With free downloads from St. Vincent, Deerhunter, Camera Obscura, The Mountain Goats and M. Ward just to name a few, famed UK label 4AD has unleashed a free downloadable sampler of their 2009 releases in time for the holidays. Follow the links above to listen or download from 4AD.

There is nobody in music quite like the one known as Res (pronounced ‘Reese’). A classically-trained born-and-raised Illadelphian vocalist with a soaring range, Res was raised on the strains of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Teddy Pendergrass. However, as her musical boundaries expanded, she developed a prurient interest in rock music — diverse artists like Berlin, Pearl Jam and The Eurythmics. Res’s understated power as a songwriter and vocalist first came to light in 2001 with the release of her album How I Do, fusing her vocal fury with a series of rock and soul tracks which many (including me) felt solidified her position as the shape of things to come. The album, which yielded the single “They-Say Vision”, preserved Res’s incomparable collaborations with an equally-young-and-hopeful former A&R rep named Santi White, who so believed in the project, she quit her A&R job to work full-time with Res. (Today, of course, the world now knows her better as the massively successful Santigold)

But back in those strange salad days, the music business became cruel and dark to many artists. Layoffs and broken contracts became a touchstone of the early-mid 21st century, and Res got caught in the crossfire of record labels who couldn’t figure out how to market her music. Was she a soul singer? Was she a rocker? To her hardcore fans, the delineation hardly mattered; they knew what she was capable of, and Res did too.

More info and a free MP3 after the jump.

On the strength of her previous forays into music, she was invited into the touring world of an exploding Gnarls Barkley in 2006. The world, it seemed, might have finally turned for Res, and the inventive mesh of styles that she shared in her music began to reach a critical mass. Her partnership with Talib Kweli and Graph Nobel, in the group known as Idle Warship, has proven yet another logical extension of her ever-expanding musical horizons. A free mixtape, entitled Party Robot, has been making the rounds of late, and I can tell you first hand (from seeing them perform at SXSW 2009) how incredible they are as a team.

And now, at long last, another long overdue solo release from the multi-faceted Res has surfaced entitled Black. Girls. Rock! What’s cool? You can simply head over to Res’s website and download the album for free. Look in the lower left-hand column of the site for links which allow you to download both the full album of Black. Girls. Rock! and a beautifully-designed digital booklet completely for free.

Here at Loudersoft, we couldn’t be happier to see the resurfacing and rise of one of music’s brightest gems. Kudos go out to Res, a woman who, after several false starts and unfairly sidelined situations, is deservedly coming into her own.

Res – On My Way

Res Official Website
Res on Twitter