Now Streaming: New CDs from Christopher Owens, Hilly Eye, Widowspeak, & More

A couple of long-awaited debut albums are the most notable of this week's new free streaming albums. Ever since Christopher Owens left the popular (and now defunct) indie-rock band Girls, fans had been wondering when he would appear with a solo album, and what it would sound like. Wait no more, for you can now preview Owens's "Lysandre" below at Spinner.

Hilly Eye's debut album is streaming at Paste this week.

The album came out today on Turnstile/Fat Possum, and Owens and his band will play two nights at Bowery Ballroom next week, Jan. 21st and 22nd (get tickets here).

Amy Klein had been working on musical side projects when she was with Titus Andronicus, and cited those efforts in her decision to leave that successful New Jersey band. Klein has been playing in two different bands, Hilly Eye and Leda, since departing from Titus, and it is the former that is now releasing its first album.

While the two-piece Hilly Eye (Klein and Catherine Tung) has released a few songs in recent months, its first album, "Reasons to Live," is streaming this week at Paste Magazine (below). You can enjoy the noise-rock, psychedelia-inflected album this week, and see the band play at the Don Giovanni Records showcase on Feb. 8th at Music Hall of Williamsburg (get tickets here). The album drops Jan. 22nd.

Also streaming this week: the new albums from Brooklyn's Widowspeak and Philadelphia's Free Energy, plus the soundtrack to "West of Memphis," the documentary about the years-long effort to free the West Memphis Three. The soundtrack features contributions from a diverse range of artists: Henry Rollins, Natalie Maines, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Marilyn Manson, Band of Horses, and Eddie Vedder, among others.

There are more albums streaming besides the ones shown here; see the websites below for NPR Music, Spinner, and AOL Music to see their full line-ups. Happy listening!

Paste Magazine: 
"Reasons to Live" by Hilly Eye

NPR First Listen:
"Almanac" by Widowspeak
"No Beginning No End" by Jose James
"My True Story" by Aaron Neville

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Lysandre" by Christopher Owens
"Love Sign" by Free Energy
"West of Memphis Soundtrack" by various artists
"Don't Stop" by Willy Mason
"Manifestra" by Erin McKeown
"Don't Let Me Sleep" by Midnight Spin
"Academy Songs, Vol.1" by Holopaw
"Sky Burial" by Rice Cultivation Society

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Plan-Do-Check-Act" by Recovery Council
"The Lone Bellow" by The Lone Bellow

PHOTOS: Dum Dum Girls Play Maxwell's on Brief East Coast Swing

Just a few months after their last show at Maxwell's, the Dum Dum Girls returned to the fame Hoboken club Saturday for one of the final stops on their brief, six-date "Conquering the Hearts" East Coast tour. Although the band had the same energy as before, it played a somewhat shorter set, coming in at just about 50 minutes, and did not play an encore.

Jules of the Dum Dum Girls.

Perhaps the brevity of the show, and this tour, were because the band wanted to give its newest member, Malia James, a chance to get her feet wet in playing the DDG repertoire. James, who is a photographer in addition to having been a member of the bands Marnie Stern and The Black Ryder, fit in well musically, and dressed in traditional Dum Dum Girls style (black leather and lace, short shorts with patterned stockings), but wore a hat, which made her stand out from the other band members.

Dum Dum Girls, from left: Jules, Dee Dee, Malia James.

Dum Dum Girls opened with "He Gets Me High" and "Catholicked," then played a set that as expected consisted mostly of tunes from "Only In Dreams," the band's latest album.

If you like garage rock with touches of 1960s girl groups, the Dum Dum Girls are a great band to see live, especially in a small venue. I'll definitely catch their next New York area appearance. 

Widowspeak played before Dum Dum Girls.

Jules, Sandra, and Dee Dee (left to right).

Malia James was playing her first gigs with the band.

Jules singing.