Cass McCombs

Californian singer/songwriter Cass McCombs combined elements of folk, indie pop, and alt country in his sound, which started out as a rather lo-fi affair and evolved into something much more sonically nuanced. Born on November 13, 1977 in Concord, California, McCombs spent his early days in various bands before setting out as a solo artist. His first release under his own name was the EP Not the Way in 2002 on the renowned UK label 4AD. The label released McCombs' first full-length record, A, the following year, and it earned enough attention to get him a coveted live session on British tastemaker John Peel's radio show as well as a spot on the roster at the high-profile All Tomorrow's Parties festival. After another LP on 4AD a couple of years later, McCombs shifted to the Domino label for his third album, Dropping the Writ, which expanded his following further. McCombs' critical acclaim increased over the course of his next several records. McCombs moved to the Anti label for his eighth album, Mangy Love. That same year, he inaugurated his side project The Skiffle Players, a band that also included Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks and singer/songwriter Neal Casal, among others. They released their first album, Skifflin' in 2016, following it with Skiff in 2018. Anti released McCombs' Tip of the Sphere album in 2019.