"Birds of Our Neighborhood" gets digital re-release

"Birds of Our Neighborhood" was digitally released today through MP3 dealers like Amazon.com and Apple's iTunes. This leaves "Umbrella" as the last remaining discontinued album.

Debut album re-released

On May 19, 2009, A&M Records digitally re-released the Innocence Mission's self-titled debut album, which can be downloaded at commercial sites such as Amazon.com. The band's second full length album, Umbrella, remains out-of-print.

"Street Map" debuts in advance of new album

Just squeaking in before the new year and in advance of next year's new album, the Innocence Mission are issuing their first self-released recording since Christ Is My Hope in 2000 and this will be their first EP release since The Lakes of Canada in 1999.

Street Map will be a limited pressing CD containing 8 songs: a few from their forthcoming album, another few new "b-sides" and the demo track "A Thousand Miles" which turned up on the "Evensong" compilation in 2000.

Sound bytes for "From A Homeland" and "Pioneering" can be heard at their myspace page. The album is available for pre-order now and will ship early December.

Awake, My Soul & Help Me to Sing

This spring (they hope by May) there will be a various artist compilation that is inspired by the Sacred Harp documentary, Awake, My Soul & Help Me to Sing. The Innocence Mission contributed a song which we are told is "just staggering." Other contributors include Sufjan Stevens, Jim Lauderdale, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Woven Hand. You can hear DEE's song "Consecration" which has been playing on his myspace page for the past few months.

Here's a Time magazine article about Sacred Harp, and there's also Fasola.org which has more info on shape note singing courtesy of Mike Bitts.