One of the downsides of the demise of commercial radio is that it’s hard to know when your favorite artists are releasing new music. It’s not as if you’re going to hear anything progressive on the local Top 40 station, so if you’re like me you get your new music news on the web or stay in touch with your favorite artists by liking them on Facebook and following them on Twitter. If you don’t do that, you probably had no idea k.d. lang was releasing her first studio album in three years tomorrow.

For my money, k.d. lang has the best voice in popular music and she’s been thrilling fans with her golden pipes for 25 years. I first discovered k.d. back in 1989 with the release of Absolute Torch and Twang, the first time I ever purchased anything even remotely similar to country music. I vividly remember turning up the volume really loud on “Pulling Back The Reins” and letting the music wash over me like a summer storm. I was hooked.

Over the years she has gone from alt-country crooner to pop star (see 1992’s Ingenue and 2000’s Invincible Summer) and back a few times, always relying on her amazing voice to inspire fans new and old. She did duets with Tony Bennett. Did a great soundtrack to a terrible movie based on a great book (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues), and last year released a retrospective. But it was perhaps on the biggest stage ever that she showed the world just how gifted she is when she performed an unforgettable version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The first cut from the new record is called “I Confess” and here is the video. It’s classic k.d.: