Pitchfork

Stewart Lupton, former vocalist for New York's once-great-hope Jonathan Fire*Eater, finally has an answer (and a MySpace page) in response to all those "Whatever happened to Stewart Lupton?" queries that have long circulated 'round the web. And it's this: the Childballads.

While several of his old Fire*Eater bandmates are pursuing their own musical ventures a hundred miles off as the Walkmen, Lupton is writing, recording, and performing music under this new moniker, along with fellow Balladeers Betsy Wright (vocals, viola, Wurlitzer, Farfisa), Hugh MacIntosh (drums), and Judah Bauer (guitar).

Although Lupton's signature pipes are once again at the foreground of this project, fans shouldn't expect a reincarnation of the Fire*Eater sound: the Childballads is a more country- and folk-inspired, acoustic affair (citing Bobby Charles as a primary influence), complete with pretty boy/girl unison vocals and howling fiddles. Check out two new tunes, "Cheekbone Hollows" and "Blackbird Trax", on the aforelinked MySpace page.

The Childballads will release their debut EP, Cheekbone Hollows (Pop. 1/2 Life), this fall on England's Loog Records.