After five years of fronting The Cardinals, indie rock darling Ryan Adams will be leaving the New York City rock band in March, as stated on the band's official blog this morning. The troubled singer-songwriter says no drama occurred, but to be "ready for quieter times" as he is struggling with balance and hearing issues. Unfortunately for followers of his blog, 'Foggy', he also claims in the lengthy entry to stop blogging (yet again). However, forthcoming tour dates in Australia and the US will remain as scheduled and Ryan Adams' last show with The Cardinals will take place in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20.

Originally from Jacksonville, North Carolina, Adams was a founding member of alt-country band Whiskeytown at age 20, and released five solo records (Heartbreaker being the most critically acclaimed to date) before joining The Cardinals in 2004. The band's fifth record, Cardinology, came out on Lost Highway Records in October last year, reaching #11 in the US charts, and #27 worldwide, respectively.

With no mention of future music projects, the self-confessed insomniac seems to be heading in a different direction with writing two new books (his debut as an author, Infinity Blues, will be published by Akashic Books in April this year) and recently interning at lifestyle magazine BlackBook.