It was while at Withered Hand last night (review to follow) with Christy Popper and new chum Marcus that talk turned to recent mixtapes and in particular the discovery of Vacant Fever.

We had refrained from posting about the band before because we didn’t know what, if anything, was authorised, but Marcus soon put us straight revealing that their excellent new album Heparin And Saline was available as a completely free download from their Bandcamp page.

So with concerns abated, we can tell you they play an excellent mix of foreboding, unsettling indie rock and psych-folk which, as in the case of one of our taster tracks, Heavy Leather, is one of the current contenders for the end of year Best Of lists, a brilliantly sparse and stripped back affair with not a wasted note or murmur from first moment to the last. This is a real keeper.

Alternatively, take our word for it and just click here to download the whole album for free.

Download Vacant Fever – Heparin And Saline mp3 (from Heparin And Saline)

Download Vacant Fever – Heavy Leather mp3 (from Heparin And Saline)

Follow @madmackerel