Credit: Hanly Banks Callahan

Bill Callahan shares enlightening new single ‘Natural Information’

Tue 27 September 2022 11:58, UK

Bill Callahan - 'Natural Information'

Singer and songwriter Bill Callahan has shared a new single from his upcoming album YTI⅃AƎЯ. ‘Natural Information’ comes as the second track to preview the strangely titled album, marking his first solo studio record since 2019’s Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest.

Earlier this month, Callahan released YTI⅃AƎЯ’s lead single, ‘Coyote’, to set a precedent for the album. When he announced the new record, Callahan wrote that he “wanted to make a record that addressed or reflected the current climate.” He’s hoping to help people get out of their state of “hypnagogic rage”.

“We lived for a while in a house in the hills,” Callahan said of ‘Coyote’ in a statement. “Coyote hills. The coyotes would start their song at dawn. Dawn and dusk were their main appearance times. Our dog would sleep outside sometimes in the morning and our boy was still bite-size. The coyotes would come take notes, edging closer each day. Mornings on the kingsize outdoor daybed. Like a righteous floating tide the coyotes would drift into our world. Predator and prey, blurred. Past and present, blurred. The young, the aged are to be snatched and devoured. Past lives edge in closer to try to speak to us. Current lives eye the past ones like sleeping dogs. And love spans all, that is why the feeling is so deep—deeper than one lifetime.”

‘Coyote’ came as if from an energised Nick Drake with its light, breezy acoustic embellishments and Callahan’s ever-engrossing lyrics. Now, ‘Natural Information’ continues to launch us through an upbeat, sentimental ether as he sings of profound “contemplation”. The track brings in beautiful electric guitar textures, backing vocals and brass sections that leave much to get excited about ahead of the full album launch on October 14th.

Callahan recorded ‘Natural Information’ with the same ensemble who played on the rest of YTI⅃AƎЯ. This includes guitarist Matt Kinsey, bassist and backing singer Emmett Kelly, pianist/backing singer Sarah Ann Phillips and drummer Jim White.

Listen to Bill Callahan’s ‘Natural Information’ below.