Here’s a bit of a fun (and odd) one for you strangeness-loving musicheads out there in Austin-town this Halloween: quirky experimental musician and Zorch-member Shmu has just put out a quite fun album of his layered, colorful music called Shhhh! (which we’ll get to reviewing in full sometime soon), and alongside it he’s released a free compuoter game of the same name to accompany the album proper! This kind-of welcome cross-platform, multi-sensual experience seems to be a bit of a trend with the more boundary-pushing musicians of the day (one of our favorite rappers Malik did something similar not long ago), and it’s one we welcome with gamin’ fingers and music-eatin’ ears at the ready.

In the case of Shmu’s digital package (heh…heh), a quick jaunt through the game appears to say that it’s a kind-of psychedelic post-modern walkabout through a bizarre garden that looks like it was created by shoving the internet in the 90s, the old exploration/puzzle game Myst, a whole lot of high-quality drugs and the music of Shmu together into a digital blender. This game would be what popped out the other end of that imaginary machine, and the gameplay in my experience so far is of the first-person “explore this weird, but peaceful world,” art-piece-style genre (but which has shooter controls in its settings, so presumably at some point there be somethin’ to shoot at).

Shhhh! the game is utterly the perfect atmosphere within which to experience the deep dream pop music of Shmu, and it’s free for both Mac and PC here, so if gettin’ a bit weird with your music-listening appeals to you, this is right up your oddball alley. Also, give one of excellent tracks from the album below to getcha in the weirdness-explorin' mindset while the game download settles its strange self right on into your 'puterin machine.

They say all good things must come to an end.  (We don't really believe that, but for the sake of putting a metaphysical slant to a post, we'll claim allegiance.)  And, sorry to say, Free Week is no exception.  Waah.

But instead of bawling, let's go out with a BANG.  For tonight, we recommend going Holy Mountain or Red 7 -

Zorch, The Boxing Lesson, Boyfrndz, Tiger Waves, and Residual Kid will be doing the free thing at Holy Mountain tonight. 

And right next door at Red 7, on the inside you can find Troller, Marriage, The Sour Notes, Wet Lungs, and Spray Paint; whilest the outside stage will be taken over by White Walls, Cheap Curls, The Well, and Holy Wave.  

Saturday, we'd go:

The Mohawk has a huge going-out-of-Free-Week show with the outside stage hosting Silent Diane, FEATHERS, BOAN, and Rare Species.  Inside, we'll have The Sour Notes, The Couch, Shivery Shakes, Letting Up Despite Great Faults, and The Plastic Habit.

And Red 7 will host TV Torso, Oh No Oh My, Hundred Visions, and Tiger Waves. 

Last and definitely not least, you could scoot over to Club DeVille and catch Oh Look Out, Friday Avenue, (one of our best of 2012) Borrisokane, Knifight, and Hydra Melody on the outside stage, whilest inside you can see Pop Pistol and Migrant Kids.