The studio interns were conferring at a mixing session. “You won’t believe this record – every songs sounds like a different band.”
And with that offhand remark as a creativity prompt, the newest album by Outer Park got its name. The band has always had a Chameleonic nature, tracks on its earlier studio albums spanning psychedelic rock and Appalachian Americana, jazzy improvisation and bluesy standards. Who else has mashed up John Coltrane and Neil Young? Miles Davis and Pink Floyd?
For this new album, Outer Park’s 5th full length release, the band went further. This came from confidence and curiosity. As keyboard player Charles Tobermann recalls, “After three studio albums and one live album, we had found a process that worked well, considering that we are a band whose core members are spread across two continents and three states. And we had gotten comfortable recording in New Orleans, home of our bass player, James Singleton. So it was an opportunity to shake things up, and take things further.”
Guitarist Patrick S. Noonan adds, “Because we all have to travel to write and record anyway, we realized we could gather anywhere. And what better place to do both than Nashville? We booked a big chunk of time at historic Sound Emporium, gathered a Nashville horn section for some tunes, and invited my brother Chris – who had played drums with Charles and James and me when we were just starting out – to be our special guest for these sessions.”
Tobermann notes, “The setup at Sound Emporium was a happy medium between studio isolation and the interactivity of a live performance. We tracked most everything live in the studio, knowing we’d retreat to our own studios to add more layers and polish – and additional guests – later.”
After almost two years of layering and polishing, “Chameleon” is ready to show its colors. The brassy opener, “Tuscaloosa,” is a Tobermann’s cautionary story of reckless antics going way wrong. Already a prolific jazz composer, Singleton contributes his first vocal songs, “Good Daze” and “Run Around,” which draw on the group’s instrumental chops – and add James’ own voice to lead vocalist Chelsea Austin. “Eyes Up!” is Noonan’s call back to 1970’s San Francisco sound, and his “Timeless” is a mashup of “mandolins and Mellotrons” that looks at the lighter side of the inevitable heat death of the universe.
Austin, also a prolific writer, marks her first contribution to an Outer Park album with the trip-hop meets grunge of “slug and her volcano.” She also brought two of the cover tunes on the album, Fiona Apple’s raging “Limp,” and OutKast’s “Idlewild Blue,” which the group electrified with some lighthearted funk.
Noonan explains his push to include “Hickory Wind” on the album: “Charles, James and I were enormously influenced by the California music scene when we were young, not just the birth of jam bands but also the first fusion of rock and country. ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ was Gram Parsons’ only album with The Byrds, but it started a musical revolution – and especially because we would be recording in Nashville, I wanted to honor that part of our history by attempting that beautiful ballad.”
During the post-production, the group recruited several accomplished artists from central North Carolina (where Noonan now lives) to be guests in the studio. Kate Musselwhite (violin) and Molly McGinn (vocals) constitute two thirds of the band The Queen Bees, singer-songwriter Abigail Dowd (vocals) has an active career of performing and recording, and DaShawn Hickman (pedal steel) has become a legend for his pedal steel work, which spans soulful and celestial.
The Nashville horn section was led by regular Outer Park guest Jakub “Jake” Martin on tenor sax, with Zach Tyle on baritone sax and KC Walker on trumper and flugelhorn. New Orleans legend Jason Marsalis, who did most of the drum work on earlier Outer Park albums, is featured on vibraphone on one tune.
The band is hard at work on solo projects, as well as completing some of the other tunes from the Nashville sessions, hoping to start releasing the next batch of new work early in 2027.
