Cass McCombs just keeps chugging along – the folk-rocker and songwriting genius has hardly taken a break from producing toe-tapping tunes for his near 16-year musical career. His albums are treasure mines of detailed epics, and he doesn’t sway from that on his new single “The Great Pixley Train Robbery,” out today. The song will appear on his forthcoming ninth record Tip Of The Sphere, out Feb. 8 via Anti Records. It comes just two years after 2016’s Mangy Love.
The song follows the release of two other singles, the hypnotic “Sleeping Volcanoes” and the warm and gentle “Estrella.” “The Great Pixley Train Robbery,” according to McCombs, is narratively based on a newspaper clipping he uncovered from the 1800s, which tells the tale of chaotic and violent train robbery and money-hungry greed for gold. It sounds as Old Western as you’d expect, and McCombs’ unrelentingly vivid storytelling takes the listener to new frontiers. As the song progresses, it continues to kick up notches, simultaneously introducing new plot points and rumbling instruments. The accompanying video keeps with the mood, including a dated, sepia-toned film adaptation of the story being told.
Watch the video for “The Great Pixley Train Robbery” above. Tip Of The Sphere is out Feb. 8 via Anti Records. Pre-order it here. Catch him on tour at one of the dates below.
03/4 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
03/5 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
03/7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Murrmr
03/8 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
03/9 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
03/11 – Toronto, ON @ The Horsehoe *
03/12 – Cleveland, OH @ The Beachland *
03/14 – Nashville, TN @ The Exit-In *
03/15 – Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi *
03/16 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
03/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ The BackRoom at Collectivo *
03/18 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club *
03/20 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre *
03/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room *
03/25 – Vancouver, BC @ St. James *
03/26 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey *
03/27 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater *
03/29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s *
03/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre *
04/4 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe’s *
04/5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
04/26 – Marfa, TX @ Marfa Myths
* = with Sam Evian
