Above the Golden State
Site Review: Guvera
I don’t normally review music websites (the last one I did was for the now defunct SpiralFrog, back in early 2008), but new website Guvera has too much going for it to ignore, especially since Guvera succeeds just about everywhere SpiralFrog failed. I’ve been using the site for a month or two now, and I’ve been loving it too much not so say anything about it here.
Basically, Guvera is a music store that allows members to download any song they like from the site’s extensive catalog for free. It’s a simple idea, really – you search and find a song you want to download, then click the “Download” button. You’re then presented with a list of advertisers. Pick one that offering a free download, and you’re taken to a promotional page where you can stream the song for free, and download it if you like, and that’s it. Your song downloads right away, with no additional hoops. To sweeten the deal, the songs I’ve gotten have been in 256 kbs DRM-free .mp3 files, which seems to be standard. That’s equal or superior audio quality then most other music stores.
Of course, you can only get free downloads if there’s advertisers will to pay for it, which is the biggest restriction on the site. The number of available downloads changes regularly (at the moment, I’ve got six free downloads available, a high for me – usually it’s between zero and two.) When you sign up, you’re also required to fill out a short questionnaire about your interests to help Guvera match advertisers with you. Still, considering that every single song you get is completely free, Guvera makes a fantastic alternative to iTunes for individual songs.
Guvera has an impressive song library as well – they’ve got a huge chunk of Tooth & Nail Record’s discography, including Solid State and BEC Records, from Aaron Sprinkle and Falling Up to Demon Hunter and Project 86, plus songs from the Happy Christmas and X series’. They’ve got plenty of non-Nail artists as well, including Lifehouse, Amy Grant, Above the Golden State, David Crowder*Band, TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Josh Wilson, Sanctus Real, Flyleaf, Newsboys, Paper Tongues, Switchfoot, 12 Stones, and The Rocket Summer, just to name a few. To put it simply, there’s something for just about everybody.
In closing – I honestly can’t think of a single good reason not to sign up. Between the selection, and the simplicity, Guvera just might be the best site for free music out there. (Notice I said site – not blog.) 
It’s just that good, and what few cons there are are easily outnumbered by the pros. Absolutely worth checking out.
Update: What songs are you going to be checking out? I have my eye on Anberlin’s “Impossible” for my next download.
The Weekly Downloads: Jan. 26 ~ Feb. 1
It’s that time again, time to go over all the free music available this week from usual list of websites. As you may notice, both Day of Fire & Above the Golden State have been getting lots of attention this week, due to their new album releases, but don’t worry – there’s more besides “Lately” & “I Am Loved” available. For instance, FreeCCM is offering a song from Anthony Evans’ latest Undisguised, a track called “Amazing God”. Check it out!
-Anthony Evans’ “Amazing God” on FreeCCM-
Next up, VideoRocket has a free video download of Day of Fire performing “Lately” live, and I’m just going to say right now that that particular song is definitely rock-out ready. Speaking of “Lately”, you can also download the song for free from New Release Tuesday this week. Enjoy!
-VideoRocket’s Free Video Page-
Also available this week is “The Little Rocks” by South African artist Hans Raubenheimer. You can pick the track up on iTickets, and if you enjoy it, make sure to keep checking back, because Hans has announced that he’s going to be giving away the entire “Just Believe” album, which “The Little Rocks” is from. I’ll keep you posted on that, but for now, check out the first free song.
Another free download worth checking out is “Still Saving Me” by worship leader Chris McClarney, available this week from Gospel Music Channel. Chris also made Gospel Music Channel’s list of the “Top 10 Ones to Watch in 2010″, along with Jason Crabb, Britt Nicole, and Seabird – an impressive feat.
-Chris McClarney “Still Saving Me” on GMC-
…and wrapping this week up is Tangle, who’s featuring Above the Golden State’s latest “I Am Loved” for the week. Enjoy!
Free Track from Above The Golden State
If you missed getting Above The Golden State’s “I Am Loved” from their latest EP The Golden Rule from New Release Tuesday for whatever reason last week, you’ve got another chance to get the song now – the group has made the song available for free to anyone willing to post about the download to Twitter or Facebook.
