Eye' proves that, however you dress it up or strip it down, it's the song, and the band, that matters most. (Related: did the melodica player find that bear fur shawl in the Box, too?) "We're all in it together now, as we all fall apart," the band sings, but while the first part aptly describes the band's close, almost acoustic vocal harmonies, the second part's a lie: Dr. Dog hold it together here just fine.

Also in the box for you: an exclusive free EP of tracks from their recent studio album, Be the Void. Visit Google Play now to see all this and more. – Eric Grandy, Google Play

"That Old Black Hole" Dr. Dog

Free tracks on Magnifier are available in the US only.

Citizens!, "Caroline"

2012-11-26T03:30:00.000-08:00

If Citizens! hadn't put that exclamation point in their name, someone else would've. The stylish young London quintet are earning frothy raves from the British music press, and their demo was enough to attract Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos to produce their debut. "Caroline" evokes that band with its nervous guitars and come-hither vocals, Pulp with its blippy keyboards and Talking Heads with its "we stop(ped) making sense" chorus. – Eric Grandy, Google Play

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Van Morrison, "Goin' Down to Monte Carlo"

2012-11-23T06:03:00.002-08:00

Nearly half a century into his recording career, Van Morrison shows no sign of mellowing with age on this eight minute jazzy blues tune from Born to Sing: No Plan B. Sure, the mood might be relaxed, but the lyrics find the eternally irascible Van vehemently invoking Sartre's most misanthropic quote ("hell is other people"), complaining about the "pseudo-jazz" background music in a restaurant and still finding time to throw his bassist a solo. – Jim Allen, Google Play

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Brian Eno, "Fullness of Wind (Variation on 'The Canon in D Major')"

2012-11-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

English rock innovator Brian Eno had a classical ensemble improvise variations on Pachelbel's "Canon in D" and had his subtle synthesizer slowly flow into the ocean of sound. Too enveloping and gorgeous to truly be "ambient" music, this piece can work as either the soundtrack to a Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, or offer you a cocoon of transcendent relaxation between the holiday stresses and Black Friday insanity. – Nick Dedina, Google Play

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Hood Internet, "One for the Record Books"

2012-11-20T06:00:00.001-08:00

This Chicago duo already have hundreds of mashups floating out there and have now recorded a sample-free set of originals for their official album debut. "One for the Record Books" matches lead vocals from the New Pornographers' A.C. Newman with a short, sharp rap on the bridge. It all gels together naturally, with Newman bringing a rare, wry melancholy to what could've been another triumphant party anthem. – Nick Dedina, Google Music

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How To Dress Well: R&B Wardrobe

2012-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

R&B used to be made for the bedroom, but now it's often made in a bedroom, which has changed the landscape of what the genre sounds and looks like. As How to Dress Well, Brooklyn-based philosopher Krell feeds '90s R&B sounds through a digital meat grinder, creating a gravelly and reverb-drenched parking lot over which his pensive falsetto paces. On Total Loss, the follow-up to 2010's critically-acclaimed Love Remains, Krell sings of disappointment and death while a backdrop of snaps, claps and pulsing synths keeps the truly somber at bay. "Cold Nites" and "How Many?" are dramatic numbers that channel R. Kelly—if he was trapped in an ice cave rather than a closet. "Say My Name or Say Whatever" and "When I Was in Trouble" hint at Krell's ambient drone past, while the purple head-nod of "Struggle" reminds of fellow R&B futurist The Weeknd. It may not be all sex and swing, but there are lighter moments here: "Running Back" is a hazy head-nodder that interpolates elements of Ashanti's "Foolish," and "& It Was You" triumphs over obfuscation completely, choosing a minimal backdrop to snaps, shakers and house kicks that lets Krell's high-pitched vocals shine through. – Vivian Host, Google Play

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Stones Throw Label Spotlight

2012-11-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

Since producer Chris "Peanut Butter Wolf" Manak founded Stones Throw Records in 1996, the label has delighted in confounding a rabid fan base that often scoops up anything Stones Throw-related, from pricy limited-edition Madlib vinyl to Quasimoto and Madvillain toys and skate decks. Rap music remains its bread and butter: this year alone has brought albums from Los Angeles street rap crew Strong Arm Steady (Stereotype), bookish New York wordsmith Homeboy Sandman (First of a Living Breed) and Detroit drummer/producer Karriem Riggins (Alone Together). Yet the label often prides itself on embracing iconoclasts. There are The Stepkids, whose self-titled debut sounds like a mash of Funkadelic circa Maggot Brain and Iggy and The Stooges. There is Jonwayne, whose Oodles of Doodles is exactly that—minute-long beats that sound like doodles and wiggle into your memory. Chrome Canyon's Elemental Themes evokes the synthesized soundtracks of Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder. And Jonti escapes classification by mixing hip-hop beats, synth melodies and dreamy vocals into an electropop explosion. The best way to process Stones Throw's new world of sound is to leave your expectations at the door. Visit Google Play now to score free tracks and hear awesome Stones Throw albums. – Mosi Reeves, Google Play

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Fear and the Nervous System, "Choking Victim"

2012-11-19T06:14:00.000-08:00

If you're craving a big, fat slab of old school industrial rock, then definitely don't pass up "Choking Victim," the exciting debut single from New York City's Fear and the Nervous System. In contrast to his day job with nu metal pioneers Korn, guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer's side project specializes in a pummeling brand of dystopian groovery that calls to mind Undertow-era Tool filtered through the mighty Killing Joke. – Justin Farrar, Google Play

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Amos Lee, "Seen It All Before"

2012-11-16T06:02:00.002-08:00

On this slow-burner from his 2005 Blue Note debut, Amos Lee epitomizes the concept of folk-soul. Seemingly steeped in the spirit of forebears like Bill Withers and Terry Callier, he croons sensually atop an organic blend of acoustic guitar and weeping organ, buoyed by an old school R&B groove. "Seen It All Before" is a declaration of independence from the chains of an ill-starred romance. – Jim Allen, Google Play

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Toy, "Kopter"

2012-11-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

Brit-rock obsessives might know three of Toy's five members from the memorably named act Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, while newcomers should thrill to this relentlessly propulsive track. "Kopter" has some definite Krautrock parallels, as Toy burn bright through this blazing, 10-minute-long exercise in moody vocals, intensifying guitar textures and hypnotic rhythms. – Eric Grandy, Google Play

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YouTube Presents: Blondie

2012-11-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

Though Blondie emerged from New York City's gritty urban punk scene, it has always been the group's chameleon-like pop smarts that have made their sound such a unique and long-lasting proposition. Recorded at the band's recent YouTube sessions, the slinky "LaTona" refracts baroque synth-rock through a swirling Latin rhythm, with the still seductive Deborah Harry placed at the center. Sophisticated and timeless. – Justin Farrar, Google Play

Free tracks on Magnifier are available in the US only.