It’s been a long time coming–James Wallace, a songwriter from RVA who has spent the last several years mostly residing in Nashville, recorded his debut album back in 2011. Backed by The Naked Light, which featured a variety of Richmond associates, including Matthew E. White and other members of the Spacebomb Records crew, James recorded More Strange News From Another Star with the intention of having it released on cassette by a mysterious Chinese label.
It’s been a long time coming–James Wallace, a songwriter from RVA who has spent the last several years mostly residing in Nashville, recorded his debut album back in 2011. Backed by The Naked Light, which featured a variety of Richmond associates, including Matthew E. White and other members of the Spacebomb Records crew, James recorded More Strange News From Another Star with the intention of having it released on cassette by a mysterious Chinese label. Unfortunately, the Chinese label ceased operations in the same week that Wallace sent off the master to them, and were never heard from again. Since then, More Strange News has had a bizarre sort of half-existence–occasionally available on self-released cassette from the band, who sold it at their relatively infrequent shows, it was more easily obtained in digital form through Wallace’s bandcamp page. In spite of receiving quite a bit of critical acclaim locally (including its appearance at #1 on RVA Magazine contributing writer Shannon Cleary’s Top Albums Of 2011 list), it seemed like the wider world would never get to hear the album.
All that has changed, though, with the arrival on the scene of Dialog Records, a Richmond-based label who, as James put it, “didn’t dissolve upon hearing the album.” Finally, nearly two years after More Strange News From Another Star was originally recorded, it will be gaining a vinyl release, and in fact comes out today. The first 100 copies are pressed on red vinyl, while the rest of the initial print run will feature turquoise vinyl. The album contains 10 songs, runs a little over 30 minutes in length, and has a pleasant but difficult to categorize sound that should equally delight fans of The Grateful Dead and Neutral Milk Hotel. Ably captured on tape by producer Matthew E. White, the album also features White’s guitar-playing talents, plus instrumental contributions from RVA heavy hitters like Pinson Chanselle, Scott Clark, and several others. The album’s laid-back acoustic pop music, complete with tropical percussion and jazzy horn accents, is ably summed up by “Colored Lights,” the only track from the album still available for streaming through James Wallace And The Naked Light’s bandcamp. You can stream that track here:
And of course, if you like what you hear, you should definitely order a copy for yourself. We’re not sure if there are any red vinyl copies still available (if so, there surely aren’t many), but the turquoise vinyl will be pretty cool too, and either way, you’ll finally be able to get a copy of the album that you can listen to somewhere other than in the car–which is always nice. Copies are available from Dialog Records, or from James Wallace And The Naked Light’s website. The group will be on tour throughout the East Coast and Midwest during the month of May with Moon Taxi, and while there’s no Richmond date announced as yet, you should keep an eye out for opportunities to catch their live act–it really is quite a treat. Check out the tour dates HERE.
