New Ida LP Out in February

The folk-pop band Ida have always had a cozy, collective feel to their music, so it stands to reason that having two of their members spend the last few years raising their young daughter didn't actually slow them down much. During that span, Dan Littleton and Liz Mitchell have released two children's albums, as well as a record under the name Nanang Tatang (Filipino for "mother father"), and their cohort Karla Schickele used the time to make multiple records under the alias K. But it's still been almost four years since a proper Ida LP came out, and in that time, their previous label Tiger Style records stopped releasing new music. First Simple Machines, now this...apparently the kiss of Ida is the kiss of death.

However, up and comer Polyvinyl Records has stepped in to take one for the team and keep the Ida flowing, with the band's fifth full-length, entitled Heart Like A River, due out February 22, 2005. Coming back from their solo projects in style, the threesome worked with original bassist Rick Lassiter, violinist Jean Cook, cellist Dominique Dawson and producer Warn Defever to make River. Tracks:

01 Laurel Blues
02 599
03 Late Blues
04 Mine
05 What Can I Do
06 The Details
07 Sundown
08 Honeyslide
09 Written On My Face
10 The Morning
11 Forgive

Ida will also be heading out on their first tour in quite a while in support of Heart Like A River, and though the venue details are still being worked out, we do know it will start in the Northeast in late February and hit the better part of the country. If you really can't wait, you can join the band at a benefit for the Rock & Roll Camp for Girls, scheduled for January 21st and featuring Mates of State, or you can head down to Boston the day after for a show that we don't think is benefiting anyone in particular. Except for the band. And you:

01-21 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (with Mates Of State)
01-22 Boston, MA - Museum Of Fine Arts