Finally some info about Rachael Yamagata!

Looks like there is going to be lots of new music to listen to in May! Tori, Rachael, and Rufus. YAY!

Yamagata Wraps 'Darker, Grittier' New Album

February 22, 2007, 1:45 PM ET

Mitchell Peters, L.A.

Fresh off of contributing her songwriting talents to Mandy Moore's upcoming release "Wild Hope," raspy-voiced singer/songwriter Rachael Yamagata has finished recording the follow-up to her 2004 full-length debut, "Happenstance" -- and she couldn't be more relieved.

"I just finished it, thank God," Yamagata tells Billboard.com. "I just turned it into the label, so it's all kind of coming together." She expects the as-yet untitled album to be released in late April/early May on RCA.

Whereas "Happenstance" was much more piano-based, the forthcoming release finds Yamagata exploring new ground. "It's definitely an evolution from where I was before," she explains. "Half of it is some sort of 'Pulp Fiction'/Led Zeppelin rock creation. It's more in-your-face."

"The record is darker and grittier, and it's a bit more like my live show," she continues. "It's gutsier than the last one."

But fans of "Happenstance," which has sold 136,000 copies in the United States, according to SoundScan, needn't worry. "There are still the ballads and that kind of stuff," New York-based Yamagata reassures. "There are still beautiful songs, of course, but I think the sound is something new."

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To achieve the new sound, Yamagata linked with producer Mike Mogis, who has worked with such acts as Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley. "We really built things around stranger instruments like a marimba," she explains. Yamagata also reconnected for a couple of tracks with producer John Alagia, who worked on "Happenstance." Alagia's recordings will be found on a deluxe edition of the album, which will include five extra songs.

Yamagata played a few songs as part of Rachel Fuller and Pete Townshend's "In the Attic" showcase earlier this week in New York, but for now, the only concert she has scheduled is a performance at Singapore's Mosaic Music Festival on March 17. A proper tour is expected to begin in April.

what a year for music!

I couldn't be more excited about all the new releases in music coming up shortly.

March 6 - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

May 1 - Tori Amos - American Doll Posse

May 7 - Bjork - Totempole (date and title not confirmed)

May 15 - Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars

*and coming soon, with no offical release date yet

Rachael Yamagata - second full album

PJ Harvey - reported that this album was written mostly on a piano

Old news, but good news

Rufus Wainwright will release his fifth album, Release the Stars, on Geffen on May 15. Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant executive produced the Want Two follow-up, which is Wainwright's first self-produced album. Producers Marius DeVries and Andy Bradfield mixed the record, and it features contributions from Richard Thompson, Joan Wasser (Antony and the Johnsons), and actress Siân Phillips as well.

Tracklist:

01 Do I Disappoint You
02 Going to a Town
03 Tiergarten
04 Nobody's Off the Hook
05 Between My Legs
06 Rules and Regulations
07 I'm Not Ready to Love
08 Slideshow
09 Tulsa
10 Leaving for Paris
11 Sanssouci
12 Release the Stars

Finally!

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Tori Amos has finished her 9th studio album entitled American Doll Posse. It will be released on May 1, 2007 on Epic Records. The album was written and produced by Tori at Martian Engineering in Cornwall, England. Her last studio album The Beekeeper was her fifth album to debut in the Top 10, which places her among an exclusive club of female artists that includes Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Madonna, LeAnn Rimes, Britney Spears and Barbra Streisand. Tori’s most recent release is the box set A Piano: The Collection.

On May 28th, Tori will launch her world concert tour in Rome, Italy. Dates will soon be announced on her website www.toriamos.com.

Tori Amos, whose career was propelled by the release of her 1992 multi-platinum breakthrough Little Earthquakes, has led the charge in rejuvenating the era of the female singer songwriter. With worldwide record sales topping 12 million, multiple Grammy nominations and a memoir co-authored by Ann Powers entitled Tori Amos: Piece by Piece which topped the New York Times bestseller list, Tori continues to be one of the most intriguing and respected artists of our time.