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Lee is in no hurry to say what he has to say. His unwinding delivery hangs and pulls, nearly falling off the back of a wagon that’s filled with dusty pawn shop amplifiers, weird organs, an upright piano and old world horns. Right now, the moon is holding water and Brian Beattie is driving a peddler’s cart. He’s an old hand at negotiating the landscapes of extra-human songwriters like Daniel Johnston and Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Glowing sulfur tubes warm his ankles as the carriage groans with sweet distortion. They’re moving through a canopy of trees, within smelling distance of the Mississippi. A storm threatens in the hills. The singer is leaning into a worried guitar. He’s got kerosene on his hands. The music sounds like it comes straight out of the ground, ripe with mud and salt. Lee and producer/alchemist Brian Beattie are putting the finishing touches on his first solo album, with help from many talented musical friends. Preview some of the new music above. *******There was a one-of-a-kind band that Lee fronted called ‘the Barbers’. Begun in Mississippi, they relocated to Austin and released two acclaimed records. Here are some press excerpts: “Their musicianship is all over the place ....the hippest offering I've heard from Jackson environs since Mose Allison's.” --Van Dyke Parks "Underneath all of the unusual textures the Barbers have pieced together a batch of graceful and often stunning songs.” --Michael Bertin - The Austin Chronicle “Not many songwriters can pen a good old-fashioned tear-jerking ballad with the dignity and understatement of Lee Barber." --Will Sheff “...the songs ring like sweet calls from the soul. ’You Know How It Is’ sounds possessed by a spirit.” --Michael Corcoran - Austin American Statesman “’Picture of Evelyn’ kicked my ass... ’Killed by Love’ is murder...yeow! ” --Terry Allen
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