As we round the corner on summer, I thought it would be fun to share with a new EP called Blueprints, which gives a view into the framework that became Heartbreak City.

Two of the tracks on this EP - "Morning Light" and "Actual Size" - are demos of songs that made it unto the album.  The "Morning Light" that appears on the record isn't too dissimilar to the demo, though the demo is a bit more fleshed out.  The version on the record is REALLY sparse - the demo has acoustic and electric guitars, harmonies and synths.

The demo for "Actual Size" is quite a departure from the final version. I originally wrote it as a really uptempo, almost Queens of the Stone Age-meets-Can kinda thing.  Then when we got into the studio, producer Rob had an idea to slow it way down. I like what it morphed into, but in going back and listening to the demo, I really like that approach too.

"The Long Goodbye (Alt Version)" is just a stripped-down, acoustic version of that song (which is also on Heartbreak City).  I like this version too for its tenderness (yes, I used that word).  The stars of this are sick players who joined me:  Dan Iead (from The Broken West) on pedal steel, Scott Claassen (also from The Broken West) on piano, and Mindy Jones on vocals.  Mindy is an amazing singer.  Her day job is being Moby's singer, because I guess he doesn't sing or something?

The skeleton key - or keys, if you will - to what Heartbreak City MIGHT have been are the songs "Chosen One" and "True Love Runs Away."  I'd originally envisioned Heartbreak City as a sort of dark, nocturnal LA record:  more synth-y, midtempo, moody.  Obviously, that's not how it turned out, but had we gone in that direction, these two songs would've most certainly been on the record, and they give a sense of what that record would've sounded like.

I hope you enjoy this peek behind the curtain if you will.

You can listen to Blueprints HERE.

Thanks for listening,
Ross