The Minor Leagues release new album 'North College Hill'

North College Hill from The Minor Leagues released via Datawaslost

North College Hill is the new album from The Minor Leagues, the latest in a string of releases from the Cincinnati seven-piece to pair stinging melancholy with insidiously catchy melodies.

The Minor Leagues' last two records covered the end of a relationship and the end of the world in overblown concept-album fashion, and this new album continues the streak with ten songs of bittersweet rust-pop about North College Hill, lead singer Ben Walpole's crumbling Midwestern hometown.

The band paints a baroque portrait of the neighborhood-as-history, detailing childhood memories in a faded palette of strings, bells, and guitar jangle.

The entire record delights in nostalgia, with Brill Building arrangements filtered through the drive and sing-along choruses of 90s Brit-pop, all set against a backdrop of lush instrumentation.

Beginning as an attempt to capture a certain place, North College Hill becomes more about holding on to lost time, with nods to 19th-century flu outbreaks, Nell Freudenberger, and Falco along the way. And while the band's past work has earned them comparisons to recent popsmiths like Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers, their charm, witty lyricism and ear for detail continue to set them apart from the rest.

North College Hill tracklist:
1. City On A Hill
2. Ghost Maps
3. Smoke
4. Sister
5. Lucky Girls
6. Secret Codes
7. Please Don't Throw My Love Away
8. Weekends Are The Worst
9. 1985 Forever
10. You Can't Go Home

The Minor Leagues 2012 tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

February 2012

Sat 02/04 @ Cincinnati Music Hall - Cincinnati, OH
Fri 02/17 @ Pete's Candy Store - Brooklyn, NY
Sat 02/18 @ Howler's Coyote Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
Fri 02/24 @ MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH

March 2012

Fri 03/02 @ Elbo Room - Chicago, IL
Sat 03/10 @ South Park Tavern - Dayton, OH

For the latest tour dates and more, go to:

The Minor Leagues Official Website
The Minor Leagues BandCamp
The Minor Leagues Facebook
The Minor Leagues Twitter