In this week's paper, I used up a good chunk of ye olde music section talking up our takes on the most anticipated releases due out in '11 -- and for good reason, since, even after a strong 2010, this year stands a pretty decent chance of topping that one.
One of the main reasons we're so high on 2011's expected output is because, finally, after a long time of chatter that saw the band break up and then come back to life less than a year later, it looks like we're about to see the release of Calhoun's Heavy Sugar. It's the follow-up to Falter.Waver.Cultivate, a disc we pretty much adored back when it was released in 2008.
Reinvigorated with a new lineup (core members Tim Locke and Jordan Roberts are now joined by Little Black Dress' Nolan Thies and Toby Pipes, as well as Taylor Young of The O's) and a new, more brooding, filled-out style, Heavy Sugar finds these local darlings at their most ambitious yet. Early spins prove Heavy Sugar to be a wide-ranging, deeply melodic, well thought-out disc -- very much an early contender for album of the year, we can confidently say.
And, even though there's no official release date yet set -- "Sometime in the spring," Roberts pseudo-promises -- we can rest assured that, if nothing else, it's on the way.
In the meantime, the band's been kind enough to offer up one of the album cuts, "Lioness," as a free download and musical appetizer for DC9 readers. Give the deliberate, epic track a listen after the jump.
Bonus mp3:
Calhoun -- "Lioness"
Calhoun -- "Lioness"
