Cass McCombs - Interior Live Oak

Pitchfork: Album Review (8.1) 

“Cass McCombs‘ songs are slow, languid and beautiful, which feels like the right counterbalance to our fast-paced times.” — NPR Music

“These sixteen ineluctably lovely songs are his most personally reflective for some time. They’re also among his most straightforward.” — Uncut

“Steadily, Interior Live Oak becomes the kind of record it’s impossible to be casual about… Those who find themselves in his songs can expect to be transformed, no longer just lover, friend, chance encounter, but an epic hero, warrior, a creature in the throes of metamorphosis.” — Mojo

Cass McCombs releases the new single, “I Never Dream About Trains,” the final preview from his new album, Interior Live Oak, out next Friday, August 15th, via Domino. Following “Peace,” the “earnest rocker that seamlessly blends acoustic riffs and a folk-rock twang into a hypnotically simple slow burner,” (Paste) “I Never Dream About Trains” is piano-driven and melancholic. Reflecting the personal, revealing nature of Interior Live Oak, the song finds Cass singing to a past lover, with the entire song repeating a single memory. He sings: “I never dream about holding you tight // On the sand in Pescadero // Knowing I’d never hold you again // You know I never lie in my songs // And I never dream about trains.” The song’s accompanying video was directed by Eugene Shakemup and M. Arnoux.

Interior Live Oak, more than any previous record, shows Cass’ vast range as a lyricist and musician, in keeping with The FADER’s proclamation that “McCombs is one of the greatest lyricists of our time, sweetly delivering enigmatic and personal but often transcendent poetry.” The album draws from everything he has created over two decades of experimentation to cut through with a direct and clarifying light. Throughout, his attitude is hopeful, which may sound odd for someone who often sings about the more extreme aspects of modern life. Interior Live Oak, however, is the resolve of someone who has lived those extremes.

In creating Interior Live Oak, Cass was inspired by the return to Domino and the revisitation of his early material in last year’s reissue campaign and the archival release, Seed Cake on Leap Year. This led him to work with some of his earliest collaborators in the Bay Area, including Jason Quever (Papercuts) and Chris Cohen, among others. Additional recording in New York City brought contributions from other perennial collaborators, including Matt Sweeney and Mike Bones, whose guitar work has always been a favorable complement to Cass’ own distinctive style.

Coinciding with the release of Interior Live Oak, Cass will play a mix of headline, festival, and support dates overseas, and in California and New York. All dates are here, contact us with any requests!