Greg Graffin - American Lesion (Blue Vinyl) - VINYL LP

White Vinyl. Epitaph Records is proud to announce the re-issue of Greg Graffin's long-out-of-print solo album from 1997. American Lesion,which has been newly remastered. Album Tracks 1. Opinion 2. Fate's Cruel Hand 3. Predicament 4. The Fault Line 5. When I Fail 6. Cease 7. Maybe She Will 8. The Elements 9. In the Mirror 10. Back to Earth

Vinyl LP pressing, includes digital download. This album represents three distinct historical trends that came together in the span of only 10 days during recording at Studios 606 and Big Bad Sound in April of 2016. The most obvious one is the musicians themselves. The rhythm section is composed of players from Social Distortion. 36 years ago, Bad Religion and Social Distortion shared a stage in Santa Ana, California. Well, it wasn't really a stage, it was an abandoned warehouse made into a punk concert/party place. That was my first concert, as the singer/songwriter in Bad Religion. Our styles over the years diverged, but one consistent element remained - our love of American Folk Rock and Old-Time music continued to grow. The second root apparent on this album is that of the sound and musicianship itself. No mere hacks, these musicians are masters. Vintage wood, having been crafted into musical instruments, produces the sound of history when played by virtuosos such as those collected here. An old guitar, a vintage fiddle, drums and bass, clawhammer banjo, and a combo of electric guitar and tubed amplifier, create a sound that can only be described as classic. When you add the beautiful harmonies of these most excellent background singers, there is no doubt that this music comes from a deep-rooted expression of American experience. The final historical root is a personal one. The people who introduced me to Old-Time music are now old-timers themselves. My family roots go back to Indiana and Wisconsin. The Indiana folks sang a-Capella in the old country chapel at my Grandma's funeral. Her children taught me to sing and the songs they chose came from the 30s, 40s, 50s, and of course the folk revival tunes of the 1960s. This was the sound I brought forth to my own band starting in the 1980s. It's the only kind of lyrical style I know. And hopefully this album will add

On one hand, their fifth album, Information Retrieved, is the logical and accessible realization of a sound Pinback have been developing and refining for over a decade. However, that consistency that we've taken for granted is what makes Information Retrieved such a euphoric surprise; their finest and most fully realized album, a dozen years deep into a career that includes bona fide modern classics like InchGood To SeaInch and Summer In Abaddon. Simply put, this is better than we ever could have expected. They could have coasted on automatic pilot to another lauded album that likely would have made it onto plenty of year-end lists, but instead they shot the moon, and the result is a major triumph. The touchstones are still there Zach Smith's stunningly unique bass guitar acrobatics driving both rhythm and melody in lock-step unison; the incredible immediacy of Rob Crow's voice that could make a phone book sound compelling; and the musical and lyrical interplay between the two of them that made Pinback so special in the first place. The difference now is their exquisite control over dynamics and a greater emotional resonance throughout. It's the most complete and soulful Pinback album by a fair distance, the finest moment in the career of a band whose unfettered brilliance we've come to count on, but will never again take for granted. Album Tracks 1. Proceed to Memory 2. Glide 3. Drawstring 4. Sherman 5. His Phase 6. Diminished 7. True North 8. A Request 9. Denslow, You Idiot! 10. Sediment