Download of the Week: The Crimea – Secrets of the Witching Hour

[intro]Two of my favourite words are ‘free’ and ‘music’. And The Crimea’s new album is both of these wonderful things[/intro]

Unless you’re willing to risk infecting your hard drive with viruses (and possibly copping a hefty fine) on illegal P2P sites, free music on the internet is harder to come by than a happy Chelsea fan on the way home from Anfield.

But quirky indie pop band, The Crimea, are breaking new ground by giving away their self-financed second album, Secrets of the Witching Hour, completely free on their website.

Despite selling 35,000 copies of their debut, Tregedy Rocks, the band were dropped from their label, Warner Music. So they’ve decided to cut their losses by removing the money-draining middleman (a record label) and focussing instead on expanding their fanbase.

The band hopes to harness the publicity power of the web that saw the Arctic Monkeys and Lilly Allen become sensations in 2006, and bring cash in through increased gig attendances and merchandising.

The record, which features Regina Spektor and was produced by The Cure’s Dave Allen, is only available at 128kbps, but it’s completely DRM-free. Go on, what have you got to lose?