Outer Park
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- James Singleton bass; vocals; trumpet
- Charles Tobermann keyboards; electric slide guitar; Precision bass
- Patrick S. Noonan electric, acoustic & baritone guitars; autoharp; mandolin; drum loops; vocals
with:
- Chris Noonan drums
and special guests:
- Kate Musselwhite violin
- Molly McGinn vocals
- Abigail Dowd vocals
- Jakub “Jake” Martin tenor sax
- Zach Tyler baritone sax
- KC Walker trumpet & flugelhorn
- DaShawn Hickman pedal steel guitar
- Jason Marsalis vibraphone
- Benjy Johnson percussion
Song List & Composers (song-by-song credits below)
- 1. Tuscaloosa, by Charles Tobermann
- 2. Good Daze, by Roo Singleton & James Singleton
- 3. Eyes Up! (Cinnamon Sky), by Patrick S. Noonan
- 4. Run Around, by James Singleton
- 5. Idlewild Blue (Don’tchu Worry ‘Bout Me), by André Benjamin (OutKast)
- 6. Melodrama 4, by Charles Tobermann & Clare Harner
- 7. Sound of Silence [Americana Mix], by Paul Simon
- 8. slug and her volcano, by Chelsea Austin & Patrick S. Noonan
- 9. Hickory Wind, by Gram Parsons & Bob Buchanan
- 10. Limp, by Fiona Apple
- 11. Timeless, by Patrick S. Noonan
- 12. Sound of Silence [Naked Mix], by Paul Simon
Produced by Patrick S. Noonan, Charles Tobermann & Chelsea Austin
Recorded in Nashville, Sound Emporium (Skyler Chuckry, engineer; Amry Truitt, asst. eng.)
Additional recording in:
- Greensboro NC, Earthtones Recording Studio (Benjy Johnson, engineer)
- New Orleans, Esplanade Studios (Misha Kachkachishvili, engineer)
Mixed by: Benjy Johnson, Earthtones Recording Studio
Mastered by: Charles Tobermann Cover design by: Parlee Noonan
© Copyright 2026, Wild Orchard Record Company. Release WORC2603
1. Tuscaloosa by Charles Tobermann
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & resonator guitars
- Charles Tobermann piano
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums; Jakub “Jake” Martin tenor sax;
Zach Tyler baritone sax; KC Walker trumpet & flugelhorn
2. Good Daze by Roo Singleton & James Singleton
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan electric guitar, harmony vocals
- Charles Tobermann piano, synths
- James Singleton bass, vocals
- With: Chris Noonan drums
3. Eyes Up! (Cinnamon Sky) by Patrick S. Noonan
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & electric guitars, drum loops, harmony vocals
- Charles Tobermann organ
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums; Kate Musselwhite violin;
Abigail Dowd harmony vocals; Benjy Johnson percussion
4. Run Around by James Singleton
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan electric guitars
- Charles Tobermann piano
- James Singleton bass, vocals, trumpet
- With: Chris Noonan drums
5. Idlewild Blue (Don’tchu Worry ‘Bout Me) by André Benjamin (Outkast)
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan electric guitars
- Charles Tobermann electric piano, electric slide guitar, Precision bass
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums; Zach Tyler baritone sax
6. Melodrama 4 by Charles Tobermann (lyrics adapted from Clare Harner)
- Patrick S. Noonan guitars, vocals
- Charles Tobermann piano
- James Singleton bass
- With: Jakub “Jake” Martin tenor sax; Jason Marsalis vibraphone
7. Sound of Silence [Americana Mix] by Paul Simon
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & baritone guitars
- James Singleton bass
- With: Kate Musselwhite violin; DaShawn Hickman, pedal steel guitar
8. slug and her volcano by Chelsea Austin & Patrick S. Noonan
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & electric guitars, drum loops
- Charles Tobermann organ
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums
9. Hickory Wind by Gram Parsons & Bob Buchanan
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic guitars, autoharp, harmony vocals
- Charles Tobermann organ
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums; Kate Musselwhite violin
10. Limp by Fiona Apple
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & electric guitars
- Charles Tobermann piano
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums
11. Timeless by Patrick S. Noonan
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, vocals
- Charles Tobermann electric piano, Mellotron
- James Singleton bass
- With: Chris Noonan drums; Molly McGinn, vocals; Kate Musselwhite violin
12. Sound of Silence [Naked Mix] by Paul Simon
- Chelsea Austin vocals
- Patrick S. Noonan acoustic & baritone guitars
- James Singleton bass