With just a month to go before the release of “New Multitudes,” the new collaboration by Jay Farrar, Will Johnson of Centro-matic, Anders Parker and Yim Yames on archival Woody Guthrie songs, the foursome is letting slip an idea of how the record sounds with a free song.

Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, has said the group gravitated toward songs her dad had written during a stint in Los Angeles in the 1930s, which is borne out on “Old L.A.” The song, featuring Parker on lead vocals, has a wide-open feel, with knots of electric guitar swirling around a strummed acoustic on the verses, which blossom into a soaring chorus full of understated harmony vocals.

It’s a lovely introduction to this latest take on the Guthrie legacy (one of the earliest, of course, coming from Wilco and Billy Bragg), from four musicians who seemed perfectly suited to the task. The group also promises daily interviews about the album via this Facebook page.

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Old L.A. by NewMultitudes

January 26, 2012 at 2:56 pm | Share |