Caroline Herring confidently returns to the forefront of the American roots music scene with her new album Lantana, due March 4th, 2008 on Signature Sounds Records. The Mississippi-born, Atlanta-based singer/songwriter took the producing helm for the first time on the new record, co-producing with long-time collaborator Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen).

Intimate, powerful and honest, Lantana is a masterpiece of understated intensity and in many ways an artistic re-birth for Herring. After making a name for herself in Mississippi as band member and co-founder of the now renowned Thacker Mountain Radio music series, Herring moved to Austin, TX. Herring quickly took the town by storm, releasing the critically acclaimed debut album, Twilight. She won "Best New Artist" at both the 2002 SXSW Austin Music Awards and also from the Austin American Statesman. Herring soon after released an equally impressive follow-up, Wellspring.

Though Herring had established herself as an authentic, original voice, Herring paused to focus on marriage and motherhood as she continued to tour and play festivals nationally and internationally. The insights she gained over these few years are profoundly apparent in the songs of Lantana. Herring's songs represent the experiences of women who have not only faced the challenges inherent in a rural South childhood, but also the heartrending and often complex experiences of adult women who feel pressured to choose between tradition and career ambitions. The songs show that the results can be both awe-inspiring and sometimes even devastating.

'I just got to the point where I knew I had to write songs again,' Herring says of re-launching her career. 'Music is my life-blood, even as the career of the singer/songwriter is most unusual, especially in the South where the jobs of women are often mother first, wife second. There's a line in one of my songs about a woman who lives in a backroom and begins to disappear. I didn't want that to be me.'

With a new batch of songs in hand, she returned to Austin to record Lantana with Rich Brotherton, who had produced Wellspring. The album is made up entirely of Herring originals, save her artful interpretation of two traditional songs. Because Herring had the chance to sit with the songs for a while, she developed clear ideas about the overall feel of the album. Lantana is clearly grounded in the acoustic traditional sounds of her early work. With Brotherton behind the soundboard, his and Herring's collaboration made for a quiet masterpiece.

In many ways Lantana is Herring's re-imaging of the Gothic South, with a rich alto voice that soothes the listener even as she addresses difficult subjects. Herring has a journalist's eye for detail, a poet's sense of scale and language, and a life-long Southerner's understanding of the issues that shape the culture below the Mason Dixon line. Herring tackles poignant themes of womanhood in 'Fair and Tender Ladies', 'Stone Cold World' and 'Song For Fay.' Herring also expertly throws her hat in the ring of the long-standing murder ballad tradition, this time representing Susan Smith in the song 'Paper Gown.' Herring's commitment to uncovering the truth in her songs led fellow artist Dar Williams to call Herring 'the elusive real thing.'
There is no artifice on Lantana. It's an album full of delights, lyrically and musically. And just like Caroline Herring, her new album is the real thing.

Early Praise for Lantana:

"...concept album of sorts about the South, with a highlight being a song from the projected viewpoint of Susan Smith, who drowned her two sons." - Ken Barnes, USA Today "Listen Up" Blog

"This album is a testament not only to her ability as a musician, but also as a storyteller who happens to set her tales, woeful and happy, to music. - Mary Warner, Delta Magazine

"Herring is not hesitant to uncover any story, even the ones most of us avoid. She would make a good reporter, except she has too much music in her. That's our good fortune." - Jim Blum, Folk Alley

"Like the flower for which it is named, Lantana is more than it seems. When the lantana flowers, butterflies swarm. It is magic, simple as that." - Frank Gutch Jr, Swampland

"It's a pure, heartfelt, honest and even retro album from a woman obviously unconcerned with commercial popularity. Lantana might have been released to greater acclaim 40 years ago, but it heralds a return to a classic sound that never goes out of style." - Hal Horowitz, The Sunday Paper

"...this album is haunting and beautiful, combining strong songwriting with solid, effective production and stunning vocal delivery." - Cover Lay Down

"She has a sharp eye for what lies beneath all the love and tenderness that seems the be subject matter of her songs if you don't listen closely enough." - Hans Werksman, Here Comes The Flood