Comprising Emily Robison and Martie Maguire of The Dixie Chicks the Court Yard Hounds will release an album of all new material on Columbia Records on May 17th.Emily was just writing and writing all of these deeply personal and truly beautiful songs added Martie Maguire. She was initially going to pitch them to other artists and I kept telling her no no you have to save that for you. It’s too good and too personal.Emily took her sister’s advice to heart and held onto the songs thinking perhaps they could be new material for The Dixie Chicks. Realizing that The Dixie Chicks hiatus would last longer than originally anticipated the sisters dove head first into recording what is now the debut album from The Court Yard Hounds.The Court Yard Hounds’ profoundly evocative songs tell stories woven into melodies that are both individual and universal. Robison is the lead vocalist and primary writer on most of the tracks although Maguire takes over the lead on her own solo composition Gracefully. The new music spans sounds of folk country rock and Americana and includes a collaboration with Jakob Dylan on See You in the Spring the wry tale of a couple from the northernmost and southernmost parts of the country who find their biggest obstacle is climatic. Texas also asserts itself more contentedly in The Coast which celebrates neither the east nor west but south coast and Skyline which was inspired by the view of San Antonio from Robison’s loft. Faster paced songs range from the self-doubting levity of Then Again to the fiery outrage of Ain’t No Son a song about an angry disapproving father. Fairytale speaks to romantic enchantment while there’s no happily-ever-after in sight in the breakup songs April’s Love and It Didn’t Make a Sound.