Stop by Permanent Records for an all ages, free in-store Meat Puppets performance on 5/31 at 2 pm

Signed in early 2008 to ultra-artist friendly Megaforce Records, the Puppets found themselves once again at work exploring the vast creative landscape that has defined the band since it burst forth with its majestic debut for SST, Meat Puppets. In between last year's tour outings, the Puppets wrote and recorded a new album, Sewn Together, the trio's second full length in little less than two years.

Sewn Together began with the band laboring under all sorts of questions as to what artistic and sonic direction it would strike. The band has delivered a living catalogue of historical records, using close to primitive tools. In the case of the new album, Curt and Cris chose a home town studio that offered analogue process. "It adds purity," reasoned Curt (who served as producer).

Standing on his vows not to beat down a session, in less than two weeks' time Curt had effectively corralled his necessary and sufficient musical elements: the songs, the band, his son Elmo, the compatible recording team at the Salt Mine Studio in Mesa, and Phoenix-based pianist William Joseph. A bounty of beautiful passages emerged that bespeak a mature flushing out of Curt's deeply embedded genetic sense of melody. Witness "Sapphire," "Clone," and "Smoke." True to their nature, this is a record that is brilliantly framed by the band's sometimes folksy, always fluid wanderings.

It is what makes the Puppets musings so daunting to classify. They ambitiously dart the melodic spectrum between buoyant pop structure like album-opener Sewn Together and the grand sweep of "Clone", two of the precision-perfect gems that will come to represent this record as a keeper.

With the album set for release May 12, on Mega Force Records, the band now is looking ahead to extensive road work celebrating the new record, but as with every Puppets' tour, the show will be certain to range over the course of performance afforded it by the Puppets' endearingly adventurous career.

Schubas 20th Anniversary shows are bought to you by Chicago Reader and Days Inn Chicago.

Click here for the entire Schubas 20th Anniversary Schedule