Category Archives: Free Album of the Day

Free albums you should download for free.

Ball of Wax 69 Songs: Hyperbaric Slumber – “Glass Lake”

The duo Hyperbaric Slumber – composed of Jake Frye of Jesus on the Moon (btw, right about now is a fantastic time to crank that Festivus tune) and Mike Krushka of, well, many things – bring us “Glass Lake,” title … Continue reading

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Album Review: Darryl Blood – Parse

Darryl Blood – Parse (2019, self-released) Darryl Blood’s works are often based around piano motifs or chords (major, minor, 7th or augmented, jazz, and a kind of “dark jazz”) played straight on the beat, and this works perfectly as both … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Ketamine Cat – “Global Warming fuckfuckfuck”

I have listened to Ketamine Cat’s “Love Songs” several times this week. At the close of each listen, I am left to scratch my head and wonder why I didn’t know this artist prior to the new Ball of Wax. … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 47 Songs: Sam Parkin – “Can’t Be Won Over”

Sam Parkin‘s appearance on Ball of Wax 47 is quite a serendipitous occurrence, stemming from a chance music recommendation by a Trader Joe’s checker who noticed my giant headphones and figured I probably liked music. I went and listened to … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 46 Songs: The Laughing Group – Black Dress

Longtime Ball of Wax contributor Seth Howard has at long last taken the plunge and given his band a proper name. The Laughing Group comprises Seth on guitar, voice, and some other stuff; Sam Jansons on drums; and Jeffrey Henry … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: The Vardaman Ensemble – Hills & Monuments

If I were better at ever writing album reviews or composing year-end lists of favorite albums, you would have already heard me singing the praises of The Vardaman Ensemble, the skronky post-rock-and-jazz-in-a-blender side project of The Harvey Girls’ Hiram Lucke. … Continue reading

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Ball of Wax 43 Songs: Amina – Spice

Maybe it’s the fact that my dad’s from Green Bay, or perhaps there’s some kind of Boston/Seattle/Wisconsin triangle of compatibility that makes us all instantly dig each other, but whatever the reason, I keep finding myself surrounded by (and loving … Continue reading

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Left Field Finds: They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

“Open up the boxes, tumble down the walls, let them be the thing they want to be, not necessarily like you and me!” This is the message of the group, a community youth band from 1968 South Side Chicago led … Continue reading

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From the Archives: Ball of Wax Volume 2

Let’s take another trip back to 2005, shall we? We continue our archival investigation with Ball of Wax Volume 2, released in the fall of that long-ago year. The release celebration for Volume 2 was the second (and, to date, … Continue reading

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From the Archives: Ball of Wax Volume 1

This has been a long time coming, but I am at long last making my way through the many volumes of Ball of Wax released before the Bandcamp era, acquiring permission from the artists, and uploading the music, art, and … Continue reading

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