We’ve got a groove-heavy mixtape for y’all this week, thanks to new ones from Gang Gang Dance and Cold Cave. But of course, that’s not all — Jackson Heights lo-fi jokesters The Beets have a new track, as does Flavorwire favorite songstress Paloma Faith. Step on in, enjoy the ride, and remember to right click + “Save As” to download each track. Or if you want a lump sum (of songs), scroll to the bottom and get the whole mix.

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If you head over to Matador Records’ website, you’ll find the new Cold Cave album streaming in its entirety. It’s been on high rotation here at Flavorwire, and we’re particularly loving the strong influence it draws from the darker/harsher end of the 1980s synthpop spectrum – darkwave, coldwave, and other genres with names that sound like they were made up by Hipster Runoff but really, truly, actually do exist. These sounds have been creeping back into music over the last couple of years, coinciding with a resurgence in interest in the original genres. Synthpop got a bad name during the late 1980s, but when it began, it was a hugely exciting genre, taking the DIY philosophy of punk and applying it to newly affordable electronic equipment to create dark, raw electronic sounds. Here’s a C60 of some fine examples of this sound, with the old on Side A and the new on Side B. Read More »

Best of the Year lists aren’t just about closure. After all, these lists make for a great way to catch up everything you missed while you were spinning that new Phoenix album endlessly. Making this time of discovery easier yet, InSound has rounded up their 50 most downloaded albums of 2009, and is offering everyone 10 free MP3s for download.

Looking at their list, we’ve eliminated albums that weren’t from 2009, and skipped over the obvious choices — the Grizzly Bears, the Phoenixes, and the Passion Pits. Those are for everyone else’s lists.

Here are 10 deep cuts, just for you to *download.

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