THE INSIDE LEG | Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Deerhoof

Patty Griffin is rumoured to be recording (or planning to record) a new gospel-influenced album in a church with good friend Buddy Miller on production duties. The follow-up to 2007′s Children Running Through is expected to be out later this year. Before then, the pair head out on a short US tour with Buddy’s wife Julie Miller and Shawn Colvin as a preview of the Millers’ upcoming collaborative album – their first to be attributed to both spouses since 2001′s self-titled album – Written In Chalk, which features Patty on ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ and ‘Chalk’, and Emmylou Harris on a cover of Leon Payne’s ‘The Selfishness In Man’. It’s out on March 3rd in the US; UK release unconfirmed. Find out more here.

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Shawn has an album coming out too – an as-yet-untitled live collection, her first in a 20-year solo recording career – and is currently writing fresh material for the follow-up to 2006′s These Four Walls. That album may hit the shops by the end of 2009 if we’re lucky. She’s also in the middle of writing her memoirs, to be published by Collins in 2010, which she says will be a natural extension of the intimate, personal and often hilarious stories that she weaves into her live shows.

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Lovable strangelings Deerhoof are set to release an iTunes exclusive live EP on February 3rd, featuring versions of ‘The Tears & Music Of Love’, ‘Blue Cash, ‘Buck & Judy’, ‘Makko Shobu’, ‘Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back’ and ‘Milk Man’. Just one song from Apple O’ then. Speaking of ‘Buck & Judy’, a new animated video for the song premiered yesterday on the BLURT website.

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More video goodness, this time embeddable, this is the video for the new Emmy The Great single, ‘First Love’, the title track of her long-awaited debut album, out February 9th. Right now, if you pre-order the album from the Rough Trade webshop, you can get an exclusive edition featuring a bonus disc of acoustic performances of some of the album tracks. The single is out on February 23rd.

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Speaking of Rough Trade exclusives, if you pre-order the new Alela Diane album, To Be Still (out February 16th), you get a 12-track bonus disc called Calm As The Owl Glides: Songs For Stillness featuring songs by other artists handpicked by Alela herself, including tracks by Mariee Sioux, Cat Power, Karen Dalton, Kate Wolf, Fairport Convention and Jackson C Frank. Here’s the link.

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Lastly, here’s a bit of a hit out of leftfield. Diana Krall and her band are producing the new Barbra Streisand album – her 63rd! Completion of the as-yet-untitled album is due any day now and may be packaged and promoted in time for a May release. Diana and Barbra have recorded a duet – inevitably – and some of the songs will feature a full orchestra.

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Alan Pedder

Tagged alela diane, barbra streisand, buddy miller, deerhoof, diana krall, emmy the great, emmylou harris, julie miller, patty griffin, shawn colvin