Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Best Coast, Beach House, & More

Just in time for summer, there are new albums from Best Coast and Beach House up for online preview this week. NPR Music says that on "The Only Place" Best Coast "doesn't just advance the band's irresistible garage-pop formula; it perfects it." I've only listened to the album once, but I also enjoyed it, and was glad to hear that they've added some new textures to the simple sound found on their debut album.


Above: Best Coast plays a new song, "Last Year," at the 35 Denton Festival.

Another popular group that made a splash a couple of years ago, Beach House, is back with a new album, "Bloom," and a reviewer from KEXP radio in Seattle calls it "a masterfully crafted set of expansive dream pop that rivals their 2010 breakthrough album 'Teen Dream.'" I haven't taken to the dreamy, layered-synth sound of Beach House the way many other people have, but I'll definitely give "Bloom" a listen and see if it gets me into the band.

Also streaming this week: Spinner has "Neck of the Woods" by Silversun Pickups (which was streaming on MTV's website last week); a four-song EP by S. Carey of Bon Iver; the new album by Animal Kingdom, and "Dr. Dee" by Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, a soundtrack to an English opera about a 16th-century sorcerer who was a royal adviser.

Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune and "Sound Opinions" liked the early songs on "Dr. Dee," but says it fades from there, noting that it's "peppered by stuffy opera singers, slow-moving elegies, and unintentional silliness...."

In addition, Garbage announced online today that its new album, "Not Your Kind of People," will be streaming later this week. I'll post details on that when I hear them.

As always, the albums shown below are just a few of the many releases streaming each week; visit the websites to see the full listings.

NPR First Listen:
"The Only Place" by Best Coast
"Bloom" by Beach House
"Passage" by Exitmusic

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Looking Away" by Animal Kingdom
"Neck of the Woods" by Silversun Pickups
"Dr. Dee" by Damon Albarn
"Hoyas" EP by S. Carey
"Fading Light" by Justin Jones
"Journey Through the Shadows" by The Parlotones
"Secret Handshake" by Anthony Da Costa