I picked it up last week, and it’s a good song, definitely worth checking out if you don’t already have it. Enjoy!
The Weekly Downloads: Jan. 19 ~ Jan. 25
It’s been a pretty good week for free music so far, especially if you’re an Above The Golden State fan – both iTickets and New Release Tuesday are giving away a song each from the group’s new EP The Golden Rule. NRT has the song “I Am Loved”, and iTickets has the title track “The Golden Rule”. Check them out!
Also available this week is Jason Gray’s song “For the First Time Again”, from Tangle.
FreeCCM has a free download from Disciple, the title track from the band’s latest Southern Hospitality.
-Disciple “Southern Hospitality” on FreeCCM-
Rounding up the music list this week is Sarah Sadler’s song “Dedicated”, which you can nab for free from Gospel Music Channel.
-Sarah Sadler “Dedicated” on GMC-
And last but not least, Video Rocket is featuring the trailer for the new movie To Save A Life this week. I haven’t seen the movie myself (at least not yet), but I’ve been hearing some good things about it, and the trailer looks pretty interesting. Worth checking if you ask me.
Now Hear This! Discover New Music!
That’s right, I think it’s time that we heard and started discovering some good new music. Well, EMI CMG’s new artist promotion has made it possible for us to do just that. At Amazon’s MP3 store, you can get either Now Hear This – Pop or Now Hear This – Rock. The pop sampler includes the artists Sarah Reeves, Josh Wilson, Phillip LaRue, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and Jason Allen Rich. The rock sampler includes Danyew, Above The Golden State, Philmont, Future of Forestry, Seven Stories Up, and Capital Lights. Several of the songs on Now Hear This were also given as free downloads at tangle.com as well. So if you can’t access an Amazon account, you can search tangle.com and pick some of them up there. Also, Amazon requires you to purchase each sampler as a whole to get it free. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay $0.99 for each song. I don’t know why it is like that, but I’d take both samplers for free rather than buying it song by song.
As a side note, you can also get your hands on this sampler at your local Christian bookstore with a purchase an album by any of the featured artists.
-Now Hear This: Discover New Music – Pop on Amazon.com-
-Now Hear This: Discover New Music – Rock on Amazon.com-
While you’re on Amazon, you can also pick yet another Christian music sample. Yes, you heard me right. This time, the sampler is from the Word Label Group. You might have seen the new 6 Picks: Essential Radio Essentials from artists such as, Stellar Kart, Big Daddy Weave, or Sixpence None the Richer. Each 6 Picks EP is compromised of the six best songs from each respective artist. It’s sort of like a ‘best of’ album, just that it’s an EP. Anyway, you can get the 6 Picks Radio Hits Sampler for free at Amazon. This sampler includes Big Daddy Weave, Building 429, Barlowgirl, Rachael Lampa, Sixpence None The Richer, and Jaci Velasquez.
California? Oregon?
Okay, does anyone know which state is “The Golden State”? And if you do, what state is directly above it? I want to say California & Oregon for some reason, but I’m not sure that’s right. I wonder…
What does this have to do with free music? Not much, except that iTickets’ has a free download of Above the Golden State’s “Loud and Clear” this week. Seening the album art made me curious, and thus the post title and unusual beginning. “Loud and Clear” is track number one from Above the Golden State’s self-titled debut, and a pretty good song if you ask me. Also on iTickets this week is “Already Mine” by gospel artists Jonathan Nelson. Check it out!
Free Music from Since October & Above the Golden State
Today’s free music comes from NOTW (Not of This World), who are bringing you two free downloads this month, all month. The songs, Since October’s “Disaster”, and Above the Golden State’s “Sound of Your Name”.
Since October is a new hard rock band on Tooth and Nail Records, who just released their debut CD.
Just like Since October, Above the Golden State is a new band who recently debuted their new CD. Both bands are quite good, and well worth the time it takes to download the songs.
Above The Golden State on iTickets
iTicket’s has added new music for this week. This time, it’s new artist Above the Golden State. I haven’t heard the song yet, but basing this totally on the cover art (wow!), you’re gonna want to check it out.
Update: In the time between writing this and publishing it, I’ve heard the song. It’s good stuff. Reminds me a bit of early Switchfoot.
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