Pete Yorn's Frank Black-Produced Album Out Now, Tour Dates, + Hear 2 Songs

By Jim Wright

Last year was a productive year for Pete Yorn with the release of two albums: Back & Fourth and Break Up, his collaboration with Scarlett Johansson. Around the time the projects were released, there was word that he had also recorded a rougher and more straightforward rock album with the Pixies' Frank Black. This album, simply self-titled, was finally released on Tuesday through Vagrant. It sees Yorn getting back to his rock roots as his previous three releases were more folk/pop-inspired. Below, you can check out "Precious Stone" and "Velcro Shoes" from the album.

MP3: Pete Yorn - "Precious Stone"
MP3: Pete Yorn - "Velcro Shoes"

As I confessed in a previous post, I didn't really keep up with Yorn after he released his stellar debut, musicforthemorningafter. I picked up Nightcrawler and heard a few songs from his other releases, but didn't go much deeper than that. As far as I can tell, these Frank Black-produced tunes see Yorn letting loose a bit more, settling into the music a lot more naturally -- meaning he's going for it. It sounds as though, this time around, he ran with what he had and didn't over analyze anything, making it all sound a lot more natural. I think Black helped Yorn find that level of ease. On producing the album, Black said, "We headed down a path of realization. I stripped Pete down a whole bunch. We battled in the best sort of way. I tried to get the session into a fearless and raw place, and to his artistic credit Pete took his songwriting to a fearless and raw place."

More after the jump.

Pete Yorn Upcoming Tour Dates

09/30: Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up
10/04: Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
10/05: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom SOLD OUT
10/06: Washington, DC - Black Cat
10/09: Austin, TX - ACL (Lady Bird Lake Stage)

BUY: Pick up Pete Yorn (the album, not the man) here on iTunes or here on Amazon.

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