Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Heartless Bastards, Of Montreal, & More

 New releases from Heartless Bastards, Band of Skulls, Ben Kweller, Chuck Prophet, and Shearwater highlight the notable albums up for free streaming this week. Heartless Bastards made a big splash a few years ago with their breakout album "The Mountain,"and many listeners got hooked on the booming vocals of lead singer and guitarist Erika Wennerstrom. The band, originally from Dayton, Ohio, now calls Austin home and is back with "Arrow,"its much-anticipated follow-up to "The Mountain."

"Arrow" by Heartless Bastards is one of the new albums streaming free this week.

In addition to the albums below, Exclaim.ca is streaming the new album by the Canadian band Islands, "A Sleeping and A Forgetting," and Pitchfork is streaming "Young and Old," the latest release from Tennis.

Some of the albums that were available last week on some streaming services are now available on other ones, such as Sharon Van Etten's "Tramp"and Paul McCartney's new album of 1940s and '50s songs. (Note: The "Tramp" MP3 album is currently $5.99 at Amazon.com.) Also, Van Etten is celebrating the release of today by offering a free download of a "Serpents" demo here.

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Arrow" by Heartless Bastards (streaming until Feb. 14th; also streaming at NPR Music)
"Plumb" by Field Music (streaming until Feb. 14th; also streaming at NPR Music)

NPR First Listen:
"Animal Joy" by Shearwater
"Le Voyage Dans La Lune" by Air

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Tramp" by Sharon Van Etten
"Kisses on the Bottom" by Paul McCartney
"Sweet Sour" by Band of Skulls
"Go Fly a Kite" by Ben Kweller
"Barchords" by Bahamas
"Be the Void" by Dr. Dog
"Paralytic Stalks" by Of Montreal
"Temple Beautiful" by Chuck Prophet
"The Singles" by Goldfrapp
"Let It Be Roberta - Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles" by Roberta Flack

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Lay Your Weapons Down" by Kiros
"Eulogy for the Damned" by Orange Goblin
"Scars and Stories" by The Fray