The deep-bargain bin: Local bands’ most worthwhile free downloads

Although many music-industry lawsuits would suggest otherwise, there's a commonly held belief that music is free. Some local bands embrace this philosophy as a chance to win over new fans with a few simple, well-placed mouse clicks. Here, The A.V. Club distills the avalanche of free releases on offer by local bands into the cream of the economical crop.

Sleeping At Last, "Umbrellas"

Sleeping At Last is celebrating the release of Storyboards, the band's third full-length out this month, but that hasn't stopped the Wheaton, Ill., outfit from revisiting its previous material online. The group is offering up "Umbrellas" from its 2006 effort, Keep No Score, as a free download, with a slight (though still free) catch. The band's blog outlines instructions on how to attain the track by promoting its upcoming Park West record-release show later this week via social networking sites like Facebook.

Sleeping At Last has always produced dreamy, chamber-esque pop-rock, and the acoustic version of "Umbrellas" is no exception. The track finds the group's already sensitive style more stripped down here, with subtle strains of piano and acoustic guitar buoyed by vocalist Ryan O'Neal's gentle but steady voice.

Download here (with some promotion involved) and see the band live at Park West Sept. 19.

Company Of Thieves "Oscar Wilde" / "Pressure" (Acoustic)

Download a bundle featuring Company Of Thieves' single "Oscar Wilde" alongside a previously unreleased, unplugged version of "Pressure" as an added bonus.

The two tracks display both sides of the band's not-so-secret weapon, frontman Genevieve Schatz's voice. While the complex "Oscar Wilde" displays Schatz's impressive range, "Pressure" demonstrates the singer's skill at being more nuanced. The band has spent 2009 supporting its debut Ordinary Riches, which dropped early this year; receiving love for "Oscar Wilde" from XRT; and playing a series of shows throughout the city at typical (Bottom Lounge) and unusual (Wicker Park Fest and even Wrigleyville's 44th Ward restaurant) venues. Jump on now while they're still hometown heroes.

Download here; see the band live at Logan Square Auditorium on Oct. 9.

Kill Hannah "New York City Speed" (Album Version)

Alt-rock institution Kill Hannah's story stretches back all the way to the early '90s, so it follows that the group has accumulated its fair share of unreleased songs and one-off collaborations. "New York City Speed" falls under both labels—or at least it did when it quietly surfaced at the beginning of the decade.

Long before music blogs were ubiquitous, "New York City Speed" unceremoniously hit the web, a collaboration between KH frontman Mat Devine and multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and frequent alt-rock collaborator Chris Holmes (Ashtar Command, Smashing Pumpkins). While the band's diehards naturally found the track, it remained little more than a footnote of an early side-trip into synth-filled electro-rock before, well, everyone started doing synth-filled electro-rock. Now, the band has rerecorded "New York City Speed," amped it up with extra muscle, and included it on the forthcoming Wake Up The Sleepers. 

Download here; see the band live at the Vic Theatre Oct. 1.

Silent Sirens, "The Mess We Make"

Silent Sirens' "The Mess We Make" doesn't break any new ground. In fact, the track follows a fairly recognizable modern rock formula, from the song's emo-core structure to the requisite screaming towards the end, buried beneath the repeating chorus. So it's to the Forest Park unit's credit that "The Mess We Make" somehow feels inspired, instead arriving as a sudden burst of melodic pop-rock that exits long before overstaying its welcome. The track's gnarly shredding at the song's breakdown doesn't hurt, either. Pass this one on to a younger sibling, or keep it for yourself as a guilty pleasure. We won't judge.

Download here.