Encore Records

The Jayhawks

Mockingbird Time

Their eighth album overall, and the first with the original lineup since 1995’s Tomorrow The Green Grass.

During their heyday in the first half of the 1990s, The Jayhawks perfected a captivating sound that seamlessly blended the elegant Folk-Rock of The Byrds, the adventurousness of Buffalo Springfield, the Hippiebilly soulfulness of The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the soaring harmonies of The Beach Boys.

So it’s richly ironic that their reappearance coincides with a dramatic resurgence of the musical approach they played such a central role in perpetuating—but this time around, The Jayhawks themselves are revered as icons by the young bands carrying on those same traditions, and it’s their own legacy that they’re advancing.

On Mockingbird Time, they’re once again pushing the envelope in songs and performances of rarefied dynamism and grace. The deluxe version contains a dvd.

Richmond Fontaine

The High Country

Set in a rural logging community in Oregon, The High Country is a gothic love story between a mechanic and an auto parts store counter girl, whose secret love inspires an effort to escape the darkness of the world that surrounds them.

It’s a world of drugs, violence, madness, loneliness and desperation set against a backdrop of endless roads and the remains of a forest brutalized by logging. In this story of light versus dark, Vlautin has woven a tale where screw-ups and freaks terrorize the lives of innocents.

Blitzen Trapper

American Goldwing

Blitzen Trapper’s third release for Sub Pop finds the band working with collaborators for the first time, opening the studio doors to an outside mixer and co-producer.

Musically, though, the band keeps things entirely within the family, brewing up a track list that harks back to the band’s 1970s country and Southern rock influences without losing sight of Blitzen Trapper’s contemporary appeal.

Nick Lowe

The Old Magic

His latest album The Old Magic continues Lowe’s late-career evolution with arguably his best collection yet.

Amidst urbanely insistent grooves (“Sensitive Man”), and spare-yet-imposing shuffles (“Checkout Time”), The Old Magic features three exceptional Lowe ballads - album opener “Stoplight Roses,” “House for Sale” and “I Read A Lot.”

As is his custom, Lowe also peppers the album with three covers—by Elvis Costello, Tom T. Hall and Jeff West—that fit seamlessly with his originals. The Old Magic might be the album title equivalent of calling your shot, but for Nick Lowe it seems more a simple statement of fact.

Matt Andersen

Coal Mining Blues

Matt Andersen is ready to release his anxiously awaited new album, produced at Levon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, NY, and mixed in Nashville by Canadian producer Colin Linden.
Helm’s daughter, Amy, sings on the album and (former keyboard player in The Band)  Garth Hudson performs as well.

Exclusively available at Encore for 2 weeks.  Released everywhere on 9/20 !

Ry Cooder

Pull Up Some Dust & Sit Down

Songwriter and guitarist Ry Cooder digs deep into the American psyche with Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down.

Inspired by a headline he’d read about the Wall Street bailout, and those who profited most from it, Cooder composed the album’s opening track, “No Banker Left Behind,” in a style not heard since his earliest recordings.

It would have been right at home on his self titled debut or Paradise and Lunch. While not a concept recording, it is an album that reacts to the times topically.Its songs are declarative, sometimes angry, yet display his requisite humor and irony.

Glen Campbell

Ghost On the Canvas

Ghost On The Canvas is his “farewell album, ” a deep, meaningful look back at his career/life with contributions by the artists he continues to inspire.

Features collaborations with Jakob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, Chris Isaak, Bob Pollard (Guided by Voices), Dick Dale, and Billy Corgan, among others.

Guy Clark

Songs & Stories

2011 live album from the veteran singer/songwriter, recorded at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, TN

Magnetic Fields

Strange Powers

Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, the documentary film about Stephen Merritt and his Magnetic Fields project is now on dvd !

Special features include a commentary track by Stephin and his longtime manager and collaborator Claudia Gonson, as well as two Gonson–directed music videos for the Magnetic Fields songs “Strange Powers” and “Born on a Train”, and five deleted scenes.

John Hiatt

Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns

With Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns, Hiatt has created one of his most dynamic albums in the past decade. Produced by Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley (Silverchair, Aerosmith, Joe Bonamassa), Hiatt’s timeless songwriting is paired with the aggressive blues guitar. Hiatt is back in the studio with his touring combo (Kenny Blevins on drums, Patrick O’Hearn on bass and Doug Lancio on guitars).