Jonny Lang is pleased to announce a brand new studio album,
Signs, which will be released in North America on September 8th via Concord
Records. The album (his sixth major
label release) is his first in four years.
A pre-order for physical goes live today, with digital to follow on June
9. The European release for Signs will
be on August 25 via Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group.
Starting off the record with a juke joint stomp, “Make It
Move” is Lang’s story about going to the mountain rather than waiting for it to
come to you. “There have been times in my life where I thought something would
take care of itself, when I should have put some effort forth to help it
happen,” says Lang. “Being proactive has been a weak spot for me, and the song
is about doing your part to get things moving.”
Anyone who originally discovered Jonny Lang through his
searing instrumental work will revel in the huge guitar tones and go for broke
solos on Signs, while those who have appreciated his growth as an honest and
passionate songwriter will find that honesty and passion unabated. Though he
long ago left blues purism behind, Lang has never abandoned its spirit of
universal catharsis through the relating of personal trials. Signs reaffirms
his commitment to the blues and the guitar without sacrificing the modern
approach that has made him such a singular artist.
It is hard to believe that at only 36 years old Jonny Lang
has already had a successful career for two decades. Easier to believe when you
learn he released his first platinum record at 15—an age when many young people
are just beginning to play music. Lie to Me revealed a talent that transcended
the crop of blues prodigies floating around in the late Nineties. No flashy
re-hasher of classic blues licks, even at that early age Lang was a full-blown
artist with a style of his own. Also, setting Lang apart from the wunderkind
crowd was a 15-year-old voice that sounded like a weathered soul shouter.
Actual life experience was yet to come, and has been subsequently chronicled in
a series of five uniformly excellent recordings.
What began as a bluesy sound, influenced by electric
pioneers like Albert Collins, B. B. King, and Buddy Guy, evolved over those
recordings into a modern R&B style closer to Stevie Wonder and contemporary
gospel music. Lang’s distinctive, blues-inflected licks appeared on every
album, but became one element in a sea of passionately sung and tightly
arranged songs.
Signs is not merely a return the artist’s guitar-based
beginnings, but an embodiment of an even more elemental sound. Beyond focusing
attention on his soloing prowess, it is about recapturing the spirit of the
early blues, where the guitar was front and center, fairly leaping out of the
speakers. “A lot of my earlier influences have been coming to the surface, like
Robert Johnson, and Howlin’ Wolf,” he reports. “I have been appreciating how
raw and unrefined that stuff is. I had an itch to emulate some of that and I
think it shows in the songs. Still, I let the writing be what it was and that
was sometimes not necessarily the blues.”
The record, which features funk, rock, and blues elements,
is held together by Lang’s distinctive playing and singing, and the lyrics,
which center on themes of embattlement and self-empowerment. “Some of the songs
are autobiographical, but not usually in a literal way,” Lang explains. “The
main goal is for folks to be able to relate to what I went through. If I can’t
make it work using just my personal experience, I use my imagination to fill in
blanks.”
Signs was produced by Lang, Drew Ramsey, and Shannon
Sanders. Josh Kelly helmed “Bring Me Back Home.” Lang offers, “Josh and I cut
six or seven songs together and had a blast doing it. I am saving the other ones for who knows
what, but I definitely wanted that one to be on this record.”
Since the release of his debut album, GRAMMY Award winning
Jonny Lang has built a reputation as one of the best live performers and
guitarists of his generation. The path Lang has been on has brought him the
opportunity to support or perform with some of the most respected legends in
music. He has shared the stage with
everyone from The Rolling Stones and B.B. King to Aerosmith and Buddy Guy, who
he continues to tour with today.
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