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Cass McCombs

An eclectic singer/songwriter with a haunting voice who balances emotional richness, awareness, and a wry demeanor in his lyrics, Cass McCombs negotiates styles including Americana, Baroque pop, psychedelia, and sprawling, jam band folk-rock in his music. He made his label debut in 2002 with the EP Not the Way. A series of unpredictable records followed, including 2008's Dropping the Writ -- his Domino Records debut -- and his first album for Anti-, 2016's Mangy Love. His eighth studio LP overall, the latter appeared on both the Billboard rock and Americana/folk charts. He reached number seven on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with 2019's meandering Tip of the Sphere before delivering some of his catchiest material yet on 2022's still reflective Heartmind. A year later, Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children found him applying his style-bending approach to playful arrangements of original kids' songs by Greg. A series of early-career reissues and Seed Cake on Leap Year, a collection of unreleased songs from the turn of the millennium, appeared in 2024. After bouncing around the country writing songs and honing his craft, McCombs' work caught the ear of the Baltimore label Monitor Records, which released his first EP, 2002's Not the Way. His debut album, A, was released early the following year and was distributed in Europe and the U.K. by 4AD. Early in 2005, the "Sacred Heart" single revealed the more polished and poppy direction of his second album, Prefection. Recorded in studios and at home, McCombs' third album and Domino label debut, Dropping the Writ, appeared in October 2007, followed by Catacombs in 2009. The latter album featured backing vocals by actress Karen Black and found McCombs co-producing with Ariel Rechtshaid. For 2011's Wit's End, McCombs opted for a dark, chamber music-inspired sound that landed him in the Top 15 of Billboard's Heatseekers and Americana/folk charts. It was also co-produced by Rechtshaid. Before the year was out, McCombs returned with the "Bradley Manning" single, which he premiered on the Democracy Now News Hour, and another new album, Humor Risk (produced by the songwriter, Rechtshaid, and John Webster Johns). The following year, his song "Love Thine Enemy" was performed by the National and Bob Weir. McCombs released the sprawling 22-song double album Big Wheel and Others in 2013. The record, which again featured vocals from Karen Black on one track and contributions from musicians Mike Gordon (Phish), Joe Russo (Furthur), and Joan Wasser (Joan as Police Woman), saw the singer digging deep into Americana and exploring a wide range of sounds and styles. Domino then released an anthology of McCombs rarities and B-sides called A Folk Set Apart in late 2015. His eighth studio full-length, 2016's Mangy Love, took on sociopolitical topics with accompaniment that dipped into psychedelia, reggae, Baroque pop, and funk. His debut for Anti-/Epitaph, it featured over a dozen guests, including fellow indie songwriter Angel Olsen, guitarist Blake Mills, and Stuart Bogie (Hiss Golden Messenger, Antibalas). He followed that with Tip of the Sphere in 2019, resulting in his first Top Ten placement on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. With a backing band that included keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, bassist Dan Horne, drummer Otto Hauser, and several guests, it was engineered by Sam Owens (aka Sam Evian). The crew of McCombs' tenth long-player included the likes of Wynonna Judd, Cactus Moser, Danielle Haim, and Shahzad Ismaily, among others. A playful examination of both music and the human condition, Heartmind arrived on Anti- in mid-2022. McCombs next partnered with childhood friend Greg Gardner, aka Mr. Greg, a preschool teacher who had accumulated an album's worth of original children's songs. With the more playful output of songwriters like Ella Jenkins, Peggy Seeger, and Woody Guthrie in mind, and not shying away from rock or warped inspirations, McCombs handled arrangements for the mid-2023 Smithsonian Folkways release Mr. Greg & Cass McCombs Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children. In mid-2024, 4AD reissued McCombs' first three records (2002’s Not the Way EP, 2003’s A, and 2005’s Prefection), and that October, the singer/songwriter marked his return to Domino with the first-time release of even older material. Seed Cake on Leap Year featured unpolished, fully arranged songs akin to Not the Way and A that had been recorded at his drummer Jason Quever's apartment in 1999 and 2000.
© Tim Sendra & Marcy Donelson /TiVo
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Cass McCombs: Indie Outlaw