Album Notes

"It was about 2 AM in Mazatlan, walking to my car, when I was struck with some post-show clarity. I just started humming new lyrics against the rhythm from my steps echoing the empty street. I love it when a song will fall out of the sky like that. It’s a humbling gift to be there to catch it. When I got back to my apartment, I wrote fast and feverishly all I could remember." - Lang

So began "Summer Trees" Lang's arguably most accessible song to date. A song that unravels with each listen like a kite string lifting into the stratosphere.

If you were going to record a song entitled "Summer Trees", a chilly December week
in the Bay Area might not be your first thought. For Lang, no other place could be
more warm and welcoming than that of Tiki Town Studios in Mill Valley, CA to build
his first single of 2010.

"Tiki Town isn't some studio with the feel of a sterile research lab. It's got stories in the walls and a comfortable atmosphere that let's you get back to just making music with some friends. That of course makes for a great recording." - Lang

"Summer Trees" transformed the bleak weather into a taste of sunnier beach days thanks to Grammy-winner Scott Mathews leading as producer. Lang and Mathews had worked together previously on the well received Okay Now. Production took the song through an Endless Summer-esque filter that infused the single with some serious sea-side vibe.

"Scott is one of the last of the real deals out there. The ones that wouldn't pass out if Pro Tools and PowerMacs all vanished. He's got the real chops - he is a musician and producer belonging to an era of all my heroes." - Lang

Engineer Tom Luekens hosted a series of great retro-instruments through the board.
A vintage Telecaster formerly played by Keith Richards lead a solo washed in Twin
Reverb style. A 60's Baritone guitar growled underneath and organs channeling the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds landscaped the whole track.

Lang's vocals during the bridge lift the song to an almost ethereal moment followed by the intimate lyric - "forgive me for the complications of my life". A haunting pause amid this punchy and alive summer ode.

"Summer Trees" grabs you by the wrist and takes you away to a Mid-Summer evening
where the sun just won't go down and those extra hours of light let you steal away
to simpler things.

Enjoy it.