Eric Bachmann Releases New LP

For example, will the new LP-- titled To the Races-- be more honest, more stripped down, more personal? Will it mark an even more dramatic departure (if that's possible) from his punker days of yore? Perhaps Bachmann will start moniker-hopping Will-Oldham style on successive albums, confusing us even further. Guess we won't know for sure until Saddle Creek releases the album on August 22.

In the meantime, a press release admits that indeed, To the Races carries particular meaning as the first Eric Bachmann solo release, as it is "skeletally spare," with "no pretenses, no pseudonyms, no ornamentation-- qualities that also mirror the album's writing and recording process." Sure enough, Bachmann seemed to be living pretty sparely while writing this full-length last summer, as he voluntarily holed up in his touring van in the Pacific Northwest before heading to the apropos location of North Carolina's Outer Banks to self-record Races in a hotel room. (Can you get more "skeletal"?)

Containing ten tracks about "self-imposed isolation and the search for human connection," the album features a bit of accompaniment from Devotchka's Tom Hagerman on violin and Miranda Brown on backing vocals. Tracklist:

01 Man O' War
02 Home
03 Carrboro Woman
05 Genivieve
05 Genie, Genie
06 Lonesome Warrior
07 To the Races (Instrumental)
08 Liars and Thieves
09 Little Bird
10 So Long, Savannah

Bachmann returns to his home sweet van this June, embarking on a small tour with Neko Case and Calexico. He'll co-headline with Robert Buckner on a full tour this fall.

Follow the lonesome warrior to these shows:

06-16 Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater *
06-17 Park City, UT - Suede *
06-19 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom #
06-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom #
06-21 Seattle, WA - Showbox #
09-08 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge $%
09-14 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle $

* with Neko Case
# with Calexico
$ with Richard Buckner
% with Dolorean, Richard Swift, Centro-Matic