Hold Steady singer Craig Finn announced this summer that he was working on his first solo album, and now that LP has a title and a release date: Clear Heart Full Eyes will be released Jan. 24 on Vagrant Records. Finn made the record in Austin, Tex. with Spoon producer Mike McCarthy, and he's planning to tour in support of it next year. If the title sounds like an allusion to a certain television show about high school football, it's not a coincidence. "It's a juxtaposed reference to Friday Night Lights, a TV show that excited and moved me and also happened in Texas," Finn said in the album's press release. "Further, 'Clear Heart' signifies honesty and transparency, and 'Full Eyes' suggests experience." Finn describes the songs as "a little quieter and perhaps more narrative" than his Hold Steady work, adding that he "wanted to gain some experience and insight into the process of making a record by working with new people." As for the Hold Steady, the band began writing its sixth album this fall.
Clear Heart Full Eyes tracklist:
1). "Apollo Bay"
2). "When No One's Watching"
3). "No Future"
4). "New Friend Jesus"
5). "Jackson"
6). "Terrified Eyes"
7). "Western Pier"
8). "Honolulu Blues"
9). "Rented Room"
10). "Balcony"
11). "Not Much Left Of Us"