Song of the Day

KATE TUCKER
Bullet Train

DOWNLOAD: Bullet Train

Fans of The List (and any of you who have been paying attention) surely know that Kate Tucker has been in the studio recording her first post-Sons of Sweden album, but what you don’t know is that I’ve had a finished copy in my grubby hands for a couple of weeks and today…with Kate’s blessing…even though it’s not due out until next Spring, you’re gonna get a taste of ‘White Horses’. Backing up Kate’s bluesy, Tanya Donelly-esque vocals is her Sons of Sweden bandmate, Ed ‘Potatoes’ O’Brien on bass, Casey Foubert on drums, Terrill Bailie on organ and Blake Wescott handling the production and also playing various guitars, a mean melotron and crooning a few background vocals. After 20 straight days in a Seattle studio working on the new songs, the resulting album is a dark, moving, anguish-filled novella sung from the heart. There are times when Kate’s voice strains with such pain that you can almost feel the ache within her.

“I wrote these songs as I was facing some serious questions I had buried along the way, questions about faith and love and the sustainability of relationships in a constantly changing landscape” says Kate. “There was a point, early on in the studio, where it hit me that this record is awfully heavy and I wasn’t sure I could carry it through to completion. I got scared and then I got tough. I talked myself out of the fear and into the story. Some songs came to me so quickly and so late in the process that I hadn’t had time to fully understand the depth of their sorrow…”. This is hardly an ‘easy’ record to listen to, but after having it at the top of my iTunes folder for the past few weeks I can’t get the songs outta my head.

You can pre-order a limited edition signed and numbered copy of White Horses (Release date: March 2010), and receive a free gift (and free shipping) from Kate in the meantime. Go the the ‘NEWS’ section on Kate’s Website for details, and to further follow Kate’s movements, check her out on MySpace

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Song of the Day

KATE TUCKER
New Orleans

DOWNLOAD: New Orleans

Kate Tucker is sorta becoming the Artist-in-Residence here at the Song of the Day. Since I first featured “Faster Than Cars Drive” back in November of 2007, she’s popped up no fewer than five times, ended up on the 2008 Songs of the Year and been in front of my camera twice. And she’s just spent 20 straight days in a Seattle studio working on 14 new songs for a solo album…meaning no Sons of Sweden, no Honeydove…just KaTe. The album is scheduled for a Winter 2010 release, but the big news of the day is she’s sent me some fresh produce…‘New Orleans’ is off of a 3-song EP she just sent me and you guys get to be among the first to hear it. I’ve been playing the EP all morning and can’t begin to tell you how much I like this. Blake Wescott, who also produced Damien Jurado’s ‘Rehearsals for Departure’), is producing and playing guitar, bgv’s, melotron and the album also features her Sons of Sweden bandmate Ed ‘Potatoes’ O’Brien on bass, Terrill Bailie on keyboards and Casey Foubert (who tours with Sufjan Stevens, Richard Swift, and Dave Bazan) on drums.

Like I said…Kate’s gonna be in town for CMJ and will be playing a 7:30PM set at Googie’s Lounge Friday 10/23 where you can pick up Where Are You, the limited edition pre-release of the new songs. Check her out on her MySpace page where you can stream ‘Blue December’ and ‘Where Are You’, the other two cuts off of the EP.