Vic Chesnutt - Ghetto Bells (March 22)

Vic Chesnutt's new record Ghetto Bells will be released on Tuesday. If you're not familiar with some of Vic's work, he is probably one of the most unique songwriters around, decidedly "Southern" and "literate" but certainly not just your average alt.country songwriter. This new album is a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks (Brian Wilson's right-hand collaborator on Smile), jazz guitarist Bill Frissell and drummer Don Heffington. I have a surprising number of Vic Chesnutt albums, none of which enjoy regular rotation. But I always look forward to his releases because of his unique perspective. This new release is supposedly heavy on Parks' orchestrations, which should extend Chesnutt's reputation for never being boring or repetitive.

If you like what you hear, be sure to check out New West's excellent reissues of his early work, as well as his last record Silver Lake.