Richmond Fontaine | THIRTEEN CITIES

* 7th studio album from "Kings of Americana" Richmond Fontaine
* produced by JD Foster (Calexico, Richard Buckner, Laura Cantrell)
* features performances from Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Joey Burns (Calexico) and Jacob Valenzula (Calexico)

THIRTEEN CITIES is Richmond Fontaine's seventh record and will be released on Union Records May 22, 2007. This album sees the band leave their native Portland, Oregon, for the dry desert climate of Tucson, Arizona to produce and record at the Wavelab Studios. Calexico, Giant Sand (who both feature on the album), Neko Case, Steve Wynn, and The Sadies have all recorded there; their inspirations and the soul of the South West of America are found throughout the album.

THIRTEEN CITIES follows on from the sparse, stripped down, "The Fitzgerald" (2005) and the alt country classic "Post To Wire" (2004) both of which have been declared modern-day masterpieces.

THIRTEEN CITIES is an album about drifting through the west and in all its songs its characters weave aimlessly in and out of these cities: Laredo, Yuma, Spokane, Stockton etc. The hapless drifters go from town to town, trying to find a place to escape to, but they rarely do and their past usually catches up with them, leaving them in these ordinary cities. The album will feature a map so you can follow their journeys.

The album was produced once again by JD Foster (Calexico, Richard Buckner, Laura Cantrell), who was at the helm for the last two albums. Working with Foster and the Wavelab studios the band were finally able to get everything in place to realize their vision of a perfect album. Multi-instrumentalist Paul Brainard again steps in for pedal steel and piano and the core line up of Willy Vlautin (guitars, vocals), Sean Oldham (drums, vocals), Dave Harding (Bass) and Dan Eccles (guitars) remains.

While retaining Willy's 'dark side of the track' lyrics and exploring the blurred edges of society, the music has evolved sonically and has added a diverse array of instrumentation and arrangements. Joey Burn's accordions on the stirringly beautiful instrumental "El Tiradito", a Calexico horn section on the opener "Moving Back Home # 2", organs, mandolins glockenspiel, pedal steel, dobro and vibes feature across the album. From the sparse Dylanesque of "I Fell Into Painting Houses…" to the climaxing theatrical rocker of "Four Walls" make THIRTEEN CITIES the bands most ambitious yet focused album to date. Like a soundtrack the varied musical settings accompany the characters within it.

Vlautin's literate lyrical style landed him a publishing deal last year with Faber & Faber which saw the publication of his first novel "The Motel Life" - already on its second print run. 2007 sees "The Motel Life" being published in Australia, France, Holland, Germany and Spain.

Formed in 1994 in Portland Oregon, Richmond Fontaine have built themselves up from an SST cowpunk inspired band to a diverse and, at times, amazing live act leading them to be labelled the "Kings of Americana". THIRTEEN CITIES sees the band evovling into one of the most interesting and intense leaders of literate rock from which the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits have paved the way.

The band will be touring the UK in February of 2007 and the US in June and July of 2007.

Please be sure to learn more about Richmond Fontaine frontman Willy Vlautin, and his new book MOTEL LIFE, at his own BigHassle.com page: http://bighassle.com/red/willyvlautin/

Primary Media Contact
Jim Walsh
Big Hassle
walsh@bighassle.com
212-202-0272