Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton [ tickets ], who hasn't released a new album since 2000's "Wonder Bar," returns to the road in late February for a new round of tour dates.

The Boston-based folk-musician produced "Wonder Bar" himself, and tried to give the album a stripped-down feel.

"I wanted the record to sound natural and true, a little sweaty with some fat on it, nothing too clean," Sexton said in a biography posted at his website. "There are a lot of little mistakes on there, which I think are beautiful."

Sexton went on to explain why he chose to produce the album on his own after working with session-guitarist/producer Danny Kortchmar on his 1998 Atlantic debut, "The American."

"It just seemed unnecessary to bring a producer in because I knew basically what I wanted to do," he said. "I have been inspired by other artists, namely Ani DiFranco, who had no problem producing themselves. I wanted to make a record where I had room to breathe. I did not want to waste someone else's time if I was going to go chase down some idea that might be completely unusable. I wanted to be up until 3am, messing around with the piano, tuning it funny, or trying to get the right sound on the guitar."

Sexton, a native of Syracuse, New York, moved to Boston to nurture his musical career, and in 1992 released a self-produced demo titled "In the Journey." The cassette-only release has sold more than 23,000 copies, according to his biography.

Sexton has fostered his career through endless road work; in 2001, he logged a total of 80,000 miles while on tour.