Ben Kweller Changes Horses
Chart Attack * December 11, 2008

Singer/songwriter Ben Kweller will go in a more alt.country direction on Changing Horses, which will be released by ATO Records on Feb. 3.

Kweller recorded and produced the album in Austin, Texas and New York City. Changing Horses features his touring band - bassist/vocalist Chris Morrissey and drummer Mark Stepro - as well as contributions from pedal steel and dobro player Ben "Kitt" Kitterman.

"I grew up in a small east-Texas town called Greenville where my whole childhood was spent playing in creeks, bass fishing, shooting BB guns, thinking about girls and listening to Garth," Kweller writes on his MySpace page. "After the Beatles and before Nirvana, country music was the soundtrack to my life.

"That music shaped who I am. My albums which tend to be diverse, usually have one or two cuts on them that are rootsy-americana-folkie-whatever-the-fuck ya wanna call it. This album just focuses in on that one side of me. the stories are all over the place."

"Hurtin' You" will be the first single. "Fight," "Sawdust Man" and "Things I Like To Do" can be previewed on Kweller's MySpace page.

Those three songs, as well as unreleased demos and material taken directly from Kweller's voice recorder and laptop computer, are also available on the new How Ya Lookin' Soutbound? Come In... EP. Two hundred copies are available from Kweller's web store. The rest of the seven-track, "highway-themed" CDs will be sold at shows in support of Changing Horses.

Kweller recorded three albums with Radish in his early teens before embarking on a solo career when he was 19. His Sha Sha full-length debut came out in 2002 and was followed by 2004's On My Way and 2006's Ben Kweller.

Here are Kweller's tour dates:

Dec. 11 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
Dec. 12 Munich, Germany @ Atomic Cafe
Dec. 13 Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
Dec. 14 Berlin, Germany @ Lido Cafe
Dec. 15 Cologne, Germany @ Luxor
Feb. 16 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Feb. 17 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
Feb. 18 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Feb. 21 Cleveland, OH @ Case Western Reserve University
Feb. 22 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
Feb. 24 Somerville, MA @ Somerville Theatre
Feb. 25 New York City, NY @ Town Hall
Feb. 26 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Feb. 27 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of The Living Arts
Feb. 28 Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel Club Lounge
March 1 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
March 3 Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
March 4 Nashville, TN @ The Mercy Lounge
March 5 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
March 6 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre

Here are the songs on Changing Horses:

"Gypsy Rose"
"Old Hat"
"Fight"
"Hurtin' You"
"Ballad Of Wendy Baker"
"Sawdust Man"
"Wantin' Her Again"
"Things I Like To Do"
"On Her Own"
"Homeward Bound"