John Cale shares new single, ‘How We See The Light’
The Velvet Underground alum and legendary multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter John Cale has released a new single, ‘How We See The Light’, to preview his forthcoming studio album POPtical Illusion.
The Welshman shows no sign of slowing down at age 82 as he treats fans to this pop-conscious track. As the album title might betray, Cale intends to embrace contemporary pop trends, but as a renowned avant-garde alchemist, there are a few kinks in the chain.
‘How We See The Light’ is a minor-key production that surfs pleasantly on a repeated piano chord while gentle guitar melodies and drum machines bring colour to proceedings. Cale sings, “In between the way we see the light / Then we lose our minds and jump a fence” in the chorus. Meanwhile, the accompanying video, directed by Pepi Ginsberg, suggests a poignant office romance between papier-machê co-workers.
As we heard in Cale’s magnificent album of 2023, Mercy, Cale likes to keep a finger on the pulse, bringing his distinctive vocals into the 2020s with inspired instrumental compositions. Elegant and immersive, ‘How We See The Light’ promises great things for the rest of the album, scheduled to arrive on June 14th via Double Six/Domino.
In a press release accompanying the announcement of POPtical Illusion, Cale outed himself as a “hip-hop zealot,” but this only tells part of the artist’s current musical outlook. Inspired during the Covid-19 lockdown, Cale wrote over 80 new songs in just over a year, “collectively surveying the range of human experience in the process – humour bled into frustration, regret gave way to forgiveness, sadness tangled with surrealism.”
Cale brought Mercy to life by collaborating with some of the contemporary musicians who have inspired his creativity over the past decade, namely Tony Allen, Laurel Halo, Weyes Blood, Tei Shi, Animal Collective’s Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Dev Hynes, Sylvan Esso, Actress, and Fat White Family.
In a glowing 4.5-star review of Mercy, Far Out said: “In this long-awaited release, Cale shows an undying thirst for musical exploration, a sentimental connection to the past, and, perhaps least surprisingly, his virtuosic production and instrumental talents.”
At present, it is unconfirmed whether POPtical Illusion will be quite so rich in collaboration, but Cale has issued the full tracklist, which doesn’t mention any featured artists. See the list and hear ‘How We See The Light’ below.
POPtical Illusion tracklist:
- ‘God Made Me Do It (don’t ask me again)’
- ‘Davies and Wales’
- ‘Calling You Out’
- ‘Edge of Reason’
- ‘I’m Angry’
- ‘How We See The Light’
- ‘Company Commander’
- ‘Setting Fires’
- ‘Shark-Shark’
- ‘Funkball the Brewster’
- ‘All To The Good’
- ‘Laughing In My Sleep’
- ‘There Will Be No River’
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