Free music alert: Kelley McRae…this blog self-destructs in two weeks

I happened to see this morning that Mississippi born and current Brooklyn resident Kelley McRae has chosen to go the way of so many artists these days in getting her music heard and noticed by giving away a free download of the entire thing. Utilizing NoiseTrade.com, the website that asks the question “why do we need peer to peer when we can have artist to fan?”, her second album Highrises in Brooklyn (which was released a couple of years ago) will be available for two weeks only beginning today. The link to her download page is here.

If it’s your first time at NoiseTrade, you’ll notice that you have the opportunity to make a donation if you so desire, but the only price you need to pay is giving them your email address. You’ll also notice that there are hundreds if not thousands of music files that are available to you. Although some artists are unknown, many are names you might recognize.

Back to Kelley…I’ve just sampled the album a little this morning so I’m not in position to do a review. But I’m digging it and from her website there is enough press to allow me to cut and paste:

“Sophomore album from Brooklyn girl Kelley McRae that has super pleasant vocals and strong acoustic guitar work. Her voice range is a mix of styles that are a combo of Neko Case, Laura Cantrell and Ani DiFranco all mixed into different tracks for a cohesive album that moves effortlessly from track to track.” -Reviewed by Christopher Anthony 

“Part of a new generation of Celtic singer/songwriters working out of Brooklyn and the East Village, Kelley McRae came from Mississippi dragging a guitar case full of rural influences.  On ‘Never Be,’ she moves effortlessly from the mournful tones of the plantation to the celebratory swing of the saloon, from songs of loss and decay to hymns of love and grace.  A ruminative writer with an attractively vulnerable twang in her voice, McRae has made an assured and varied coffe-house debut that helps put a little Hank into Williamsburg.” (4 stars) -Steve Turner/Paste

There’s more…you can find and read them for yourself. Kelley will be playing in Brooklyn on February 5th and at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis from the 16th-20th.