Guthrie, Irion record new disc

Produced by Vetiver's Andy Cabic and Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Devendra Banhart) and recorded at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., the CD includes 12 original songs showcasing a new electric sound for the duo. Their country-rock songwriting and vocal harmonies intertwine with Vetiver's West Coast psych-rock bent.

The songs were chosen from more than 50 they'd accumulated over the past 5 years. "It was really great to have that many songs," said Guthrie, "but at the same time, what do you do with the rest? They weren't any less good. We just picked the songs that we thought went together well."

Special guests include Gary Louris and Mark Olson of The Jayhawks (background vocals), Vetiver's drummer Otto Houser, singer-songwriter/guitarist Neal Casal (guitar, album photography, also photographer for Ryan Adams: A View of Other Windows), Kevin Barker and Charlie Rose (pedal steel, flat picking guitars) and Rad Lorkovic (piano).

Producer Thom Monahan said, "Prior to making 'Bright Examples,' I was away traveling for quite some time, and I listened to the demo of Never Too Far From My Heart over and over again. I was horribly homesick, and that song was no small amount of comfort to me. I'd listen to those lyrics and realize how hard it is sometimes to recognize a love that's right in front of you. That song and those voices were my whole world. I'd feel a little better, a little less alone, every time I heard it."

"Johnny and Sarah Lee are pretty inspiring people (and parents) who live those melodies to their marrow. You can hear it when they sing. They're singing to each other as much as they're singing right to you. A moment of calm in a frenzied world, 'Bright Examples' is like home to me. May it carry you through all the nights you're away from the ones you love."

Guthrie and Irion released their first full-length studio album, "Exploration." Over the course of the last five years, they have consistently toured as a duo and were featured members of the "Guthrie Family Rides Again" tour in 2009/2010. Last year, Guthrie released her debut family album "Go Waggaloo" (Smithsonian Folkways. They also released a live HD DVD, "Folksong" (2009), and in 2007, Irion put out his second solo album, "Ex Tempore."\\