Luke Reynolds, former Blue Merle front man, returns as Pictures And Sound with a self-titled debut album, on Vanguard Records. In 2005, Reynolds found success with Blue Merles well-received album and smash hit, Burning In The Sun. Blue Merle has since parted ways allowing Pictures And Sound to flourish.

Reynolds, who played a dozen instruments on the Pictures And Sound album including pedal steel, guitars and keyboards, joined up with his friends Dave Wilder (Macy Gray, Liz Phair) on bass and Pete McNeal (Jem, Z-Trip, Cake, Ricki Lee Jones) on drums, to create a body of work that is modern in its arrangements and soundscapes yet a throw back to an era when songs were written and recorded in a more organic atmosphere.

Recorded over several weeks in Nashville during the winter to two inch tape, the album, produced by Jacquire King (Modest Mouse, Tom Waits, Kings of Leon), was written over a two and a half year period where Reynolds lead a nomadic lifestyle writing in cities around the world from Barcelona, Spain to the United Kingdom to Los Angeles to Bristol, Vermont.

Seeking the most inspiring environment he could think of as the setting for his creative process to begin, Reynolds left Nashville after living there for seven years and headed north with a truckload of instruments, recording gear and visual records for inspiration, including Van Morrisons Astral Weeks, spending the first summer and early fall living in a tent in the mountains near his birthplace of central Vermont, converting the basement floor of an 1800s grain mill into a studio. I wanted to break it all down, bring it back to the place which initially shaped me and then reinvent myself from scratch.

When it got too cold to live in the tent, Reynolds went on the road, opening for the North Mississippi Allstars and later playing pedal steel and lead guitar for Brett Dennen. He spent the winter working near the Canadian border, teaching music and painting to people with developmental learning disabilities, all the while traveling around the U.S. and Europe to continue writing, heading to L.A. every six months to work up new material with McNeal and Wilder.

Growing up in a geodesic dome built by his parents in the early 70s, Reynolds spent three years guiding boats, wilderness backcountry trips and working on cattle ranches in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado before pursuing music full time.

His music has been featured in films such as Revolution Green featuring Willie Nelson and narrated by Woody Harrelson and August Rush, featuring Robin Williams. In addition, he has lent his musical talents to documentary films from environmental organizations like the Conservation Alliance as well as performing at benefit concerts such as Farm AID and VH1 Save The Music. Reynolds has performed at such prestigious events as Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo and shared the stage with My Morning Jacket, Van Morrison, Badly Drawn Boy, Dave Matthews Band, Brett Dennen, Guster, North Mississippi Allstars, and Philippe Solal of The Gotan Project.