Free For All: The Bats Pajamas

Times are tough out there, and for many of us buying music has become quite an indulgence (albeit a necessary one). Happily, there are some lovely musician folk out there that have offered up some fruits of their labors to the masses, free of charge. Free For All celebrates these wonderful people, and you, dear reader types.

Oh, Canada. Our Northerly neighbor types have given us plenty of good tunes to make up for those questionable imports (Baywatch babes, certain comedians, and a Celine). I'd like to bring to your collective attention, friends, another Canadian band I'm definitely going to keep an eye on: The Bats Pajamas. This trio of Toronto-ans plays a gritty, almost campy style of garage, a sound they describe as a "mix between The Cramps, Nirvana, and The Stooges." All told, that's not a bad way to think of The Bats Pajamas. They've got a spare, yet rather noisy instrumentation thing going, and vocals that get a little Queens Of The Stone Age kooky one minute and all serious the next.

The band is currently putting the finishing touches on their sophomore effort, but in the meantime, they're offering up their debut, self-titled record completely free of charge. Yes, that's right. An entire album for no dollars. And no cents. That's one heck of a deal, friends. I'm listening to it right this minute, and it's rather enjoyable.