People have called our first record "wintery." And Marigolden was "autumnal." This is our version of a Summer record. It has hooks. It's a pop record. When you make something, you're going to pick up some of the environment in which it was made. It was made in the summer. It was also made in the midst of the disintegration of relationships: partners were quitting on each other; barrel bottoms were discovered; health was compromised. And America was running a parallel kamikaze breakup narrative. It was all in the air, and it is all in the record. The songs and the Spring appeared in 2016 and it was time to record. We had been off the road a while. My wife was pregnant with our first child and I wanted to be nearby and not some far-flung location. I began working with producer and engineer Daniel Holter at Wire & Vice, his studio in Milwaukee. We treated the studio as a studio, that is, the working place of a painter or sculptor or photographer. We would show up each day and react to the work we had done the day before. Barry Clark would come by and respond to that work. Thomas Wincek would respond with contributions from his studio, and we would respond to that. Shane Leonard came from Eau Claire for a three day drum session. The record was finished in October 2016.This record is coming out on Verve Forecast, our first record for them. I'm still stunned when I allow my mind to wander through the Verve roster: Ella Fitzgerald. The Velvet Underground. Tim Hardin. Woody Guthrie. Bill Evans. Count Basie. Zappa. Field Report. TRACK LIST: 1. Blind Spot 2. If I Knew 3. Never Look Back 4. 60 Second Distance Run 5. Every Time 6. Healing Machine 7. Summertime 8. Tightrope 9. Occupied Mind 10. Everything I Need
