As the song would suggest, the boys (and Pearl) are back in town – Thrift Store Cowboys have a new website, a new tour, and a new album.  It’s been four years, but October 12 is right around the corner, when Light Fighter, the Lubbock-based crew’s fourth full-length will drop.

I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of the new effort, and, well, it sounds like Thrift Store Cowboys.  But I dare you to find a soul that thinks that’s a bad thing.  The group’s trademark sound is intact, but the result this time around is more professional, the songwriting more memorably melodic, and the lyrics more introspective leader Daniel Fluitt’s weary, yet hopeful core.  A band that has already wowed so many continues to grow, with a fresh batch of instant classics and a pristine polish – as if these folks couldn’t sound even more like the soundtrack to a post-modern spaghetti western.  The new album is sure to please old faithful followers and rally up new troops.

The band is giving away an MP3 in support – you can grab it below, and I recommend you do.  “One Gentle Inch to Nine Violent Miles” is a nice introductory single to the new era – the perfect mix of the tumbleweed cinematic Americana the Cowboys have mastered, as well as a new, punchy kick of classic rock, reminiscent of Kings of Leon with cajones. The “Thin Lizzy twin guitar” wailing solo from Colt Miller and Cory Ames best captures the spotlight midway through.

Also, here’s a pretty sweet little video for another album cut, “Morning Weekend,” filmed right here in the greater Austin area (Kyle, TX, to be exact, at the badass mansion/studio hybrid Studio 1916).

1) Go to TSC’s new site for more media, new and classic, then

2) check the tour dates – chances are they’re coming to your town, and finally

3) mark your calendars for October 12.  It’s goin’ down.