An insightful, questioning gem, 'Stars Of Longing' opens the album with a snare drum cracking like a gunshot, before launching into a flowing blend of fuzzy guitar lines and reverb-drenched vocals. The track is accompanied by a captivating and touching video which premiered with FLOOD Magazine, who described it as 'a shimmering slab of groovy psychedelic soul… a promising precursor to what’s to come'.
Ideal Man was produced by Sam Cohen (Kevin Morby, Benjamin Booker) and follows Combs’ critically acclaimed 5 Covers & A Song EP, which featured his interpretations of songs by The Strokes, Radiohead, Blake Mills, Lucinda Williams, and Loudon Wainwright III.
While Combs may be best known as a singer/songwriter in the classic 1970s Laurel Canyon sense of the term, he proves the true versatility of his work here, often setting his acoustic aside in favour of atmospheric synthesizers and distorted electric guitars. Captured live in Cohen’s Brooklyn studio, Ideal Man also features Combs’ longtime collaborators, drummer Dom Billet and guitarist/keyboardist/bassist Jerry Bernhardt.
A Dallas native, Combs has called Nashville home since 2006, but when it came time to record Ideal Man, he opted for a change, heading to Sam Cohen’s Jupiter Recordings in Brooklyn. 'One of the things I really admired about Sam is that he wants to capture a moment,' says Combs.
'In the past, I’ve tended to pursue a studio sound that was really polished and clean, but I wanted to do something different this time, and I knew that working with Sam would lead to more of a loose, psychedelic, spaced-out vibe. We did everything live in the studio, even my vocals, and there’s a sense of immediacy and discovery in those early takes that you can’t recreate.'
Ideal Man is available for pre-order now here.
IDEAL MAN TRACK LISTING:
1. Stars Of Longing
2. Ideal Man
3. Like A Father
4. Save Somebody Else
5. Hide And Seek
6. Dry Eyes
7. Firestarter
8. Shipwreck Man
9. Born Without A Clue
10. The Stone
11. Golden
Andrew Combs will be touring Europe in support of Ideal Man in November and December, including dates in Bristol, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, and a show at London’s The Lexington on December 10th. Tickets are on sale now, and available here. The dates are, as follows:
04/12 – St Lawrence’s Church, Biddulph, UK
05/12 – Pleasance Cabaret Bar, Edinburgh, UK
06/12 – CCA, Glasgow, UK
07/12 – Cleeres, Kilkenny, IE
08/12 – Lost Lane, Dublin, IE
09/12 – Louisiana, Bristol, UK
10/12 – The Lexington, London, UK
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For more information, visit andrewcombsmusic.com.
