Merritt won critical acclaim for her 2002 debut, "Bramble Rose," and scored a Grammy nomination in 2004 for her sophomore set, "Tambourine." After nearly four years of non-stop touring behind those albums, she retreated to a flat with a piano in Paris. Her two-week vacation turned into a longer stay and her restful days turned into constant songwriting sessions at the piano.

"Days were wonderful there," Merritt said in a statement. "I wore the same clothes nearly every day. I would take a coffee in the street, say hello to the good people in the little wine store across from my door. ... I cannot explain what happened except to say that there were never enough hours in the day to write, and there was always kindness at hand. I took pictures. I wrote stories. I played piano. I wrote songs."

Eleven of those songs make up "Another Country," Merritt's debut album for Fantasy Records. The set, produced by George Drakoulias, features guitarists Charlie Sexton and Doug Pettibone, along with Tift's longtime bandmates: drummer Zeke Hutchins, bassist Jay Brown and keyboardist Danny Eisenberg.

Leading up to the record's release, a new song will be posted each week at Merritt's website and MySpace page.

A DVD of Merritt's performance on the television show "Austin City Limits" hit stores in late October. The video was filmed at the end of the Tambourine World Tour, which covered more than 40,000 miles and 11 countries, according to the singer's website.

Merritt is also getting ready to launch her own public radio program, "The Spark," which debuts Jan. 27 online and on KRTS-FM in Marfa, TX. She'll interview author Nick Hornby, poet CK Williams and painter Wolf Kahn in the first three episodes.