Biography
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Years Active
2005 – present (19 years)
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Founded In
Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, United States
Cotton Jones (formerly The Cotton Jones Basket Ride), is an indie folk band, with elements of psychedelic folk, dream pop, baroque pop, and Americana, based in Cumberland, Maryland and currently signed to Suicide Squeeze Records.
Michael Nau (born October 31, 1984) is the lead singer-songwriter and plays guitar, Whitney McGraw (born July 20, 1986) is on keyboards, organ, and electronic autoharp, Todd Gowans is on lead electric guitar, and Greg Bender is on bass.
The signature sound of the band is Michael Nau and his wife Whitney McGraw's ethereal vocal harmonies.
On September 23, 2008, the band released their first LP, The River Strumming, through the indie label St. Ives. It was a hand-made package limited to only 300 copies and was described as a "delightful slab of fuzzed-out dream folk."
On January 27, 2009, the band released their second LP, their debut for Suicide Squeeze Records, Paranoid Cocoon. It was described as a "weepy, reverb-drenched blend of Pacific Northwest, 1960s folk-pop, and heartland rock" and an "intriguing mix of country and melancholy psychedelia". Comparisons were made with Johnny Cash, Mazzy Star, and Beach House.
On August 24, 2010, the band released their third LP, Tall Hours in the Glowstream. It was described as "classic country music filtered through a dream-pop haze." Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw recorded the majority of the album in their living room while they were staying in Winterville, Georgia and the sound of the record is equal parts gospel, Southern soul, and backwoods folk. The album is an evolution from the Southern Gothic nocturnal vibes of The River Strumming and the moody, misty psych-folk of Paranoid Cocoon into a brighter, shimmering baroque pop similar in spirit to their contemporaries Fleet Foxes.
On August 21, 2012, the band released About the Game, a 7" record limited to only 500 copies.
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