Last Days at the Lodge is Lee’s third record, following his first two critically acclaimed and tremendously successful records: Supply and Demand from 2006 and his self-titled debut from 2005. The new record is produced by Don Was, and features Lee on guitars, Doyle Bramhall, Jr (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Aretha Franklin) on keys, Pino Palladino (The Who, D’Angelo) on bass and James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums, along with many others.

Last Days at the Lodge finds Lee honing and emphasizing all the things that earned him his strong fanbase from the get go: His singing is rich, direct and confident, the songs are sharply crafted, the melodies memorable and crisp, the lyrics focused. The production is fuller and less sparse, but the atmosphere remains uncluttered.

A great deal of the current evolution of Lee’s sound can certainly be attributed to the large amount of time he has spent on the road over the last four years. From several worldwide headlining tours to supporting slots with the likes of Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison and Paul Simon, his education on stage has been deep. He has been featured in The New York Times, been hailed as an artist to watch in Rolling Stone, and has performed several times on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as NBC’s The Today Show. He has also appeared on CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman as well as CBS’s The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Lee’s first two records combined have sold over a half million copies worldwide, and the critics have been effusive over his achievements: NPR’s Tom Moon claimed that Lee’s voice “triangulates Bill Withers, Terry Callier and Ray Charles,” while People called him “something special” in their critic’s choice, four-star review of the second record. Entertainment Weekly said Lee “crafts concise, soulful songs,” and Paste felt his sound “conjures intimations of a neo-Sam Cooke laced with Donny Hathaway,” while Billboard hailed that “Lee proves that real emotion and true artistry are not always wasted on youth.” USA Today said that Lee “artfully walks the line that divides sensitivity from sentimentality, and applies his soulful voice with equal grace.”