Brannan has always enjoyed singing other people's songs, but never expected to release a covers album. "Expressing myself through my songs is one of the main reasons I write music, so singing other people's words felt a little fraudulent or 'uncool,'" he explains. "Over time, I learned to appreciate songs that speak to me, whether I like the melody or think the lyrics are funny or ironic…or if it's a song that meant something to me at a certain point in my life or has a personal story behind it. The covers on this album are ones that I chose for those reasons. I started performing them on YouTube and at my live shows. People continued to ask for them in properly recorded form, so I decided it was time to put this album together…not just of covers, but of covers that have become a part of what my audience might consider my 'repertoire.'"

Some of these tracks on In Living Cover include Joni Mitchell's "All I Want," Ani DiFranco's "Both Hands," The Cranberries "Zombie," Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind" and live audience favorite, The Verve Pipe's "The Freshmen." The album isn't only covers; it opens with a brand new original track, "Beautifully," and closes with "Drowning," the first song he ever wrote at the age of 19.

Brannan released his debut full-length album, goddamned, last summer and followed it with sold-out dates from the US to Europe to Australia. The album was produced by Will Golden (Meiko) and recorded at Los Angeles' famed Village Recording Studios. In addition to his devout online fan following (which he gained through an enviable online campaign from his studio apartment, premiering bedroom versions of his new songs to over 4 million followers on MySpace, YouTube and Facebook), Brannan caught the attention of publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and was just recently featured in Flaunt Magazine. He also released a brand new video last month for the track "Can't Have It All," which already has over 120,000 views on YouTube.

Brannan first turned heads and gained international attention with his performance in John Cameron Mitchell's critically acclaimed film Shortbus. In addition to receiving praise for his acting talent, Brannan began to gain notice for his song "Soda Shop," performed in the film and released on Conor Oberst's Team Love label. It remains the #1 most downloaded track from the soundtrack.

JAY BRANNAN TOUR DATES!

Wed, July 8 New York, NY @ Joe's Pub
Thur, July 9 Annapolis, MD @ Ram's Head Tavern
Fri, July 10 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café
Sat, July 11 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
Mon, July 13 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock
Tue, July 14 Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
Wed, July 15 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
Fri, July 17 Houston, TX @ House of Blues – Bronze Peacock
Sat, July 18 Austin, TX @ Stubb's Jr
Sun, July 19 Dallas, TX @ The Loft
Tues, July 21 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
Fri, July 24 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Sat, July 25 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
Sun, July 26 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
Wed, July 29 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
Thur, July 30 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

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"IN LIVING COVER" TRACK LISTING