New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Lone Bellow - Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, Brian Elmquist - have released the soaring and elevating "Good Times," a new powerful song from their soon-to-be-released album HALF MOON LIGHT (Dualtone Records, an Entertainment One Company). Out February 7 and produced by The National's
Aaron Dessner, HALF MOON LIGHT is the band's fourth studio LP and first one since 2017. Billboard premiered the "rhythmic, joyous" song with a Zach Williams Q&A yesterday. A short video about the writing and recording of the song is available now as well.
"Over the years I've had the great joy of staying up late and hearing epic stories told by adventurous souls," Williams said. "Some stories were told on old boats way out in the middle of the ocean, some in Irish Pubs in Manhattan, some in backyards down south, and some on hospital beds. 'Good Times' is a salute to the good ones who grab life by the horns and let no good time slip away."
In November, the band released "Wonder," a song that underpins the entire album with a loving call to reclaim the childlike awe and appreciation age takes away. It is the record's core message and transcendent truth. Relix, called it "moving, wistful."
"When the day is done, I often find myself wondering if I am losing my sense of wonder," says Williams. "My mind goes back to very specific memories. One is of my cousin and I driving in his old S10 pick up truck with a tape of Moondance in the deck that we found in his brother's room. I remember watching the pine trees go by in the truck's windows as we sang 'and it stoned me to my soul.' I remember the hope of the future and the absolute awe of life just pouring into our 16-year-old minds. I never want to lose that sense of wonder. I think that probably goes for all of us."
"We talked a lot about the concept of wonder and seeing people lose it as we get older," Kanene says. "I hope this record is a journey back into wonder -- not through any falsified sense of 'Everything's going to be fine,' but through the beauty and the pain of what it is to be human."
"We made this record in a place of joy and collaboration with our friends. We were trying to do something bigger than ourselves," Brian says.
HALF MOON LIGHT was produced at Dessner's studio in upstate New York and features guitarist Josh Kaufman and drummer J.T. Baites. The album finds The
Lone Bellow more vital than ever as the mighty combo push their acoustic storytelling prowess past new horizons, experimenting with textures and instrumentation to create their most sophisticated work to date. With HALF MOON LIGHT, The
Lone Bellow have returned unified and invigorated with boundless ambition.
The band celebrated the announcement in October by sharing their indelible first single, "Count On Me," a song that reminds us with soul-shouting intensity that it's safe and important to lean on one another for survival.
Williams says: "After singing "
Count On Me" together in the studio we walked outside and couldn't help but think about the sense of camaraderie and kindness that seems to happen at our shows. Like strangers becoming neighbors wrapping their arms 'round each others necks and saying 'I got ya.'"
Album pre-orders feature limited-edition gold vinyl and autographed merchandise bundles HALF MOON LIGHT is an artistic triumph worked toward for years, earned not by individual posturing, but by collective determination and natural growth. With earthy three-part harmonies and songwriting as provocative as it is honest, the trio made up of guitarist Elmquist, lead vocalist Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Pipkin creates sparks that make a stranger's life matter or bring our sense of childlike wonder roaring back. On HALF MOON LIGHT, The
Lone Bellow mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy.
In support of HALF MOON LIGHT, The
Lone Bellow have confirmed a worldwide tour that will begin January 22 in London, England for two nights at the St. Pancras Old Church. North American dates begin February 12 in Los Angeles, CA for two nights at The Troubadour and continue through April 24 with their first-ever headlining show at the Ryman in Nashville, TN. The band will then head to
Europe and come back to
America for summer festival appearances. For updates and tickets, please visit thelonebellow.com.
