Feral Harmonic

[mp3] Old Canes: "Little Bird Courage"

Saddle Creek has quietly (or not so quietly) been having a stellar year for releases. While most blogs (this one included) have oft focused upon lo-fi experiments and the ironically named "chill wave" movement, it's been great to see a slow gravitation back to well crafted songs played on real instruments. Enter Kansas band Old Canes. While mostly the vehicle of Chris Chrisci (formerly of Appleseed Cast), Old Canes recorded Feral Harmonic piece by piece over the course of three and a half years. There is a true exuberance to the album, as it channels older foot-stomping country, and modern indie-rock shout choruses. This hybrid of folk, country, and "indie" is the most successful undercurrent of 2009. While only a few listens into Feral Harmonic, there is a good chance Old Canes may find their way next to their peers The Dodos and Rural Alberta Advantage on many year end lists. Feral Harmonic comes out October 20th. See after the jump for tour dates, including CMJ, and information on limited edition CDs and vinyl.

From the press release:

Limited edition CDs and LPs of Feral Harmonic are now available in the Saddle Creek online store. Hand-assembled at the Saddle Creek office by Grammy award-winning artist Zack Nipper, each CD and LP is wrapped with a black ribbon and features hand ink-stamped impressions on the cover label and inner/outer packaging, and a booklet of black and white photographs. The vinyl run is a hand-numbered edition of 1,000 and includes a code to download the album in high quality MP3 format. Check out images of the packaging below, and a slideshow of the CD artwork here and the LP artwork here. More info can also be found here.

Old Canes tour dates:

OCT. 13 LAWRENCE, KS JACKPOT
OCT. 15 DES MOINES, IA VAUDEVILLE MEWS
OCT. 16 CHICAGO, IL BOTTOM LOUNGE
OCT. 17 ROCK ISLAND, IL RIBCO
OCT. 18 BLOOMINGTON, IN THE VIDEO SALOON
OCT. 19 CLEVELAND OH BEACHLAND BALLROOM
OCT. 20 ROCHESTER, NY BUG JAR
OCT. 21 HAMDEN, CT THE SPACE
OCT. 22 BROOKLYN, NY KNITTING FACTORY (CMJ)
OCT. 23 PITTSBURGH, PA BRILLOBOX
OCT. 24 CINCINNATI, OH SOUTHGATE HOUSE
NOV. 12 OMAHA, NE SLOWDOWN
NOV. 13 DENVER, CO HI-DIVE
NOV. 15 SALT LAKE CITY, UT KILBY COURT
NOV. 16 BOISE, ID TERRAPIN STATION
NOV. 18 SEATTLE, WA SUNSET TAVERN
NOV. 19 EUGENE, OR BOND'S GARAGE
NOV. 20 SAN FRANCISCO, CA HOUSE OF SHIELDS
NOV. 21 UPLAND, CA THE WIRE
NOV. 22 LOS ANGELES, CA VIPER ROOM
NOV. 23 SAN DIEGO, CA CHE CAFÉ
NOV. 24 PHOENIX, AZ MODIFIED ARTS
NOV. 28 AUSTIN, TX MOHAWK