The new Polyphonic Spree album's being released a week from today. Well, kinda. First off, it's not really the new album, which will be titled The Fragile Army and released next year. It's actually just a five-track EP titled Wait, though there will be two tunes from The Fragile Army on the disc--"Mental Cabaret" and "I'm Calling"--that were co-produced by The Paper Chase's John Congleton and Spree frontman DeLaughter and wife-fellow Spree'r Julie Doyle. And second, it's going to be available only through iTunes, which has brokered an exclusive deal with Hollywood Records. Go here to listen to "Mental Cabaret," which is an exceptional leap forward--off a cliff, matter of fact.
But what's really interesting about the EP is that it will feature two tracks from the aborted Jon Brion-produced cover sessions recorded last year, which we mentioned in June. Wait will feature the Spree's peppy take on Nirvana's "Lithium," which leaked earlier this summer, and a version of the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way." And here's the most intriguing detail yet: The fifth song on the EP will be "Sonic Bloom," which is a Tripping Daisy song from the band's 1998 release Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb--ya know, Tripping Daisy, the band Tim DeLaughter fronted before the Spree was sprung. Says T.D.: "I wanted to do a Tripping Daisy cover to kind of give Polyphonic Spree fans a little insight into where my past was. I picked 'Sonic Bloom' because it seemed like an appropriate song for the Spree." Wanna hear it? All ya gotta do is go here. Right now. Very mixed reactions thus far.
In other Spree news, on the October 9 episode of the Showtime series Weeds, you'll be able to hear DeLaughter perform a version of the late Malvina Reynolds' 1972 song "Little Boxes," which is used as the show's theme song. DeLaughter joins the likes of Elvis Costello, Regina Spektor and Death Cab For Cutie, who have also performed the song for rotation throughout the season. How fancy. --Robert Wilonsky
Bonus MP3:
Malvina Reynolds, "Little Boxes" (from the 1972 album Malvina)
Elvis Costello, "Little Boxes" (theme from Showtime's Weeds)
