Former Dismemberment Plan frontman Travis Morrison is about halfway complete with his second, as-yet-untitled solo album, which he expects will be released in September. The set will be the follow-up to 2004's "Travistan," which came out via Barsuk Records.
"The Plan was kind of theoretically funky; funky for Built To Spill fans," Morrison tells Billboard.com. "This is a lot earthier. I don't want to say it sounds like an R&B band, because that evokes John Legend. It doesn't sound like John Legend and it doesn't sound like the Black Crowes. But it's the loosest thing I'll have ever done by a wide margin."
The artist expects tracks like "You Make Me Feel Like a Freak," "I Do," "The East Side of the River" and "Hawkins Rock" to make the final cut. "It has a warm, Southern vibe to it, but it's really kind of intrepid rhythmically. The one thing that's gone is the anxiety," Morrison says with a laugh.
At present, Morrison is unsure how much touring he will do in support of the new album. The only thing on tap for now is a March 25 DJ set at the Black Cat in his Washington, D.C., homebase.
Morrison admits the critical backlash to "Travistan" has been difficult for him to deal with (one prominent music site gave the album a 0.0 rating out of 10). "That has been kind of a drag," he says, "but the fragments of light have been from singing in a church choir, producing bands and generally reminding myself that I do love music."
To that end, Morrison has finished producing an album for Virginia band Cataract Camp, who he describes as "pretty ambitious stylistically. They have three singers and they trade off in kind of a Beastie Boys style. It's easy to be a good record producer when the band is good too."
"The Plan was kind of theoretically funky; funky for Built To Spill fans," Morrison tells Billboard.com. "This is a lot earthier. I don't want to say it sounds like an R&B band, because that evokes John Legend. It doesn't sound like John Legend and it doesn't sound like the Black Crowes. But it's the loosest thing I'll have ever done by a wide margin."
The artist expects tracks like "You Make Me Feel Like a Freak," "I Do," "The East Side of the River" and "Hawkins Rock" to make the final cut. "It has a warm, Southern vibe to it, but it's really kind of intrepid rhythmically. The one thing that's gone is the anxiety," Morrison says with a laugh.
At present, Morrison is unsure how much touring he will do in support of the new album. The only thing on tap for now is a March 25 DJ set at the Black Cat in his Washington, D.C., homebase.
Morrison admits the critical backlash to "Travistan" has been difficult for him to deal with (one prominent music site gave the album a 0.0 rating out of 10). "That has been kind of a drag," he says, "but the fragments of light have been from singing in a church choir, producing bands and generally reminding myself that I do love music."
To that end, Morrison has finished producing an album for Virginia band Cataract Camp, who he describes as "pretty ambitious stylistically. They have three singers and they trade off in kind of a Beastie Boys style. It's easy to be a good record producer when the band is good too."
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