The Lil Smokies Announce New Album ‘Break Of The Tide’ & Share Atmospheric Lead Single

The Lil Smokies confirmed their first studio album in five years, Break of the Tide, arriving on April 4 via Americana Vibes. The string band also shared the lead single, “Montana Flower.”

Break of the Tide follows The Lil Smokies’ 2020 album Tornillo. Like Tornillo, Break of the Tide was recorded in Texas, this time in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with local producer Robert Ellis.

Break of the Tide is also The Lil Smokies’ first album with new members bassist Jean Luc Davis and banjo player Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose, who join the core trio of dobro player Andy Dunnigan, guitarist the Reverend Matthew Rieger and fiddler Jake Simpson.

Simpson now splits his time between Montana, where the band was founded, and Oklahoma. The fiddler detailed Break of the Tide lead single, “Montana Flower,” which “is a love song to a local girl from Whitefish [Montana], comparing her beauty to the geographical marvels of the area,” as per a press release.

“That’s the imagery that was going through my head when I wrote the song,” Simpson said. “There’s a lot of mystery in Whitefish. It’s an interesting mix of people there from all over the world alongside the locals who have been there forever. Lots of cosmic energy keeping an eye out for my love when I’m not there.”

Listen to “Montana Flower” below:

On Break of the Tide, Simpson noted: “One of the biggest differences between this album and Tornillo is we hadn’t played these songs live before we recorded them. These tracks really took shape in the studio. For the most part, we used whole takes rather than overdubs and edits. It’s a vibey record.”

Dunnigan characterized the album as, “a turning point, a pivot… the old world vs. the new world. It’s like a bug set in amber, an artifact from that period of time. We didn’t drown under the tide.”

The Lil Smokies will hit the road around Break of the Tide this spring. Scroll down for their tour routing and ticket info.

Break of the Tide Tracklist:

1. Lately
2. Break of the Tide
3. Keep Me Down
4. Sycamore Dreams
5. Ocean
6. Montana Flower
7. Fire in the Rain
8. Bad News Babe
9. Lay It Down For Love
10. Young & Hopeful
11. There for Taking