Sleepercar, the project from Jim Ward of Sparta and At the Drive–In have set a release date as well as posting three new songs from their upcoming debut.

Jim mentioned the band to us in a recent Sparta interview, but he adds:

The first notes of "Fences Down" were written on a stage in Japan in January, during a moment of solitude at a soundcheck on what would be the final At The Drive In tour. I had been listening to the old 97's and slowly discovering that some sort of country and rock n roll combination was taking me over.

I met some new friends who introduced me to the Flying Burrito Brothers and Gram Parsons and I was hooked. I made some half–joking plans to start a country band, but then got distracted by life. At The Drive In ended, Sparta began.

Additional musicians include 6–string guitar and farfisa by Ross Godfrey of Morcheeba fame, and Maura Davis of Denali and Ambulette sings on some songs. We mixed the record at Sonic Ranch with Justin Leeah at the controls.

The record is titled West Texas and is due out April 22, 2008. You can find three songs from the album on their myspace page.