Album Notes

Ross Bellenoit announces the digital and CD release of the first of three EPs to be issued this year, entitled "Home Songs". Each EP comprises six songs, self-produced and recorded at his home in South Philadelphia, a set of literate, folk-pop compositions that straddle the line between the junkyard blues of Tom Waits’ disjunctive grooves and 80s new-wave nerd-pop.

Music fans already know Bellenoit from his 2010 solo vinyl LP "Eight Track Mind", and also as the stunning Telecaster slinger for the critically acclaimed Sweetback Sisters (Signature Sounds). He's also lent his guitar skills to internationally renowned songwriters like Amos Lee (Blue Note), Joesph Parsons (Blue Rose), and Birdie Busch (Bar/None). "Home Songs" is the clearest statement yet of his personal artistic vision, capturing Bellenoit when left to his own devices.

The first volume runs the gamut from the Ron Sexsmith-inspired “Besides”—which not only highlights his penchant for clever pop melodies and thoughtful, nuanced lyrics, but twins them with ambitious production that manages to couple the atmospherics of Daniel Lanois with the poignant yet folksy sophistication of Joe Henry—to the enigmatic, pop experimentalism of “To Be Free”. The XTC-meets-Peter-Gabriel powerhouse “Lockless Heart” is perhaps the most forceful articulation of the breadth of Belleoit's craftsmanship: a masterful combination of progressive harmony, elegant melodicism, rhythmic inventiveness, and virtuosic musicianship.