Freeloader

The best in legitimate, artist-approved downloads.

A A A Comments By Andy Vihstadt Thursday, Apr 10 2008

There isn't much demand for tap dancers these days, so kudos to Omaha's Tilly and the Wall for employing Jaime Pressnall in place of a traditional percussionist. (She also plays guitar, but unfortunately, not while tapping.) The coed five-piece is the crown jewel of Bright Eyes songwriter Conor Oberst's independent label, Team Love, and will release its yet-to-be-titled third LP on June 17. While you wait, head to Spinner.com's MP3 of the Day page to download a new track, "Cacophony." For more hot-stepping indie-pop action, hit up the MP3 page at the band's label site.

After his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Canadian folk legend Leonard Cohen announced his first tour dates in fifteen years. Despite early rumors, nothing has been scheduled for this side of the border, so the Walkmen decided to take matters into their own hands. No stranger to covers (the band's last LP was a song-for-song re-creation of the 1974 Henry Nilsson album Pussy Cats), the NYC quintet paid tribute to the man with an all-Cohen studio session, available to download at www.daytrotter.com. Let's just hope the gesture's enough to persuade him to add another leg to the tour.

Wait 'til you hear what Tilly and the Wall have on tap.

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After a six-year hiatus, the sisters Deal return with Mountain Battles this week. The Breeders' fourth LP looks to take the band's surf-and-turf brand of rock into international waters with a Spanish cover of "Regálame Esta Noche" as well as some "German Studies," sung in German. See if Kim and Kelly's retention of foreign languages is any better than yours on May 28 at the Ogden Theatre. Until then, monolinguals can download "Bang On" from www.breedersdigest.net.

After wrapping up a recent tour, New York's Scissor Sisters announced that they would be taking the next two years off to work on their next installment of Solid Gold-era pop. To tide you over, European DJ and producer Simon Iddol and his Internet label, Wha!?, have put together a mash-up tribute to the group's sophomore LP, Tah-Da. The twenty-track collection, cleverly titled Da-Tah, pits the Sisters against such unlikely contenders as Nine Inch Nails, Peter Gabriel and the Clash. See who's left standing at www.whastudios.com. Afterward, hit up Iddol's personal website for an overwhelming cache of free bastard pop.