The Claudettes ("Chicago's own neo-vaudeville Barnstormers!" –New City) emerge from their off-the-road winter break with a stark, elegant new recording on Yellow Dog Records. Pull Closer to Me: The Claudettes, Live in the Piano Room, the first released document of the band's new lineup (pianist/founder Johnny Iguana, singer Berit Ulseth, drummer Matt Torre and bassist/singer Zach Verdoorn), arrived as an online-exclusive EP on February 24th.

The band is currently posting a blitz of live-performance videos, beginning with seven filmed in Iguana's piano room. This "unplugged" session—captured in single live takes using just one vocal mic and one room mic—produced such stirring results that Johnny and Yellow Dog Records agreed to release the audio as an EP. Next, the band will be releasing 13 more videos filmed at a basement party populated by friends, fans and noted Chicago drag queens, capturing The Claudettes at their full-on electric best.

This all leads to a busy spring and summer of touring in anticipation of the Claudettes' forthcoming studio album (tentatively titled The Claudettes Left My Home in Shambles) produced by Grammy winner Mark Neill (Black Keys, Old 97's, Los Straitjackets, J.D. McPherson), due later in 2017.

"David Lynch movie music crossed with Allen Toussaint’s driving piano sound...Otis Spann and Mark Sandman from Morphine sitting in with Keely Smith...nobody sounds like them...I love this new record, it’s crazy good.” —Mark Neill, Grammy-winning producer of the Black Keys' Brothers

Catch The Claudettes at MOTR Pub tomorrow!