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A new album from David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) entitled, Tracks From the Attic Revisited is confirmed for release on May 22 from Independent Project Records (IPR) and will be available in black or gold colored vinyl, CD, and all digital formats and can be pre-saved here. The first single from the album, “If Muzak Be the Junk Food of Love,” will be available April 15 and can be preordered here.
Reshaped, sometimes rewritten, and now reinterpreted with a full band, the ten tracks that make up Tracks From the Attic Revisited are culled from the 37(!)-track home recordings on Tracks From the Attic released in 2024, also from IPR. These new, fully fleshed out versions are an arresting distillation of David J’s eclectic taste which includes late ‘70s New Wave, a lifelong love of classic country music, and Nick Drake-like romanticism.
“The 2024 demos tracks that became Tracks From the Attic were like neglected little seeds that had been set aside, or fallen on fallow land,” said David J. “They’ve since been gathered up, nurtured, tended and brought back to life as little buds for Tracks From the Attic Revisited. Now this is the bloom.”
When he first went digging through boxes of old tapes, David J didn’t yet know that he was about to embark on a long, fruitful conversation with his own past, present, and even future self. As he uncovered demos recorded over some four decades, he noticed that some songs were asking him to get reacquainted with them. He eventually complied, approaching material that sometimes he had no recollection of having written as when producing another artist’s music.
The old home recordings became new demos for Revisited: ideas reworked and sometimes radically transformed, lyrics adjusted when they showed a potential to narrate life in the not-so-roaring 2020s. Thus reshaped, the songs were shared with a stellar combo that convened in the studio to breathe new life into them. Some are virtually unrecognizable, while some have kept their original form and charm intact – just developed and grown through the experience that comes with years of music making.
Where the original Tracks From the Attic invited listeners to be present in the room as a young singer-songwriter found his own way (wandering in the fields of experimentation and collecting the meanderings that followed), the new album puts us in front of an artist who has honed his craft and mastered the art of pruning. Indeed, David J compares the making of Tracks From the Attic Revisited to the tending of a garden.
Recorded at Ear Gallery Music in Los Angeles and produced by David J, Tracks From the Attic Revisited musicians include David J (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Roberts (Spoon, Daniel Johnston) (guitar), Jon Bernstein (piano, organ), Tony Green (bass), David Raven (Steve Earle, Keith Richards, Lucinda Williams, etc.) (drums), Dan Clucas (trumpet), Robert “Smokey” Miles (Bob Dylan) (accordion), John Courage (lap steel) and Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction) (congas).
Known for their unique musical sensibilities and extraordinary artwork & design, Independent Project Records is a favorite of record collectors and music fans alike for their bespoke packaging and attention to detail. Grammy-nominated founder Bruce Licher’s graphic design and his hand-letterpress packaging have been a mainstay in music circles since 1982’s Tragic Figures from Savage Republic. Since that time, the label has released seminal albums and singles from artists as diverse as Savage Republic, Alison’s Halo, Human Hands, Kommunity FK, Camper Van Beethoven, Scenic, For Against, Deception Bay, Half String, Autumnfair, The Dentists, Tone, WOO, Stereolab and more. Since the label’s relaunch in 2020, IPR has released new music, lost albums, reissues with bonus tracks on digital, compact disc and vinyl formats for a variety of artists including A Produce, Afterimage, Alison Clancy, David J, Half String, Bruce Licher, Greg Lisher, Jeffrey Runnings, The Ophelias, Red Temple Spirits, Savage Republic, Scenic, Shiva Burlesque, Springhouse, Torn Boys, WOO and multiple various artist compilations. Coming up in 2026 are new titles and expanded reissues from David J, Driveway Ceiling, Kommunity FK, Middle Class and more.
