Cracker are getting ready to release their 10th album in December and have just given fans the first taste of the new LP.

'Berkeley to Bakersfield' is a double disc set that finds the band covering a lot of ground -- literally and figuratively. The songs work as a road map covering two different areas of the California landscape, from the northern Bay down to Bakersfield. The discs are divided not only logistically and stylistically, but in band lineups as well.

“On the Berkeley disc the band is the original Cracker lineup -- Davey Faragher, Michael Urbano, Johnny and myself," explains band leader David Lowery in a press release for the album. "This is the first time this lineup has recorded together in almost 20 years. We began recording this album at East Bay Recorders in Berkeley, Calif. For this reason we chose to stylistically focus this disc on the music we most associate with the East Bay: punk and garage with some funky undertones. To further match our sense of place we often took an overtly political tone in the lyrics."

Berkeley carries its history in very liberal luggage as well as the aforementioned musical styles, while Bakersfield has a rich history of country music made famous by the likes of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Instead of trying to fuse the two styles into one album, Cracker decided to expand the project into a two disc set, representing two different sides of the band.

“This Bakersfield disc represents the ‘California country’ side of the band," Lowrey continued. "Throughout the band’s 24-year history we’ve dabbled in Country and Americana but this time we wanted to pay homage to the particular strain of Country and Country-Rock music that emerges from the inland valleys of California.” One track from each disc, 'Almond Grove' and 'Waited My Whole Life,' can be found at Rolling Stone and Pop Matters, respectively.

Lowrey has been very busy this year. In June, he and his other band, Camper Van Beethoven, released a new album, 'El Camino Real,' and both outfits are hitting the road, sometimes crossing paths. See tour dates below.

"If somebody had told me I was going to be in the music business for over 30 years, when I was first forming Camper Van Beethoven, or that Cracker would still be playing 23 years later, I really would have been very surprised by that," he told Rolling Stone. "I would have asked them what they were smoking."

'Berkeley To Bakersfield' is set for release on Dec. 9 via 429 Records.

Cracker 2014-15 Winter Tour
Nov. 28: Tampa Fla.
Nov. 29: Atlanta Ga.
Nov. 30: Atlanta Ga.
Dec. 2: Ferndale, Mich.
Dec. 3: Madison, Wisc.
Dec. 4: Minneapolis, Minn.
Dec. 5: Chicago, Ill.
Dec. 6 : St Louis Mo.
Dec. 27: San Francisco, Calif. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Dec. 28: San Francisco, Calif. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Dec. 29: Santa Barbara, Calif. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Dec. 30: Solana Beach, Calif. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Dec. 31: Denver, Colo. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Jan. 3: Nashville, Tenn.
Jan. 14: Washington D.C. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Jan. 15: Toronto, Ontario (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Jan. 16: Cambridge, Mass. (with Camper Van Beethoven)
Jan. 18: New York, N.Y. (with Camper Van Beethoven)

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