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Bill Callahan ditches the Smog moniker for his new album but retains the same (whale) heart.

Bill Callahan is the man who used to record under the name Smog – sometimes even as (Smog), although that might have been a typo....Now he is just back to being plain ol’ Bill Callahan. You could say the new album he’s just toured around the UK is Bill Callahan’s debut - although he’s sired a dozen or so albums as Smog as well as numerous singles he has laid that name to rest for his new one: Woke On A Whaleheart.

With the same maverick spirit of a Nilsson or a Cat Stevens, Bill Callahan has made an album that is born of no school of music other than what is in his heart and soul.

Boasting the propulsive, glittering and classically pretty arrangements of former Royal Trux main man Neil Michael Hagerty – who co-produced and arranged all the songs in November 2006 - this album manages to bypass the trends of the modern day while shunning retro entrapments.

With a mix of gospel backing vocals by Deani Pugh-Flemmings of the Olivet Baptist Church, the incendiary guitar work of Pete Denton, and the honeyed violins of Elizabeth Warren, the music on this album touches on such diverse styles as gospel, tough pop and American Light Opera.

Prior to the release of the album Bill decided to give people a head’s up and a taste of what was to come by releasing a single from the album. That track is Diamond Dancer is the story of a young lady having an epiphany on the dance floor while dancing alone. “Dancing all by herself and not minding,” as the song says. With its propulsive, gossamer beat it is sure to be a dance floor favourite. For those too shy to dance, it will surely make them wish they were dancing.

More dance music is found on the B-side of the Diamond Dancer single – if you can track it down - an exclusive track that comes from the same sessions but doesn’t appear on the album. The track: Taken takes a left turn and leads us along with an unexpected, bubbly, Afropop beat with an unfettered tale of pure love.

Here's what some of the reviewers have said about the new album:

"3.5 stars out of 5 - Callahan's dark baritone, rich with observational languor, echoes classic wordsmiths like Leonard Cohen and Lee Hazlewood while retaining the micro-operatic immediacy that's been his career trademark." - The Wire.

"Loosely constructed and casually delivered, Bill Callahan's latest solo effort is so laid back that it almost never gets going at all. Melodies meander...the whole thing feels evocative but shapeless, like a sketch for an album that hasn't quite been realized." - Jennifer Kelly, writing in Dusted Magazine.

"[A]n invaluable addition to his prolific discography, which continues to subtly evolve without ever quite tracing the same steps..." - Alternative Press.

Bill Callahan, pictured (left). Photo copyright Joanna Newsom.

The full song list for Woke On A Whaleheart looks like this:

1. From The Rivers To The Oceans
2. Footprints
3. Diamond Dancer
4. Sycamore
5. The Wheel
6. Honeymoon Child
7. Day
8. Night
9. A Man Needs A Woman or A Man To Be A Man

Bill Callahan’s new long-player - including the previously released Diamond Dancer makes a first-class update/companion to the man’s back catalogue under the Smog name – all the albums and a great many of the singles of which are available in the UK from Domino Recordings Ltd.

To coincide with the release of Woke On A Whaleheart, Smog took to the road for a small UK tour. If you missed them, you missed out.

Smog – a selected discography

SINGLES & EPS

Diamond Dancer - CD (2006)
A Hit/Wine-Stained Lips - 7” (1994)
Kicking a Couple Around - CD only (1996)
Came Blue – 7” (1996)
Ex-Con – 7” (1997)
Held – 7” (1999)
Look Now – 7” (1999)
Hit the Ground Running – 7” (1999)
Strayed – 7” & CD (2000)
'Neath the Puke Tree – 7”, 12” & CD (2000)
Cold Blooded Old Times - 7” & CD

ALBUMS

Forgotten Foundation - CD only (1992)
Julius Caesar - CD only (1993)
Burning Kingdom - CD only (1994)
Wild Love - CD only (1995)
Sewn to the Sky - CD only (1995)
The Doctor Came at Dawn - LP & CD (1996)
Red Apple Falls - LP & CD 1997
Knock Knock - LP & CD (1999)
Dongs of Sevotion - LP & CD (2000)
Rain on Lens - LP & CD (2001)
Accumulation: None - LP & CD (2002)
Supper - LP & CD (2003)
A River Ain't Too Much To Love – LP & CD (2005)

Woke On A Whaleheart is in the shops now, on Drag City – on vinyl and CD.

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