Ray Lamontagne backs new album this fall

Singer Ray Lamontagne will couch the mid-October release of his forthcoming album, "Gossip In the Grain," with a fall North American tour.

The outing gets underway at the end of September and is scheduled to touch down in almost 30 cities by early November. Details are included below.

In the midst of the run, Lamontagne will serve up "Gossip in the Grain," which follows 2006's "Till the Sun Turns Black," on Oct. 14.

Lamontagne recorded "Gossip in the Grain" in England with returning producer Ethan Johns. A press release describes the forthcoming collection as a mix of "pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and plangent balladry."

After recording his previous two albums--"Till the Sun Turns Black" and 2004's "Trouble"--as mostly solo endeavors (with Johns serving as a contributing instrumentalist), Lamontagne enlisted the help of a couple of his touring-band members while recording "Gossip in the Grain": bassist Jennifer Condos and guitarist Eric Heywood. Jones handled most of the drumming this time around.

"Gossip in the Grain" also features guest appearances by singer/songwriter Leona Naess on the cuts "A Falling Through" and "I Still Care for You." Naess, who is set to offer up a new solo album titled "Thirteens" on Sept. 23, will hold down the opening slot on Lamontagne's upcoming roadtrip.