Underwater Sunshine

Multi-platinum American rock band, Counting Crows has announced they will be releasing their first new album in over 4 years on April 9, 2012. Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation) is a collection of songs, both familiar and obscure, interpreted by one of the most soulful and recognizable bands of the past two decades. Underwater Sunshine is a testament of a band geek-obsessed with music. There are a million great songs written every day that you discover, and wish your friends could appreciate as much as you do, says singer/songwriter Adam Duritz. These songs come from bands young and old, stretching from the early 60s to last year. They re all great and will hopefully be heard by a few more people now. Produced by Counting Crows and Shawn Dealey, Underwater Sunshine features tracks written by artists such as Big Star, Gram Parsons, Tender Mercies, Kasey Anderson and The Faces. Each rendition offers an entire spectrum of human emotion, delivered with the conviction and intense honesty the band is known for. As their first independent release, it was the right time for the Crows to make this album. If you wonder why we didn t just write our own record, it s simply because we wanted to do THIS one, says Duritz, We now have the creative freedom to release albums like this and offer our fans more music than ever. In the spirit of becoming an independent band, the Crows will stream the new album, on demand in its entirety prior to release on radio station websites and other digital partners. They are also giving away a free download of their new song, Mercy on http://www.countingcrows.com/ The Crows also gave their fans the opportunity to design their new album package. Just as the band is interpreting songs from others, fans became a part of this unique album by visually interpreting the Crows. The winning designer is working with the band s creative director to develop the rest of the album layout. The contest was run by Creative Allies, and is proving to be their most successful contest to date. To find out more, go to: http://creativeallies.com/contests/314-Design-an-Album-Cover-for-Counting-Crows

'Sometimes it's great to play someone else's music and try to make it your own. Sometimes it's great just because it's fun'. Wise words from Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz that embody the philosophy behind their 2012 album 'Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation)'. An album filled with their favorite covers of artists as diverse as Teenage Fanclub, Gram Parsons and Fairport Convention, it was released on CD in April 2012. Music On Vinyl is now giving the album its first vinyl release, on two 180 grams audiophile vinyl, with artwork commissioned to fans on the printed inner sleeves and the cover.