My Morning Jacket front man Jim James (or Yim Yames if you will) has announced that he has formed a new band for his new “Guthrie Project.” The band features (Son Volt, Gob Iron, Uncle Tupelo), Will Johnson (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel), and Anders Parker (Varnaline, Gob Iron), and together the four guys have recorded an album compiled of songs that use lyrics written by Woodie Guthrie that he did not get the chance to use in his lifetime. They have compiled an album to celebrate the centenary year of his birth called New Multitudes.

The press release tells us a little more about the creation of New Multitudes:

Under the invitation of Nora Guthrie, Woody’s daughter, to tour the Guthrie archives, each of the four songwriters were offered the chance to plumb and mine the plethora of notebooks, scratch pads, napkins, etc. for anything that might inspire them to lend their voices and give the words new life. “These guys worked on an amazing group of lyrics, much of it culled from Woody’s times in LA. Lyric wise, it’s a part of the story that is still mostly unknown. From Woody’s experiences on LA’s skid row to his later years in Topanga Canyon, they are uniquely intimate, and relate two distinctly emotional periods in his life.”

New Multitudes comes out through Rounder Records on February 28th. The album is officially 12 tracks, but a special 24 track version will also be available, with the additional 12 tracks having been recorded only by Farrar and Parker. The limited edition 24 track version also comes with a lyric sheet with copies of Guthrie’s handwritten words.

After the release the band will go on a brief tour; you can check out the dates below.

March 6 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
March 7 – Music Box – Los Angeles, CA
March 9 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
March 10 – Showbox – Seattle, WA
March 12 – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
March 13 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
March 14 – Webster Hall – New York, NY
March 16 – Paradise – Boston, MA

Cover art: