New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Texas-based singer/songwriter Robert Ellis released today his new single "
Close Your Eyes" off his forthcoming album Yesterday's News (out May 19th through his label Niles City Records). Initially written as a tender lullaby for his son that could just as easily be sung into the mirror, "
Close Your Eyes" is cathartic and dreamy, with the accompanying video providing a heartwarming peek into Ellis' family life.
"I wrote this one as a lullaby for my youngest kiddo," stated Ellis. "There's this little window after you lay them down in the crib, you sit outside the door and wait, listen. Then inevitably you go back in and soothe. One night when Domino was a baby, I was on the fourth or fifth round of this, and I just started humming a tune. I can remember the night vividly, though it was not unlike so many others.
Music and film allow you to sort of freeze a beautiful moment, document it, and mark it. If you aren't careful they have a tendency of slipping away."
Ellis also announced today a new batch of select European tour dates this fall, which includes multiple stops in the Netherlands and Belgium. The new tour dates follow a whirlwind of shows at SXSW this month, including a performance at Willie Nelson's Luck Reunion and a showcase at Mohawk that was highlighted by Rolling Stone for the "tenderness of his melodies and nimble nylon string fingerpicking that rang sweet and true."
"
Close Your Eyes" follows the release of "Gene," a tranquil rumination that Variance Magazine called "a reflection of adulthood and thoughts about a flawed and broken world while nodding to the beauty and promise in our shared humanity." The lead single and title track "Yesterday's News" is also out now, a wry tune that drifts like a cloud on the breeze as Ellis channels a washed up singer on some dimly lit stage. The stunning official video was directed by Erica Silverman and shows footage that spans four continents documenting his worldwide tours over the years. It was picked up by Rolling Stone, Wide Open Country, The Bluegrass Situation, Glide, No Depression, and Brooklyn Vegan who called it a "spare, lilting track," while The Boot named it "enchanting."
An ever evolving, creatively restless renaissance man, Ellis is redefining himself yet again with Yesterday's News, this time on his own, in far more honest terms. Coming off his raucous 2019 album
Texas Piano Man, Ellis is changing course and embracing a raw minimalist approach that prizes patience and restraint above all else. Recorded live to tape in just two days, it's as stripped-down as it gets, with his delicate, reedy tenor accompanied only by nylon string guitar, upright bass, and the occasional piece of handheld percussion. The arrangements are harmonically sophisticated, drawing on the open tunings and intricate fingerpicking of English songwriters like Nick
Drake or Richard Thompson. Ellis's performances are similarly subtle and nuanced, tapping into the bittersweet longing of
Chet Baker and the playful poignancy of Bill Evans and Jim Hall. What emerges is a record that's not quite folk and not quite jazz, a series of intimate, unhurried meditations on growth and maturity, hope and regret, desire and contentment, all delivered by an artist learning to let go and get quiet, to slow down and appreciate the tiny little miracles that make life worth living.
Subverting expectations is nothing new for the celebrated songwriter and producer. Over the course of five solo albums, Ellis has flirted with everything from
Paul Simon and
John Prine to
Elton John and Joni Mitchell, zigging whenever he was expected to zag in a series of sonic and visual transformations that ran the gamut from Redneck
Steely Dan to Lone Star Liberace. NPR has hailed his "musical daring and impeccable songcraft," while Rolling Stone praised his "sharp eye for storytelling," and The New York Times lauded his writing as an emotional "gut punch."
Track Listing:
1) Gene
2) On The Run
3) Yesterday's News
4) Out Of The Woods
5) Wait
6) Wait (Reprise)
7) Close Your Eyes
8) Close Your Eyes (Instrumental)
9) Better Tomorrow
Tour Dates:
10/05 - Groningen, NL @ Lutherse Kerk
10/06 - Hengelo, NL @ Metropool
10/08 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix
10/09 - Eindhover, NL @ Muziekgebouw
10/10 - Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVrendenburg
