• Smash "Twilight" sequel enters record books
• Jackson's glove sells for $350,000 at auction
• "Twilight" sequel smashes box office forecasts

go

• Blind Boys of Alabama
• Eric Alexander
• Blacklodge

WPA Works Progress Administration WPA was born out of the musical community surrounding the legendary LA club, Largo. The members of the band had known and admired each other for years, and found themselves with a strong batch of unrecorded songs, a little down time, and a collective feeling that it might be a good idea to put something on tape.

After a chance meeting between Sean and Grammy winning recording engineer Jim Scott, the group found themselves in Scott's studio, Plyrz, recording 17 songs live in five days. With an album mixed and mastered, the band hadn't even chosen a name or secured management. In an era where the expectation is that a group of this experience and caliber would be something conceived by business executives, WPA came out of an authentic and vibrant musical community, and the album is a beautiful reflection of its origins.

The instant classic "Always Have My Love", penned and sung by Glen Phillips, starts the album with a powerful dose of dual fiddles, pedal steel and piano, revealing the band's palette from the first bar. The album continues with five more Phillips songs, plaintive and introspective tunes from Sean Watkins ("Not Sure", "Paralyzed" and "You're Already Gone"), commanding vocals performed by Luke Bulla on "Who's Gonna Cry For You" and "Remember Well", and the haunting voice of Sara Watkins on Benmont Tench's "The Price" and the Ray Davies classic "I Go To Sleep". Despite having four lead singers and a high level of instrumental prowess the band keeps its focus in service to the song, and creates a sound that is both timeless and unique.