Nashville-born, Chapel-Hill based artist Florence Dore has released new single “Signs of Life”. This single follows her 2022 album Highways & Rocketships via Propeller Sound Recordings, Produced by Don Dixon. 

Recorded with her band, which includes Mark Spencer (Son Volt, Laura Cantrell) and husband Will Rigby (Steve Earle, the dB’s), “Signs of Life” was originally recorded as part of Highways & Rocketships but didn’t make it onto the record.

Highways was paused due to Covid-19, and when it appeared the whole record was going to have to be recorded in quarantine, she and the band forged ahead and created “Signs of Life” from their various home studios.

Vaccines emerged soon after production on “Signs of Life” had been completed and Florence and the band were able to record the rest of Highways & Rocketships live at Mitch Easter’s studio. It features the fiddle tracks (and vocals) of Mipso’s Libby Rodenbough.

Libby Rodenbough notes:

In the fall of 2020, I had a lot of time on my hands. So it was kind of a blessing to be sent this long track with lots of open space and have Florence essentially say, ‘do as you see fit’. I got to layering string parts and harmonies and the end result was this fairly lush thing you’re listening to now. Disappearing into the kingdom inside my headphones was such a welcome way to spend those solitary strange days.

As a bonus, Florence Dore is putting the new track out with her cover of Marshall Crenshaw’s “Somewhere Down the Line”, which she also recorded in quarantine, during the very first week of the Covid-19 lockdown in March of 2020.

Florence Dore’s version of this tune launched the Billboard-charting benefit record that she co-created, Cover Charge: NC Artists Go Under Cover to Help the Cat’s Cradle, which features covers by NC artists like Superchunk, Iron & Wine, the dB’s, Tift Merritt, and Southern Culture on the Skids. The fundraiser was a complete success, and so the creators just retired Cover Charge.