Ohio outfit the Black Swans consistently lay out a leisurely darkened Americana, all quavery strings and gruffed voice, thorny words. The Columbus trio -- led by Dylan-loving singer/songwriter and guitarist Jerry DeCicca -- hand in their own "Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" on "Shake," a lovely amble from the band's sophomore full-length (after last year's Sex Brain EP), Change!
Take me down to the river.
The Black Swans - "Shake" (MP3)
The packaging promises to be just as pretty: Members of Arc North Workshop, a "sheltered art workshop" under the auspices of Columbus's Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities that "provides services for 300 adults with developmental challenges," are painting 500 one-of-a-kind covers for the limited-edition vinyl version. Watch a video of the painters in action here.
Change! is out 11/6 on La Société Expéditionnaire.
