Phoenix band Kinch has an album done and I can only imagine that it must be burning a hole in their pocket. The Incandenza, the group’s second full-length, is in the can and awaiting release, which, of course, is the tricky part.

Wisely, the guys aren’t rushing into anything, instead building some momentum with last month’s three-city residency plan and upcoming March gigs that include SXSW.

But Kinch couldn’t keep a lid on the new material completely, and that’s to our benefit. Thanks to a clever widget the band developed, you can not only grab the new song Once, I Was a Mainsail (for the cost of your e-mail address), but you can share it with friends via Twitter/Facebook/Cher/Shih Tzu/Stevie Nicks/mixtape/chocolate chip cookie/Stinkweeds/Skype show/postcard. I kid you not.

So, really, there’s no reason for you not to share it (unless you were holding out for the carrier pigeon method). In Mainsail, singer Andrew Junker takes the listener on a bit of mythological (and metaphorical) journey of a mainsail set adrift by temptation. Musically, the song builds appropriately, a buoyant bass line carrying it to its screaming finale. More impressive, Junker somehow manages to wedge the word “archipelago” into the first verse, a colorful use of the language that grabs the imagination.

Grab the song below and catch Kinch on Saturday playing with Telekinesis at Sail Inn in Tempe.

Check out the video below of Kinch performing Mainsail last month at Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles as part of its January residency there:

(Photo credit: Christine Valenzuela)

Pedal-steel ace Jon Rauhouse, a mainstay in Neko Case’s band and a Phoenix native, spent some time at Wavelab Studio in Tucson in October to record material for his fifth album. It was a rare spot of downtime for Rauhouse, who was on the road for much of the year playing for Jakob Dylan and Billy Bob Thornton.

Thanks to Notable Music Co., we have our first taste of the Tucson session. Damon Booth, VP/GM of Notable Music – an independent music publishing company founded in 1962 by composer and jazz musician Cy Coleman – asked Rauhouse to do a cover of Witchcraft, a song composed by Coleman and then released as a single by Frank Sinatra.

Rauhouse took it a step further – recording a version with vocals by Rachel Flotard of Visqueen and backed by his Sestet. Rauhouse told me in an e-mail that he’s polishing off the instrumental, but the vocal version is available on eMusic and iTunes.

I’ve always loved the pedal-steel guitar for its emotive strains, and combined here with Flotard’s stunning voice, the song takes on a moody vibe, like something emanating from a smokey noir-style lounge.

The players on this track include:
Jon Rauhouse: pedal steel
Rachel Flotard: vocals (Visqueen)
Tommy Connell: guitar
Jacob Valenzuela: trumpet (Calexico)
Kevin O’Donnell : drums (Andrew Bird)
Will Lovell: bass
Jeff Livingston: piano