Cass McCombs - "County Line"

Cass McCombs no longer resides in our city of Baltimore, but he used to, and more importantly he's remained to be one of my favorite songwriters of our modern era.

Cass is back with a new LP this year, to be titled WIT'S END. The first-heard sounds from the new record hit the interwebs recently, in the form of the track "County Line".



"County Line" is another easy-going number from Cass McCombs -- a steady swayer that croons and entrances with Cass's silky smooth vocals combined with production that's as clean as a whistle. The production comes with help again from Ariel Rechtshaid, as he and Cass recorded the songs in various cities throughout the U.S. which is fitting to McCombs' nomadic nature. The result is just another gem added to the growingly prolific catalog that Cass has been somewhat quietly building over the past nine years.

WIT'S END is out April 12, 2011 in North America on Domino Records.

Live MP3s: Lower Dens at Metro Gallery

Lower Dens just started a two month tour, and just released their debut LP dubbed Twin Hand Movement. The record is easily one of the best albums to come out of our fair city this year, and Jana Hunter's crew have played a slew of killer sets this year as well.

The most recent was the first show of their current tour with Inoculist, played here in Baltimore at the Metro Gallery on August 1st. Lands & Peoples also opened, and Lower Dens headlined with an hour long set full of familiar songs and some new material. Guy Werner recently passed along the recording of the whole set, including this track.



You won't find "Batman" on Twin Hand Movement, a song that I instantly fell in love with as they played it to close out their set at Whartscape. This new(ish) jam is a fine representation of the vibe-induced melodies, floating vocals, and infectious rhythms that make up the new LP. Jana Hunter let me know yesterday that while "Batman" isn't really a new song, it will be first released as an upcoming single via Gnomonsong. Rad.

Full Set MP3 Link: Lower Dens - Live @ Metro Gallery (recorded by Guy Werner)

Download the whole set at the link above, including the last song which was a cover of the Cass McCombs track "What Isn't Nature". View the whole set list after the jump.

Lower Dens
Metro Gallery, Baltimore
8-1-10

Tangier
Deer Knives
Batman
Tea Lights
Blue and Silver
Dog's Dick
Hospice Gates
2 Cocks
Plastic and Powder
Rosie
Nervous
What Isn't Nature (Cass McCombs cover)

Audio To Go: Jana Hunter 6/2/09

Last Tuesday's Cass McCombs and Jana Hunter bill at the Metro Gallery proved to be a pleasant way to spend your week night. Both artists put on stellar sets, jam packed with new tunes. Not sure if the comedian lodged in between performances was repping new jokes as well, but he sure did a fine job of sending out the awkward vibes.

Jana Hunter's new tunes have shown much promise for any future effort in the works, and her band seemed as tight as ever last week. While most of the new tracks don't stray too far away from her prior work, Jana's infused a bit more pop in her sound. You can hear for yourself, as Jeff was there to record the action. Download the MP3s or FLAC files from Jeff right here, and note his prediction for favorite set of the year.

Bonus: Jeff also has the Arbouretum set from the Creative Alliance last week available.

Tomorrow: Cass McCombs and Jana Hunter

Not too many better ways to spend your Tuesday evening than soaking up the croons of Cass McCombs and Jana Hunter. Both will be gushing new tunes galore, with Cass McCombs right on the cusp of releasing his new album.

Domino releases Catacombs tomorrow everywhere but here, as it's official U.S. release isn't until July 7th. All signs point to Catacombs reaching back to the simple yet undefineable sounds of A, more or less folk pop with a dark twist. Cass's nomadic behavior portrays his three albums varying styles, an evolution of a timless sound that might have reached it's defining point.

Tomorrow night should be a solid look into the top notch songwriter's new tunes, and the same should reign true for the opener Jana Hunter. I caught Jana open up for Papercuts a few weeks back, and the set was chock full of new stuff. All were promising builds off the sure and sturdy sounds of There's No Home, and were very well accentuated by her backing drummer and bassist.

This one starts at 8 at the Metro Gallery, with the cover being $10. And here's to hoping that Cass will be bringing some fresh copies of Catacombs to share with us.

New Cass McCombs

The first tastes off Cass McCombs's summer release Catacombs are now surfacing on the interwebs. Above is the video for the track "Dreams Come True Girl".

The video is hazy and spooky yet dreamy and light, just like the once Baltimore resident's magnificent music. Catacombs is Cass's second release with Domino, and is slated for U.S. release July 7th. The rest of the world gets it on June 1, ouch.

Another track at your disposal currently is the first single titled "Jonesy Boy". Head over to his myspace page and sign up for the mailing list, and you'll recieve the MP3 for free. Both these tracks elude to Cass McCombs getting back to his A and Not the Way beginnings, two classics that should not be absent from your music collection. Cass has always been a brilliant songwriter, constructing songs of beauty and depth that tend to sneak up on you after a few spins.

Stay tuned for further evaluation of Catacombs, and hopefully some deets on a tour.