April 28 has been announced as the official release date for Same Old Place, the new Rounder CD from NewFound Road.

The band enlisted a new producer, Jim Van Cleve, and spent more time in the studio than they had on previous projects. Jim told us that he encouraged the guys to try some new approaches, and both he and the band are extremely pleased with the finished product.

I had an opportunity to hear some of the mixes last summer, and the sound struck me as “bigger,” with a more forceful, in-your-face attitude. Van Cleve said that he was trying to get a more commercial, radio-friendly mix and he certainly filled the tracks to the brim.

We asked NFR band leader and vocalist Tim Shelton how he saw Same Old Place differing from their earlier releases.

“Jim thinks big. The album is so well produced, and the tones that Jim and engineer Dave Hall  got were really the best we could ask for.  We put more time and effort and money into this album too, and are very proud of the end result.”

Tim also credits the quality of the songs they recorded as a big factor in the overall sound of the new album.

“We’re always looking for new songs and open to hearing new songs but I approached some of my favorite writers, Tim Stafford, Ronnie Bowman, Sonya Isaacs and had a song from Tim O’Brien sent to us…  that’s where we started. I felt if we had strong original songs to build the album on, then our chances of having a great record were much better. And all of the writers that I mentioned and approached are great!

The title cut, Same Old Place is one of my favorites, and River of Pain is a very cool song written by Ronnie Bowman. The opening track, Try To Be – written by Sonya Isaacs – is very fun to perform live, and the Tim O’Brien song, Full Circle is a favorite of mine too.”

It’s hard for a band that has been on the scene for a number of years to hit with a “new sound,” but Same Old Place really is a new chapter for NewFound Road.

“I’m very excited to get this recording out to radio and in the hands of our fans, and bluegrass fans in general. We’re extremely proud of the work the band has done and our co-producer, Jim VanCleve and Dave Hall, our engineer, really made this experience great. Everyone involved put a lot of time and energy into this record, and I think it shows, and hopefully will pleasantly surprise a lot of people.”