BEAST - You can tell them you heard it here first... sort of.

The iTunes free song of the week is currently "Mr. Hurricane" from a new band called "BEAST" that is offering their exclusive pre-order, self-titled album at a very attractive price of $5.99 Canadian. Always on the lookout for new music, I typically checkout the free song weekly and this is the first time I've been truly excited about what I've found. The weird thing about it is, I could barely find anything on the web to learn more about them.

What I did discover is they are from Montreal, and they are: Beatrice Bonifassi (the voice of Champion and one from The Triplets of Belleville ) and composer and drummer Jean-Phi Goncalves. But there really isn't that much else out there about them. Maybe mystique is what they're going for... The album is apparently officially released November 18th, and they are touring a little bit. Best details can be found on their MySpace page.

To borrow and paraphrase from one of the comments left by an iTunes user, if you like Electronic music and the likes of Goldfrapp, Portishead and Massive Attack, you'll probably dig this album. I couldn't agree more, and there's something haunting and intriguing about their sound. Very strong first album, hard to pick a favourite yet, but "Mr. Hurricane" will be remembered as my discovery point that directly led to checking out what could become one of the best albums of the year.

Other stand out tracks include "Out Of Control," "Finger Prints," "Devil," and "Ashtray" - so tell your friends you heard it first... because the band is keeping a low profile for now. And for just $6, you can't go far wrong.