Hey everyone, it's Gutter here to update you on the new album. Well it's hard to believe but we have finally finished our grand opus: "The New Way Out". I'm very happy with the way it turned out. It's our first album of completely new material since Viva Nueva in 2001. That's a long time coming. After touring to support "Light At The End" we got home and began building what we called "The Love Underground". The LU was the name we called our studio. It has a nice ring to it and it although it was completely above ground it seemed like a suitable name for a place to make a record with no corporate limitations. There were plenty of technical bugs we had to work through though so we ended up changing the name while recording to "Limited Productions LTD." The studio took about 6 to 8 months to complete, and usually while saws and hammers were sounding I was in the other room writing new material. Every once in a while I would poke my head in and grumble something to the effect of: "are we musicians or fucking carpenters?" I can be impatient and would have been content recording in a pile of sawdust. All the hard work came together and when it was finished it looked like a mix between a flea market and a treehouse, but it was home. We spent the last 2 years writing and recording "The New Way Out" and at times it seemed longer. We have always celebrated our democratic approach to writing and recording. Siting the "compromise" of our creative process as our strength. While making this record that "compromise" was really put to the test. Artistically,personally,financially, and sonically. We suddenly had all the say in every aspect of making a record and didn't know what to do with it. I take pride in the fact that we were making indie records before it was so popular, but we always worked with producers to make the records. So there was an objective 3rd party. This time it was just us. Making the record we wanted to hear. And with 12 ears that can get confusing. The end result I believe is the most ambitious project I have ever been a part of, blood sweat and tears blah blah blah. The record is the longest record we have ever made and explores some influences we had never incorporated into our sound. Arrangments  for strings ,woodwinds , timpani, and even steel drums. The record is psychedelic in essence and what that means to me is; a little looser, headphone music, something that makes you stop what your'e doing for a second and draws you in. This music is very big and the songs a bit more thought out. Don't be scared it's not another experimental dreamy sad record(my favorite). It's bold and grandiose. It rocks and tugs at your tear ducts and you can hear how much fun we had making it. The underlying message of the lyrics are imagination, courage,friendship, and love. I can't wait for you to hear it.....This is "The New Way Out" out 11/11/09