Cory Branan returns to Ardent to work on ‘Midtown’

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Cory Branan booked Studio A this week to lay down vocal tracks for his upcoming album, Midtown, due for release in early 2010. The album is highly anticipated by his extensive fanbase, with his last album, 12 Songs,  being released in 2006.  While most of the music was recorded in San Francisco at Closer Recording with Tim Mooney (American Music Club) in the producer’s seat, after catching a cold on two different trips to California to record vocals (California weather will get you everytime!), Branan elected to bring in longtime friend and highly acclaimed engineer Jeff Powell to finish off recording his vocal tracks at Ardent Studios before he returns to San Fran to mix the album.

“We were gonna do it at Jeff’s house, but the opportunity to work at Ardent came available, so of course, we jumped at the chance!” says Branan.

Recording in Memphis also allowed Branan to bring in old friends Ben Nichols (Lucero) and Blair Combest to sing back-up on a few songs.

The new album will include tracks like “Bad Man,” “Survivor Blues,” “Jericho,” and his ode to summer and John  Melloncamp, “Yesterday (circa summer ’88)” .

Many Memphians will obviously take the album title as a reference to the culturally and socially diverse area of the city where the so-called creative class make their home. However, after living in a diverse range of places including New York, LA, Nashville, Fayetteville, and now Austin, Branan says every city has a “midtown,” a place he claims is always somewhere between suburbia and downtown, where most people his age make tend to live .

‘The album is really about different people I’ve known, and different people I’ve been.”

If 2010 seems a long time to wait, be sure to check out the album he recently released with Jon Snodgrass of Drag the River featuring “The Corner,” “The Walkaroud” and “Yeah, So What?” It was recently released on vinyl and cassette, but you can also download the album here.

Cory Branan plays The Hitone with Jon Snodgrass on July 15th.

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