New Reveille’s second album, The Keep, is actually the first by the band, as it were.
The 13-song set, which comes out Sept. 7 and premieres exclusively below, is the follow-up to 2013’s Cannonball. But the group’s Daniel Cook points out that release “was more of a studio project” that helped put the quintet together, while The Keep — released via Loud & Proud Records — showcases the Raleigh, N.C.-based band’s growth and cohesion since then.
“We just wanted to up the ante and, it’s a cliché to say, take it to the next level,” Cook tells Billboard. “I can say for myself that I never really set out to do anything other than make a great record that just connects with people, but we definitely wanted to be more organic with it instead of it being reverse-engineered like it was the first time. We’ve developed a lot of chemistry, almost like the band was born again.”
One of the things New Reveille wanted to focus on for The Keep, which was produced in Nashville by Ben Fowler (Rascal Flatts, Kip Moore, Lucy Hale), was the group’s lineup and particularly the three-part harmonies by Amy Kamm (who Cook found via Craigslist), violinist Autumn Brand and cellist Kaitlin Grady. “Amy, as soon as I heard her demo several years ago, I just knew I wanted her to sing my songs,” Cook recalls. “That was the spark; Everybody else joining was kind of the gasoline. And Autumn and Kaitlin brought something really unique; Instead of a traditional fiddle player we have a classical string section who also have a lot of pop influences.”
And, Cook adds, “It’s all really good people. We all like each other and we’re all good friends. It’s been a joy for that to blossom as we just ramped things up. Living in a house for a month while we made the album, there was a lot of bonding there as well.”
New Reveille has filmed a video for the single “Hounds” and will be appearing at Americanafest in Nashville as well as at the IBMA World of Bluegrass Festival in North Carolina. New Reveille will appear on a Sept. 19 episode of The Attic Sessions and is in search of a booking agent, with hopes to get back out on the road this fall to support The Keep.