Bonus MP3: Calhoun -- "Lioness"

By Pete Freedman Mon., Jan. 10 2011 at 2:44 PM

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"

Just goes to show: If you pair Locke, one of the region's best songwriters and vocalists (for some time now, actually), with this lineup of quality backing players, the results are bound to be pretty impressive.