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Scott Kannberg AKA Spiral Stairs, one of the founding members of Pavement and under-sung songwriter and guitarist has dropped the Preston School of Industry nomenclature in favour of his more familiar stage name to release what I guess you’d call his debut solo album through Domino Records on October 19.

The album, entitled The Real Feel features 10 songs written in Seattle and Australia that “have a loose, late-night vibe, soulful ache and charmingly vulnerable optimism”. Which sounds to me like Spiral had a bad case of the blues, but managed to turn it around. Tracks were recorded with some of his former bandmates in Preston School of Industry, including bassist Matt Harris and drummer Darius Minwalla, as well as Jon Auer (The Posies, Big Star) and friends in Australia.

The soon-to-become-an-Australian-resident is confident enough to call this the “best album he’s ever made”. “I spent so long on it that, once I finally listened back to the completed record, it was exactly how I wanted it all to be; that was a good feeling. There were moments in the last five years when I thought I didn’t want anything to do with music anymore… But you hear a good record, and it pumps you back into it again. It takes a lot to make a record, but it feels so great, and makes me want to make another, real quick.”

“Stolen Pills” will be the first official digital-only release from the album on October 12, with the album following a week later, but you can get a taste of it, right now with “Maltese T”, right here.

The Real Feel track listing:

1. True Love
2. Call The Ceasefire
3. Cold Change
4. Subiaco Shuffle
5. Wharf-Hand blues
6. Maltese T
7. A Mighty Mighty Fall
8. Stolen Pills
9. The Real Feel
10. Blood Money