John Cale shares new single ‘Noise of You’ and announces new album
Experimental rock god John Cale isn’t the kind of guy who likes to rest on his laurels. The iconic musician is now 80 years old with over 40 original albums of music (whether they be solo studio recordings, collaborations, live albums, or soundtracks). But is that enough? Hell no!
Instead of coasting into retirement, Cale is firing back up with his 16th solo album, Mercy. The new LP will be Cale’s first studio album since 2016’s M:FANS and his first album of original music since he made the soundtrack for the 2018 film Paul Sanchez Is Back! Cale had previously released two singles, ‘Night Crawling’ and ‘Story of Blood’, the latter featuring singer Weyes Blood, last year.
The record sounds like it’s going to be a dark one, something that Cale has never shied away from in his work. According to the album’s press release, Cale’s new songs were informed by “Trump and Brexit, Covid and climate change, civil rights and right-wing extremism—Cale let the bad news of the day filter into his lines, whether that meant contemplating the sovereignty and legal status of sea ice melting near the poles or the unhinged arming of Americans.”
To preview the upcoming LP, Cale has dropped the album’s newest single, ‘Noise of You’. Combining the lightness of ambient music with the delicate strains of synth-pop and a hardened industrial beat to round it all out, ‘Noise of You’ is beautiful in its delicateness and simplicity. Cale has never had a problem being confrontational in his music, but ‘Noise of You’ actually seems to embrace happiness and love as major inspirations.
“I don’t tend to romanticize the idea of love,” Cale explains in a statement. “It represents ‘need’ and that’s not something I’m particularly comfortable with. When it gets ahold of you though – don’t let go – no matter how many times you mess it up!”
Mercy is also set to feature a number of progressive artists who were undoubtedly inspired by Cale, including the aforementioned Weyes Blood, along with Laurel Halo, Sylvan Esso, and Animal Collective. As always, expect some wackiness to ensue.
Check out the video for ‘Noise of You’ down below. Mercy is set for a January 20th release.
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