--VINYL LP INCLUDES FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD OF ENTIRE ALBUM-- Hot on the heels of 2010's critically acclaimed self-titled album, The Sideshow Tragedy is back with a new record: Persona. Recorded and produced by the band with the help of Tim Crane, Sammy P, and C Furr of Austin TX funk/soul monsters T Bird and the Breaks, the LP is the Austin, TX duo's rawest, bluesiest, dirtiest offering to date. Like last year's vinyl-only quickie EP Gasoline, Persona was recorded at Austin's Big Orange Studio, but this time the band (Nathan Singleton on vocals and guitar, Jeremy Harrell on drums) decided to add a few extra ears. With Tim Crane, Sammy P and C Furr producing, the band fleshed out the songs in some exciting ways, adding unusual percussion and interesting guitar textures, but never sacrificing their trademark rawness and immediacy. Almost all of the songs, including overdubs, are first take, single takes. Much care was taken to avoid recording anything sounding remotely 'clean' and you can hear the layers of dirt in the grooves. A collection of raw energy and focused poetry, Persona's songs are hitched together like old rail cars hurtling non-stop from the Deep South to the East Village. According to Singleton, 'This record isn't for everyone. I feel like we have artistic impulses that are, career-wise, a little weird. We aren't self-saboteurs and we're not scared of success. We would really like to be more successful and popular and make more money doing this. However, we get really absorbed in writing songs and making records and when it comes time to market and promote it, sometimes we're like, 'oh God, what have we done?' We try not to worry too much about it because we are in love with rock and roll, and we just try to make music that moves us. It's a dedication to making it sound the way we want it sound, to make records we would want to listen to. We just happen to think early Chess records, Exile On Main Street, and Raw Power are the best records ever. It's hard for us to think about it in a pop music sort of way, until it's too late. Getting rich and famous is a long shot anyway, so you might as well make records that sound good to you.' Persona is a dark, murky, glorious slab of garage, blues, and rock and roll--The Sideshow Tragedy's most accomplished record to date. It's the summation of everything they've been working to accomplish since they started the band, and the beginning of everything that's still to come. Stay tuned... A.M. in Chicago, Gasoline, Something to Do, Satellite, The Bet, Vasseline, Persona, I'm Gonna Be Your Man, Long Way Down
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