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Talk about timing. Brooklyn-based Twin Sister released their second EP Color Your Life on Tuesday. The same day they get a respectable 7.5 from Pitchfork. On Wednesday they are named one of The L Magazine’s 8 Bands You Need to Hear. And today just started, so who knows. Maybe they are taping for Letterman this afternoon.

Twin Sister is offering a free download of the album for two weeks. So if you haven’t heard about it and downloaded it by then, then I don’t know what to tell you. It’s apparently everywhere. You can sample the album with the song Lady Daydream above. This is the one song I clearly remember when I saw them at the Creekside Lounge during my hazy SXSW, and after a few listens through this EP I can see why, it’s a standout track for sure.

You can find the band in New York a few times this month. Tonight they play Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn with Holiday Shores. On April 9th they are opening up for Xiu Xiu at Bowery Ballroom. And finally on April 11th they are at Silent Barn in Queens with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks.

During our day job we are constantly on the hunt for inspiration. One of those ways we do this is by tapping into the incredible amount of design resources throughout the internet and keeping our finger on the pulse of what’s new… or what’s old and just plain awesome that we never noticed before. Either way, we spend a good amount of time seeking these elements out and this is our chance to share with you some of our favorites that are free of charge.

Your Weekly Free Font: LEAGUE GOTHIC

This bold, sans-serif font is beautifully designed and if used properly can really make an impact. League Gothic was created by The League of Moveable Type – a great resource for well designed Open Type fonts. I’d spend some time trying to explain to you the font and its history (especially our history with Alternate Gothic), but TLOMT state it best on their site:

League Gothic is a revival of an old classic, and one of our favorite typefaces, Alternate Gothic No.1. It was originally designed by Morris Fuller Benton for the American Type Founders Company (ATF) in 1903. The company went bankrupt in 1993. And since the original typeface was created before 1923, the typeface is in the public domain.

We decided to make our own version, and contribute it to the Open Source Type Movement. It’s free, not only in price, but in freedom.

Click here to visit the site and download League Gothic. Also check out their Manifesto.

Please note that this font is subject to the Open Font License.

DOWNLOAD NOW (50mb)

With America shrouded by a thick noise of bombastic rhetoric that deifies the honor of war, its veterans quietly return home to deal with its silent pity. Sleep Station’s Blood of Our Fathers cuts through the noise of patriotic fervor, amplifying the quiet melancholy that too often marks a soldier’s return to a country equipped to deal with the myth of their sacrifice, but not its reality.

This 11-track LP is laced with catchy melodies that act as a thin layer of protection against the raw scars of families drifted apart and the stains of a comrade’s blood that can never be washed from a soldier’s memory. It’s understated and often ironically joyous instrumentation adeptly places these harrowing stories against a political climate that honors their sacrifice with cheap platitudes.

Penned by David Debiak, Blood of Our Fathers decries America’s halfhearted care for its veterans and their families in a folksy, somber voice that seizes the listener and demands their attention.

“I don’t like the Sun and it don’t like me. Each bullet has a name, which one is named for me? My wife is but a ghost, a memory, a dream, I sit and write my son to pray for me. It’s easy to kill when you don’t have to fight, as long as the blood of our fathers survives.”

As visions of home and family fade, Debiak’s well-crafted characters come time and again to the Virgin Mary for an absolution that eludes them. Meanwhile, their commander-in-chief prays for the strength to carry out God’s will.

“Like most writers, I’m simply telling stories.” Debiak says. “Some are good, some are sad, some are mine, some are theirs, and some are made up.”

This album is offered as a digital download exclusively on Airandseabattle.com, all that we and the band ask is that the listener vote in the upcoming election as its only price.

Track Listing:
01. Brothers, 02. Can’t Shake This Town, 03. Blood of Our Fathers, 04. Dream of Mary, 05. America, 06. Leads Back Home, 07. I’ve Been Blind Enough To See, 08. Where Love Used To Grow, 09. Shadow of The Guns, 10. Oh Mary, 11. Brownstone Mill

DOWNLOAD NOW (50mb)

If you like what you hear, don’t forget to donate to the band:

Free music?? That’s crazy! The Gay Blades have gone all Radiohead on us and are offering 2 new tracks for completely free. The songs “Mean Muses” and “Shake The Graves” can be downloaded for free thanks to their recent digital 7″ released on RCRD LBL. The beauty of this new release: the band is actually getting paid for it. That’s right, you aren’t just stealing this shit and then using that money to buy your girlfriend new underwear to make her other boyfriend jealous. RCRD LBL’s ad revenue pays the band every time a track is downloaded, so feel free to stay on that site and download your ass off. Download them here.

Also, don’t forget, The Gay Blades have signed to Triple Crown Records and will see a re-release of their debut album Ghosts on September 23rd.