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David Poe
the late album

If David Poe is exploring the mystery of pop, The Late Album is his searchlight. "David Poe gives the singer-songwriter genre a much-needed jolt," wrote Rolling Stone of his award-winning first effort. A superb follow-up, The Late Album sheds light on the dark stuff at a seductive pace. Poe revels in the roguish eclecticism that marked his universally acclaimed debut, his charmed voice floating with grave finesse over guitars, drums and orchestras.

The ambitious songcraft of this American Midwesterner transplanted to NewYork City has always veered between down-home and downtown. Signed to Sony/Epic in 1997, Poe's eponymous debut was produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett with great care, featuring longtime collaborator Sim Cain on drums, bassist John Abbey and guest guitarist Marc Ribot. in 1999, German indie label Ulftone became David's European liaison.

The former soundman for CBGB's Gallery played some 695 gigs around the world in support of Tori Amos, Beth Orton, The Jayhawks, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Chris Whitley, Glenn Tilbrook, Lloyd Cole, Jason Falkner, They Might Be Giants, Holly Cole, and many, many more. Predictably, The Late Album was recorded on the fly between tours of North America, Europe and Japan.

In the US, Option called Poe's debut "the beginning of a stellar career." "A sophisticated city breed," said Q Magazine in the UK. "Articulate accounts of edgy situations are Poe's forte, his breathy voice and jaunty strum often disguising some acidic lines." In Germany, the National Critics Poll named David Poe debut of the year (1999) and Rolling Stone awarded it a coveted 4 stars.

Back home in Manhattan, Time Out! New York dubbed David "the perfect man," making it easier for him to meet women. Known primarily for his harsh croon and amplified acoustic guitar, the music press has described Poe as "rangily handsome" and "ruggedly handsome" but never simply "handsome."

Poe and his band are known to attack their gig like a mod trio with jazz club sensibilities, heckling their audience into bellicose laughter before reducing it to tears. The songs of The Late Album have the same effect.

On "You're The Bomb," Poe humorously twists urban colloquialism into foreboding metaphor via jazz ballad. The electrofolk of "Childbearing" considers a generation's reluctant fascination with parenthood. "The Drifter" appears twice in stripped-down and souped-up versions and features a catchy chorus in three-part harmony. "Good Lonely" is a psychedelic fireworks display for lonely people everywhere. And the album's centerpiece, "The Late Song" echoes like a channeled message from beyond the veil.

"I think of people listening to it at night," says David of his latest. "But the pace of the record makes it an obvious choice for any occasion one might have to spend time in a car. Sometimes, it careens like a professional driver in a closed test. But sometimes, The Late Album fancies itself a floating Zamboni, purring around sharp turns and leaving clarity in its wake. Is that weird?"

Certainly, but Poe's band has never sounded better: percussionist Sim Cain, the man Poe calls "the greatest drummer in the world," has also played with Rollins Band, Marc Ribot, Zeena Parkins, John Zorn and Elliot Sharps' Terraplane. John Abbey's soulfully athletic upright bass has been heard on numerous recordings and onstage with legends like Ray Davies and John Cale.

Notable guest musicians include Gary Louris and Kraig Jarrett Johnson of the Jayhawks, multi-instrumentalist Al Perkins (Gram Parsons, Rolling Stones) and New York-based songwriter geniuses Jenifer Jackson and Morgan Taylor. Taylor and hotshot pianist Fil Krohnengold often accompany Poe onstage.

Recorded in five different locations over one and a half years, The Late Album was produced primarily by classic modernist Brad Jones (Imperial Drag, Matthew Sweet) with contributions by Steven Rosenthal (Rolling Stones, Lou Reed), Daniel Wise (Maceo Parker, Joan Osborne), electronic duo Good & Evil. (The Chocolate Genius, Elysian Fields) and Poe himself, who's produced solo debuts for Kraig Jarrett Johnson, Regina Spektor, Jenifer Jackson and Melissa Sheehan.

And though the writer figures the songs were composed in at least ten cities, he says they were mostly conceived at night.

"It's late in more ways than one. But the longer approach to the process allowed for the rad, organic recordings to coexist peacefully with the obligatory, crass attempts at commercial success," David jokes, hopefully. "It was fun to make, and I look forward to hearing the songs grow up and change onstage over the next 700 nights."

Tracklisting

1. ringer
2. echo box
3. childbearing
4. the late song
5. the drifter
6. wear your best
7. you're the bomb
8. good lonely
9. never i will
10. deathwatch for a living legend
11. love won't last the afternoon
12. the drifter (quietly)


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