New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Austin-based duo Pike & Sutton have announced their full-length debut album
Heart Is A Compass will release on April 3rd. Led by "hometown favorites" (Austin American-Statesman)
Patrice Pike and Wayne Sutton, the band has evolved out of the longtime alternative rock band Sister 7. Today they shared their new song "Bright As The Sun." American Songwriter stated "When many listen to music, they want it to relate to them. They want to feel as if they are living the story the artist is telling and Pike & Sutton do just that with 'Bright As The Sun.'"
"I love that 'Bright As The Sun' starts like a gentle rain and builds into something big and beautiful," Pike told American Songwriter. "We live in Austin and had been in an extreme drought. The lyrics and music reflect renewal, literally with water, and also the sound of a house being filled with songs from the record player. It's about lack moving into abundance."
Sutton continued, "This record is a step forward for us musically and is different than anything
Patrice and I have done. There's certainly recognizable elements. It's us, but we have pushed ourselves in songwriting and stretched the pallet."
Pike & Sutton is a partnership, a creative evolution, and a promise fulfilled. Equally anchored by the powerhouse vocals of Pike and the deep textured guitars of Sutton,
Heart Is A Compass is both a transformative celebration of the pair's R&B, soul, and roots influences and an exhilarating call-to-arms for the faithful. Co-produced with Grammy-winner Jim Watts (Emmylous Harris, Jenny Lewis,
Kelly Clarkson), the album crackles with passion, vision, and undeniable hip-shaking rhythms.
Since last fall, Pike & Sutton have been teasing some of their new songs, including title track "Heart is a Compass" and a reimagined version of Otis Redding and Carla Thomas' classic "New Year's Resolution" with special guest John Popper of Blues Traveler. They also made their anticipated return to Austin City Limits Festival in October, check out their performance of "Hands Up."
As
Little Sister/Sister 7, Pike and Sutton ruled clubs and festivals throughout Dallas, Houston, and Austin as the most melodically riveting jam band in the southwest. With their two major label albums - 1997's This The Trip and 2000's Wresting Over Tiny Matters on Arista Records - the band's musical evolution took national stages alongside artists such as The Allman Brothers,
Sarah McLachlan, The Nevill Brothers, Ray Charles, Chris Isaak, and
Dave Matthews Band. Rolling Stone called Pike "Tina Turner, Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, and
Robert Plant all rolled up into a tiny but explosive package," while Billboard said she is "One of the finest new contemporary rock singers in America." In 2007, Pike was inducted into the Austin/Texas
Music Hall of Fame alongside
Lucinda Williams and other notable Texans.
Pike is also co-founder of the Step Onward Foundation and has collaborated in raising over $1 million for supporting education, housing, and sustainability for young adult survivors of homelessness and children surviving critical illness in the last 10 years.
Track List:
01) Let The
Music Get You High
02)
Heart Is A Compass
03) No Great Mystery
04) Hands Up
05) Bright As The Sun
06) Moonbeam
07) Take A Stand
08) Together
09) Never Enough For The Man
10) Worthy Ones
11) Building Fences
