Duff McKagan and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready have teamed up with ex-Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Strong to form a new group, Levee Walkers, and released the first two songs from the project.

For the two new tracks, titled "Freedom Song" and "Tears for the West," the band enlisted the aid of Killing Joke singer Jaz Coleman. According to Martin, the trio met Coleman several years ago at the Classic Rock Awards. "We have been listening to his music for decades," wrote Martin. "We were seated at the same table and introduced by our fellow bandmate Duff McKagan, and we immediately hit it off with a night of memorable conversation, which is how great collaborations usually begin."

Promising that Coleman is "just the first in a handful of select singers who will be putting words and voice" to the band's music, Martin added a few words of explanation regarding the Levee Walkers' mission statement.

"A Levee Walker, by the way, is a phantom that occasionally appears on the tops of levees in the deep American South, which is the mystical heartland of all American music," he wrote. "And like a levee walking phantom, this band will appear, disappear and reappear again, as the musical inspiration suits us."

"Freedom Song" and "Tears for the West" are now streaming at the Levee Walkers' website, and are available for purchase on vinyl through the group's online store.

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