Cheater’s Game, the new collaborative album from critically acclaimed husband-and-wife duo Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, is out now on Premium Records. Released to widespread critical acclaim, The Wall Street Journal calls the album “a masterly collection,” while the Austin Chronicle praises, “Extraordinarily talented on their own, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison prove themselves greater together than apart on Cheater's Game.” Widely recognized for their live shows together, Bruce and Kelly will tour throughout the U.S. in celebration of the album.
The long-awaited album features seven new songs and six cover songs. Of the material, Kelly comments, “The songs that we chose to cover were important in that they reflect what we love about country music.” Writers include Razzy Bayley, Hayes Carll, Don Williams, Dave Alvin, Robert Earl Keen and Lawrence Shoberg. “This is something that I’ve wanted to try for a couple of years,” explains Bruce. “At some point you decide: let’s see what this is like if we don’t keep it at arm’s length. It does feel like the time is right for us to do this together. Kelly is such an amazing singer, and she makes a song sound like it ought to sound.” In preparation for the album, the couple spent a year working through new material at live shows in an effort to find their musical voice. Once they had determined the kind of album they wanted to make, they traveled to Nashville to work with producer Brad Jones.
Since emerging onto the scene in 1995, Bruce has been widely recognized as a world-renowned songwriter with several #1 hits, including “Wrapped” (George Strait), “Angry All The Time” (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill) and “Travelin’ Soldier” (Dixie Chicks). He has also recorded eight studio albums. Cheater’s Game is the first album from Kelly since 2007’s acclaimed Translated From Love. Of the album, Entertainment Weekly declared, “…a treat in any emotional language,” while Interview Magazine asserted “...Kelly Willis ultimately blows away the year’s biggest noisemakers.” Since her debut in 1990, Kelly has released six albums, including 1999’s What I Deserve, of which Time Magazine called the “country record of the year.”