AV Club Premieres Leif Vollebekk's US Debut - Embraced By NPR Music, Acoustic Guitar, Diffuser FMm And More!

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Missing Piece Group) In just one week, the Montreal-based songwriter Leif Vollebekk will release his US debut, North Americana via Missing Piece Records.

Starting today, The Onion AV Club and Top40-charts.com are offering stream of the album before it's January 28th release date. Stream the album here:



The album was produced by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and was recorded in Montreal, France, and New York. The songs on North Americana were always recorded live to tape, documenting the improvisation and space that a live jazz performance would have but using the concision of a pop song.

Ann Powers of NPR Music included the album on her "Under-The-Radar Albums Preview of 2014" list and said "Vollebekk also openly borrows from Jeff Buckley - always a daring move. With a grit-and-honey voice and a way of opening up his own confessions until they become universal, Vollebekk pulls it off."

Last week, Acoustic Guitar premiered a live video of Vollebekk performing "When The Subway Comes Above The Ground" from New York City's Rockwood Music Hall.

Diffuser.fm premiered the album's first single "Southern United States" and said "Vollebekk's search for the 'perfect take,' coupled with his warble - which is covered in just enough rust to make us think of his contemporaries Ryan Adams and M. Ward - makes for an authentic take on modern Americana."

The ten songs that comprise North Americana were performed by Vollebekk (vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, a little rusty fiddle), jazz musicians Hans Bernhard (bass) and Philippe Melanson (drums), Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld (violin), Joe Grass (pedal steel) and Adam Kinner (tenor sax).