Pixtape is our roundup of the best new downloads from the month of December. Happy holidays!

1. Anika “I Go to Sleep”
Produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead, the debut album from Anika was released only this month and is topping “Best of 2010″ lists all over the place, perhaps because its variation challenges the whole way through.
Download track via Stones Throw

2. Ghostface featuring Black Thought “In tha Park”
Black Thought just thought he’d drop in and remind you of a few things.
Download track via Okay Player

3. Tokimonsta “Park Walks”
A split release with gear head Mike Gao for All City’s LA Series, this layered cut brings the funk in that laid-back southern Cali way.
Download track via XLR8R

4. Beach House “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun”
Beach House topped many year end lists for the release of their Sub Pop debut Teen Dream, and this track is a subdued extension just in time for winter.
Download track via Gorilla vs Bear

5. Blessed House “Testament”
When it comes to hip-hop, it’s clear Europeans (and maybe Canadians too!) know how to start a party better than we do these days.
Download track via Kick Kick Snare

(MORE DOWNLOADS AFTER THE JUMP)

Pixtape is our roundup of the best new downloads from the month of November. Enjoy!

1. Sybiann “Monsoon Breath”
The Italian band deliver a thoughtful, well-paced noise-rock song with plenty of twists to keep things interesting. They just need to crank the vocals up.
Download track via Eardrums

2. The Phantom’s Revenge “Charlie”
The French producer spells out feel-good in this disco gem from his new EP Charlie, perhaps inspired by a character from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (check the samples halfway through).
Download track via Chemical Jump

3. Young Galaxy “Peripheral Visionaries”
The Montreal duo employs a simple, perennial bass line and layered vocals toward the end for a hook that will get stuck in your head.
Download track via Gorilla vs Bear

4. Mogwai “Rano Piano”
From their upcoming album Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will (Sub Pop), the Scottish band piles on the distorted guitar and layers in a couple melodies for another promising release.
Download track via Stereogum

5. Jay Electronica featuring Jay-Z, The-Dream and Charlotte Gainsbourg “Shiny Suit Theory”
Not the highest quality from the recent Roc Nation signee so it’s probably not the album version, but worth it for lines like “fuck the underground, you need to win a Grammy.”
Download track via 2 Dope Boyz

(MORE DOWNLOADS AFTER THE JUMP)

Pixtape is our roundup of the best new downloads from the month of October.

1. Mark Ronson and the Business Intl “Lose It (In the End)” featuring Ghostface and Alex Greenwald
It’s like the soundtrack to a speedy spaghetti Western with Ghostface rapping about love and jealousy, sending him to therapy.
Download track via Pretty Much Amazing

2. Deerhoof “The Merry Barracks”
Give us some distorted guitar and a hip-hip-ish beat, and we’re looking forward to the San Francisco band’s new album Deerhoof vs Evil out on January 25.
Download track via Large Hearted Boy

3. Lykke Li “Get Some”
Reportedly the stuff of heartbreak, this is a thundering, coy track that leaves you wondering which side of the hurdle she’s on.
Download track via The FADER

4. James Blake “Limit to Your Love”
People can’t stop drooling over this British producer (not the tennis player), and this dark Feist cover makes use of silence to increase tension that puts the listener at the edge of their seat.
Download track via Gorilla vs Bear

5. Suuns “Up Past the Nursery”
A steady, restrained song from the Montreal quartet’s debut album, Zeroes QC, now out via Secretly Canadian.
Download track via Chrome Waves

(CONTINUE READING)

Pixtape is our roundup of the best new downloads from the month of September.

1. Lower Dens “Silver and Blue”
This is actually older material from singer Jana Hunter, but she’s formally reintroduced it as a Lower Dens song. On the surface it doesn’t seem to be a love song, but there’s something hopeful and loving in it, which is a pretty refreshing realization.
Download track via The 405

2. The Pass “Trap of Mirrors”
Catchy, energetic pop from the Kentucky band’s aptly-titled debut album BURST. Do people still use the term radio friendly? That’s what this is, and there’s a lot more to come from this band.
Download track via Pretty Much Amazing

3. Burial and Kode9 BBC Radio 1 mix
The opening takes a few minutes to get into anything serious, but this dark mix for Mary Anne Hobb’s final BBC Radio 1 show is rewarding a little deeper in.
Download track via Gorilla vs Bear

4. Dumbo Gets Mad “Electric Prawn”
Like something out of a late 1960s carnival-themed surf movie, this cheeky track from the Italian band has plenty going on to warrant repeat listens.
Download track via The Needle Drop

5. Saroos “Yukoma”
Ambient and uplifting, this is a great electronic track from the German group featuring members of LaliPuna, The Notwist and Iso68.
Download track via XLR8R

(MORE DOWNLOADS AFTER THE JUMP)

Pixtape is a round up of the best new tracks you may have missed from the month of August.

1. Teams vs Star Slinger “Say Please”
Dig if you will this easy breezy throwback soul collaboration between Teams and Star Slinger. We want more.
Download track via Gorilla vs Bear

2. Cee Lo “Fuck You”
The embodiment of smiling through gritted teeth, though Cee Lo reassures it’ll be alright after all.
Download track via Kick Kick Snare

3. Spoek Mathambo “Mshini Wam”
Crank this up and enjoy the last days of summer to the fullest.
Download track via the FADER

4. Jaill “The Stroller”
Riff-based straightforward rock from the latest Sub Pop acquisition (they’re working on that whole world domination thing).
Download track via Indie Rock Cafe

5. Slow Trucks “Gota Move Away”
Honest to goodness indie rock reminiscent of the days before we knew what to call it.
Download track via Tympanogram

(MORE TRACKS AFTER THE JUMP)

Best new downloads from the month of July (it’s the end of July already!) all in one place, guilt-free.

1. Menomena “TAOS”
From their new album, Mines, out July 27 (Barsuk), this is a pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of rock song with pop interludes and introspective lyrics. Bonus points for horns at the end.
Download track via Stereogum

2. Panda Bear “Slow Motion”
One of two songs leaked from Animal Collective member Panda Bear’s self-titled album, out this fall (Paw Tracks). There are better quality rips floating around, but here they are together.
Download tracks from Listen Before You Buy

3. Magnetic Man “I Need Air” featuring Angela Hunte
As dubstep continues to hit the mainstream, producers Skream, Artwork and Benga team up for a big pop album out this October (Columbia). Guest appearances include John Legend and Angela Hunte, who wrote the melody for this song and has worked with Alicia Keys and P. Diddy.
Download track via Gotta Dance Dirty

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

Best new downloads from the month of June all in one place, guilt-free.

1. Cassettes Won’t Listen “Animal Ox”
A mash up of Animal Collective and Cannibal Ox. That’s all you need to know.
Download album via XLR8R

2. Creepoid “Stranger”
Mysterious, murky and lo-fi, this Philly duo is like The Velvet Underground with a vaguely southern bent.
Download track via What I Heard Today

3. El-P “Meanstreak (In 3 Parts)”
From his all-instrumental Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixx3, you’ll hear some familiar El-P threads, but it’s worth a spin while he’s (probably) behind the boards working on a full-length.
Download track via XLR8R

4. Keep Shelly in Athens “Fokionos Negri Street”
Chill summertime track for crusing through town with the windows rolled down just as the sun’s setting. It’s downtempo without being too muzak retail-store about it.
Download track via Pitchfork

5. Japandroids “Younger Us”
Aw, nostalgia about being a wee bit younger, going out drinking and raising hell with an emo twist.
Download track via Fuck Yeah Go Team

(MORE MORE MORE)