Chances are good that you’re no stranger to Little Tybee. The Atlanta vets have been going strong for nearly seven years, and each successive album only highlights the further maturation of the group’s progressive folk-rock stylings. 2013’s For Distant Viewing garnered frontman Brock Scott and company their fair share of critical acclaim for the record’s complexity and its unconventional dissection of folk music, and fans have been clamoring for a follow-up ever since.

Last week, Noisey premiered Little Tybee’s newest single, “More Like Jason,” and it expands on this trend. Musically, each player has progressed to the point where their technique as a group and as individuals puts them in the top-tier of folk musicians dabbling in the genre today, Still, it feels unfair to box them into any definitive category. 

Take Josh Martin’s guitar playing, for example. In my book, Martin has earned himself the “Inevitable Mention” award for managing to make his way into nearly every commentary on the band and its music, and mine will be no different. Credit this to his technique, his style, or his skill—it doesn’t really matter, because each of these attributes has earned him an impressive amount of attention, an Ibanez endorsement, and subsequently catapulted him to a degree of authority on his craft that’s eminently rare among guitarists, let alone one that performs in a folk-rock band.

Martin’s playing on “More Like Jason” is just another point on a long list that proves how deserving he is of his accolades. The track opens with Scott’s gliding falsetto before Martin’s guitar and Nirvana Kelly’s violin fall into a vibrant doubling of one another, a masterful and elegant dance that maintains the vivacity of the song’s opening half. The track eventually degenerates into what Noisey calls a “gypsy-prog breakdown,” and I can think of no better description. The bohemian flair that Little Tybee is using may be a digression into different territory for them—we’ll have to wait for their Kickstarter-funded fourth album to hear for sure—but it’s effective and fun, to say the least.

Most bands are always trying to progress, attempting to get better. But for Little Tybee, I don’t think it’s so much about improving as it is about reinventing themselves and their music. Their technical prowess is absolutely matchless, and second only to their ability to craft compelling, soothing songs. If “More Like Jason” is any indication of what Little Tybee’s latest holds, it won’t disappoint.

Listen to “More Like Jason” now via Noisey.

In addition to their track premiere, the band announced a slew of summer tour dates that includes stops on the West Coast and Midwest, as well as parts of the East Coast and Southeast. The nearly six-week long trek kicks off on-where else?-Tybee Island and traverses the United States before finishing up with a performance at Secret Stages in Birmingham on Aug. 6. Check out the full list of dates below and make sure to catch Little Tybee this Saturday night when they headline 529.

Little Tybee Summer Tour Dates
Jun 16 – Tybee Social – Tybee Island, GA
Jun 17 – The Jinx – Savannah, GA
Jun 18 – The Atlantic – Gainesville, FL
Jun 19 – Park Tavern – Atlanta, GA
Jun 26 – Harvest House – Denton, TX
Jun 27 – The 806 – Amarillo, TX
Jun 28 – Gig Performance Space – Santa Fe, NM
Jun 29 – Last Exit Live – Phoenix, AZ
Jun 30 – The Edison – Los Angeles, CA
Jul 01 – Tooth and Nail Winery – Paso Robles, CA
Jul 06 – Doug Fir – Portland, OR
Jul 07 – Triple Door – Seattle, WA
Jul 09 – The Dawg Pound – Salt Lake City, UT
Jul 13 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
Jul 14 – Redstone Room – Fishers, IN
Jul 15 – Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI
Jul 16 – Tonic Room – Chicago, IL
Jul 17 – Founder’s Brewing – Grand Rapids, MI
Jul 19 – Kalamazoo – Ann Arbor, MI
Jul 21 – Smiling Buddha – Toronto, Canada
Jul 22 – Bar Le Ritz – Montreal, Canada
Jul 23 – Higher Ground – South Burlington, VT
Jul 25 – Rough Trade – Brooklyn, NY
Jul 26 – Bourbon and Branch – Philadelphia, PA
Jul 27 – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
Jul 28 – Hardywood Park Craft Brewery – Richmond, VA
Jul 29 – Floyd Fest – Floyd, VA
Jul 30 – Floyd Fest – Floyd, VA
Jul 31 – Kings Barcade – Raleigh, NC
Aug 06 – Secret Stages – Birmingham, AL

Little Tybee will perform on Sat., Apr. 9 at 529. Supporting them are Culture Culture and Night Idea. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $12 in advance or $15 DOS.

More Info
Bandcamp: littletybee.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @littletybee
Instagram: @littletybee
Twitter: @LittleTybee
YouTube: @littletybee