Below the Branches - SP674

San Francisco home-recording multi- instrumentalist Kelley Stoltz spent the better part of the past three years promoting and distributing his last album himself. “I finished Antique Glow in 2001, but found myself without a label when it was ready for release. So, being a vinyl nut, I decided to press up a couple hundred and, to save some money, painted all the covers myself. I sold them at shows and stores all around San Francisco. After that the record took on a life of its own.” And, this life of its own involved an eventual domestic CD release on San Francisco’s Jackpine Social Club, as well as considerable UK press attention. Antique Glow garnered a 4-star review and a “Mojo Rising” feature in MOJO magazine, as well as critical praise in Ptolemaic Terrascope, Uncut, Record Collector, and on BBC6 radio. At year’s end Antique Glow was ranked #24 in MOJO’s “40 Best Albums of 2004,” described as, “a time capsule only recently discovered…a jamboree grab-bag of delights filled with everything from psychedelic folk and cosmic troubadour pop to garage-rock and lysergic r&b…one of the year’s major finds.” Kelley’s new album, Below the Branches, picks up where Antique Glow left off, combining psych rock, folk, blues and pop in its 13 tracks, exploring new, piano-driven directions as well. It’s an album of improvisational pop, alchemically blending influences with results that are both timeless and new. Kelley and his band (Sean Coleman, Kevin Ink, Shayde Sartin, and John Hofer) will tour extensively with the release of Below the Branches.

Released: 2006-01-24 (CD), 2006-02-07 (LP)