New Digital 7” in the store : Family River b/w I Dreamed a Dream & Family River (OK Ikumi edit) available for preorder on bandcamp. Single comes out on itunes January 31.
Also, my new full length album “The Sand” is available for preorder on bandcamp as a digital download. Those who preorder get “Family River” and “In the Desert at Night” as immediate downloads.
We are releasing it digitally in the hopes that we can raise a little cash to put out an extra nice physical version of the album.
Here is the press release for the album, it will come out on ALFS LBL on March 6, 2012
THE SAND:
Stately fuzzed guitars are the first sounds that address your ears when listening to J.P. Haynie’s new record, The Sand. If you’re familiar with the gentle strums of much of his earlier work, these first notes may come as a surprise. And yet, the progression somehow feels natural. The understated instrumentation of 2008’s Turn Out the Lights is now fully fleshed out on Haynie’s new ten track LP.
In contrast to the lo-fi whispers of Mexico Tape, The Sand pulls Haynie’s hushed compositions out of an imagined previous era and into 2011. And yet, still wielding a simple tape recorder, he manages to marry the warmth of tape with the clarity of modern sound, subtly building layers on top of the framework built by his guitar.
The title cut conjures visions of Haynie’s former stomping grounds; The Mexican countryside is captured by subtle guitar strums and Ranchera harmonies. It forms a backdrop for his wide-eyed story telling. Instead of crafting stories based around a chosen theme, Haynie writes instinctively, subconsciously channeling experiences into songs, causing themes and concepts to emerge on their own. Imagery of sand, rivers and desert landscapes subtly weaves together to form an album-long tale of searching, longing and overcoming hardship.
Despite these diverse influences, Haynie hasn’t abandoned the pop sensibilities of his homeland. Whether it’s Pet Sounds, Fleet Foxes or Déjà vu, his overdubbed choir is informed by some of the best vocal-centric albums of the past fifty years. And yet, his voice still manages to stay understated, conveying imagery in ways that soft-spoken folkies like Mount Eerie and J. Tillman have pioneered. But Haynie doesn’t abandon traditional songwriting for texture. His stories are reflective and told at a peaceful distance from the trying events.
J.P. Haynie’s The Sand is released on ALFS LBL on [03/06/2012]
