O' Be Joyful (LP)

Raw and imagined, effortless and insightful, Shovel & Rope's panoramic songwriting and raucous performances drive the newest release O' Be Joyful. Recorded in the twosome's house, backyard and van, as well as various motel rooms across America, the 11-song set offers a compelling encapsulation of Hearst and Trent's unique approach, channeling their creative chemistry.

The band recorded much of O' Be Joyful at home in 2011 during the rare downtime between touring jaunts. Additional tracking took place during their travels. The synthetic bass on the record's opening track "Birmingham" was recorded next to the sink at a Red Roof Inn near New Haven, CT. The organ solo on "Shank Hill St. was tracked in the van at approximately 70 mph somewhere on I-10 between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. And while sharing a bill in Louisville, KY, the electric Amanda Shires was wrangled into the duo's van to add fiddle parts to "Keeper" and "This Means War" in between soundcheck and showtime.

While Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are both songwriters individually, O' Be Joyful finds them still discovering new strengths as a collaborative unit. "The songs on this album," Michael points out, "are the most we've ever written together. Many of them were birthed on the road. One of us would come up with a verse and say, 'I'm gonna drive for awhile, why don't you try to put a chorus on this?' And then we'd switch…kind of like our shows."