James Levy & Allison Pierce (the Pierces) are James Levy & the Blood Red Rose; 'Pray To Be Free' LP scheduled for 10/2 release on Heavenly Recordings / Cooperative Music

JAMES LEVY AND THE BLOOD RED ROSE ANNOUNCE US RELEASE DETAILS FOR PRAY TO BE FREE

COLLABORATION BETWEEN LEVY & ALLISON PIERCE SET FOR 10/02 ON HEAVENLY RECORDINGS / COOPERATIVE MUSIC

"Levy's baritone brings a velvety richness to string-drenched songs about infidelity and betrayal, while Pierce proves a distinctive foil. These are beautiful songs with a murderous heart." Uncut Magazine

"[A]n absolute beauty. A match made in music heaven. . . .On songs such as Give Me Happiness, Hung To Dry and Holy Water, they create music that sounds somehow preordained. Buy this now." – Sunday Times (of London)

"James Levy has always had the deep-set dulcet croon for the job, but now has the right songs, setting and sound – and in Allison Pierce, the right sparring partner. . . by turns dark, playful, smoldering and joyful. . . [a] sublime record." – BBC

Heavenly Recordings and Cooperative Music announce the US release of James Levy and The Blood Red Rose's Pray To Be Free. Produced by Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman and arranged by Levy and composer / multi-instrumentalist Sammy Oatts, the album has received critical acclaim in the European press (four star reviews in Q, MOJO, Uncut, El Pais) and extensive radio play with songs playlisted on BBC 6 Music, XFM and Radio 1 Belgium. After a series of appearances in the UK, Paris and Berlin, including radio sessions on BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, James and Allison return home for the US release.

The "sock n' soul" sound of Pray To Be Free is a logical next step in the career of the Vermont-born Levy, who first arrived in New York in the mid-2000s and quickly became part of the burgeoning anti-folk and downtown NYC rock scene.

His first record, Rotten Love (One Little Indian), with the band LEVY, was included in the NME's recent list of the "Best 100 Albums You've Never Heard" (courtesy of Maccabees' guitarist Hugo White). "Glorious" - the title track from the second LEVY album - was a breakout hit for the Pierces on their UK gold-certified 2011 album You & I (Polydor), also produced by Guy Berryman.

The relationship between Levy and Allison was borne out of those early New York City days. When Allison saw James perform at Sidewalk Café, she knew that she had to sing with him. Over the years, the pair worked on a series of songs, but their individual careers kept them from making a record. When Allison and her sister Catherine were recording You & I with Guy Berryman at Electric Lady Studios, Allison invited James to the studio. James and Guy connected and when Guy heard James' songs and the initial demos that he and Allison had recorded, he was hooked.

Berryman "immediately fell in love with the sound of their voices together." To Guy, the album "documents romance in all its guises; dark, twisted, hopeful and joyful. The sounds, drawing upon classic arrangements from the 50's and 60's, are melodic and lush and are hopefully a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by urban electronica."

Levy seized upon the opportunity to work with Berryman and record a full length album featuring songs he had written with Allison's voice in mind ("Sneak Into My Room," "Hung To Dry," "Pray To Be Free"). These songs sit alongside others chosen by Guy from Levy's extensive catalogue.

Also included on the album is the Pierce-penned "Cry Myself To Sleep" and album closer, "Precious Age of 13," half-sung by Levy in Hebrew with words that come from a passage he memorized for his Bar Mitzvah. ("I wanted to write a song like Gainsbourg," Levy says, "but I couldn't sing in French, so I sing in Hebrew instead.")

The release is the latest in an eventful year for the UK label Heavenly Recordings and its founder Jeff Barrett, who have scored recent hits with TOY and Stealing Sheep, as well as being the UK home to bands like The Head and The Heart, Sea of Bees, Saint Etienne, The Doves and The Soft Pack.