Not only is San Francisco duo The Dodos coming to Sled Island, they’re offering free music online

March was a good month for music, as a number of high-quality albums were released, both through conventional means and for free on the Internet. Calgarians were also given a treat in March as the initial lineup for the 2008 Sled Island festival was announced. This month’s Radio Silence celebrates a strong March by looking at some of the month’s better free releases while simultaneously highlighting some of the less-hyped Sled Island performers.

• Various Artists — Enjoyed: A Tribute to Bjork’s Post (www.stereogum.com/bjork/)

First, Stereogum created a tribute to Radiohead’s OK Computer. Then it was R.E.M’s Automatic for the People. Now, they’ve decided to continue their mid-’90s love with Enjoyed: A Tribute to Bjork’s Post. The album is a track-by-track cover of everyone’s favourite Icelandic songstress’s sophomore album performed by some indie heavyweights and a few up-and-comers.

Liars have the unenviable task of kicking off the proceedings with “Army of Me,” and they do so admirably by playing up their noisiest tendencies, distancing their version from the original about as much as possible. Other highlights include the Dirty Projectors’ take on “Hyperballad,” Final Fantasy and Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste’s impossibly gorgeous rendition of “Possibly Maybe” and the fuzzed-out approach No Age (who will be appearing at this year’s Sled Island festival) take on “It’s Oh So Quiet.”

On the other hand, Xiu Xiu’s “Isobel” and El Guincho’s incomprehensible attempt at “Cover Me” are complete garbage, but the strength of the rest of the lineup and the incredible diversity of the covers offered more than make up for these two stinkers.

El Guincho — Fader Mix (www.thefader.com/articles/2008/3/6/freeload-el-guincho-mix)

Speaking of El Guincho, he proves that everything he does isn’t as head-scratching as his Bjork cover with this free mix he compiled for Fader Magazine. The mix is a supposed attempt to explain the music that influenced his fabulous 2007 debut Alegranza, and it’s an awful lot of fun. Caetano Veloso is probably the most well-known musician present (in North American circles at least), and calling him well known is a considerable stretch, so listeners shouldn’t expect much that’s familiar here. What they can expect, though, is a half-hour of Spanish, South American and African cuts that are simply impeccable, and will only sound better as the weather gets warmer. Much like Alegranza, El Gunicho’s Fader Mix will provide a near-perfect soundtrack for a relaxing summer filled with barbecues and iced drinks.

Various Artists — Matador Intended Play Spring 2008 (www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/?p=1401)

Venerable label Matador has been putting out an annual sampler of some of its brightest members for years now, but this is the first time they’ve thought of giving it away for free. Intended Play offers a variety of songs from recent and upcoming Matador releases, but is a pretty decent, if somewhat haphazard, mix in its own right. Label vets like Cat Power, Stephen Malkmus and The New Pornographers share the album with upstarts like Jay Reatard, Jaguar Love and Dead Meadow. It’s the latter group that makes Intended Play interesting, as their songs all hint at a promising future.

Of particular interest to Calgarians is “Helen,” a gorgeous folk song with quiet electronics by The Cave Singers, who will be one of the lesser-known acts performing at this year’s Sled Island festival.

While Sled Island-goers are acquainting themselves with those No Age and Cave Singers songs mentioned earlier, they should also track down “Ashley” (http://hypem.com/track/519294) by The Dodos, another fantastic band playing this year’s festival, though they may have been forgotten in the screams of excitement for Of Montreal. Although they’re just a drum and guitar two-piece, the band has been compared to the likes of Animal Collective, Caribou and The Mountain Goats. “Ashley” should be proof positive that all of these comparisons are fitting, and that The Dodos are another reason to get excited about music this summer.