LEMONHEADS

The Lemonheads’ Townesville is a full-length studio album devoted entirely to the songs of Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Recorded in Nashville, the album captures Evan Dando at his most raw and direct, drawn to the restless spirit and vulnerability of Van Zandt’s writing.

Family ties run through the guest appearances. Townes’ daughter Katie Belle Van Zandt plays spoons, Brazilian musician Almir Sater brings the resonant sound of his viola caipira, and Dando shares a duet with his stepdaughter, Beatriz Sater. Gibby Haynes of Butthole Surfers lends his distinctive voice to “Pancho and Lefty”, while Nashville band Paperview contribute harmonies.

At the heart of Townesville is the kinship between two songwriters who know how to turn vulnerability into song. The stripped-back performances give Dando’s voice room to bring out the plainspoken beauty of Van Zandt’s writing.

“Townes Van Zandt is one of my favourites. He writes songs that have this timeless, ancient quality. It’s like they’ve always existed.” — Bob Dylan

“He proved that country and folk music could be completely uncompromising, gritty, and fiercely beautiful all at once.” — Lucinda Williams

“Few musicians of his generation could knock out gorgeous cover versions quite as effortlessly as Evan Dando.” — Record Collector