NEWS : THU, JUN 29, 2023 at 7:00 AM

Lael Neale Shares New Single “White T-Shirt”

Today, Lael Neale is sharing the official video for “White T-Shirt,” a new song available now on all DSPs and recorded during the Star Eaters Delight sessions, her acclaimed album of 2023, released earlier this spring. The song was written and composed by Neale and produced and mixed by Guy Blakeslee.
 
Blakeslee says of the song, “‘’White T-Shirt’ dates back a number of years to when I used to follow Lael around LA to all of her barely publicized performances. The song never ceased to silence the chatter in the room. There was nothing I could add to this performance, it’s a raw gem that stands alone and cuts through the noise.”
 
Lael Neale has also extended her international tour schedule for 2023 in support of Star Eaters Delight, which resumes Tuesday, July 11th in Prague, CR at Zluté Lazné and currently runs through Friday, September 29th in Seattle, WA at The Paramount Theatre.

Highlights for the summer and fall run include UK & European dates supporting Ben Howard (July 11th-July 23rd), U.S. Pacific Northwest dates with label mate Weyes Blood (September 27th-29th), and new UK & European headlining shows (September 6th-16th). A current list of dates is below, and tickets for these shows are on sale now.
 
Tue. Jul. 11 - Prague, CR - Zluté Lazné *
Wed. Jul. 12 - Warsaw, PL - Progresja Summer Stage *
Fri. Jul. 14 - Berlin, DE - Zitadelle *
Sat. Jul. 15 - Hamburg, DE - Stadtpark *
Mon.  Jul. 17 -  Munich, DE - Tonhalle *
Tue. Jul. 18 - Zurich, CH - X-Tra Podium  *
Fri. Jul. 21 - Glasgow, UK - SWG3 Yard *
Sat. Jul. 22 - London, UK - Alexandra Palace Park *
Sun. Jul. 23 - Cardiff, UK - Cardiff Castle *
Wed. Sep. 06  - Rotterdam, NL - Roodkapje
Thu. Sep. 07 - Utrecht, NL - Ekko
Fri. Sep. 08 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Upstairs
Sat. Sep. 09 - Asten-Heusden, NL - Misty Fields Festival
Mon. Sep. 11 - Bristol, UK - Crofters Rights
Tue. Sep. 12 - Brighton, UK - The Prince Albert
Wed. Sep. 13 - London, UK - Moth Club
Thu. Sep. 14 - Dublin, IE - The Workman’s Club
Sat. Sep. 16 - Leffinge, BE - Leffingeleuren Festival
Wed. Sep. 27 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater ^
Thu. Sep. 28 - Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre ^
Fri. Sep. 29 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater ^

 * w/ Ben Howard 
^ w/ Weyes Blood 

 
 
The beguiling Star Eaters Delight reveals an expansion of Neale’s sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee and arrives on the heels of her Sub Pop debut Acquainted With Night,  which won international acclaim for its crystalline vocals, clever songwriting, and excellent use of Omnichord to build a world of beautiful reveries.
 
In April of 2020, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family’s farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She explains: “The unbroken silences on the farm compelled me to break them with sound. This album is louder and more external, calling out to the world.”
 
Star Eaters Delight was written by Neale, with arrangements and production by Guy Blakeslee. The recordings were made on cassette in Virginia and mastered by Chris Coady in Los Angeles.
 
Star Eaters Delight is available now from Sub Pop. LP orders from megamart.subpop.com, and select independent retailers in North Americathe UK and Europe, will receive the Loser edition on gold vinyl.
 
What people are saying about Lael Neale’s Star Eaters Delight:
“A unique, boldly weird proposition, and one that proudly carries the faint hint of tractor grease. Half of it comes on like cult 70s folk artist Karen Dalton hanging out with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, while the rest offers somewhat more modern balladry, placing her more in the world of Angel Olsen and Cat Power.” - THE GUARDIAN
 
“Spellbinding” ★★★★★ - SHINDIG!
 
“There’s something a little haunting about her voice, it helps too that she writes primarily on the Omnichord, which has a little bit of spookiness built into it. But this is kind of an album for Luddites about how to exist in a world that demands too much of your attention and how you can be intentional about the way you move through it. It was recorded on cassette, which I love because it brings a real warmth to it, and a real presence of being in the room, which I think really delivers that message home.” “New Music Friday: The Best Releases Out April 21st” - NPR MUSIC
 
“…An excellent new album” - STEREOGUM
 
“Neale has placed her trust in life’s meanders—and in its source—and the result is her best work yet: a golden mean between experimentation and pop, lo-fi and hi-fi, vitality and rest.” - PASTE
 
“Neale is imaginative, but she’s steeped in songwriting craft and she knows her way round a whopping chorus.” ★★★★ - MOJO
 
Star Eater’s Delight…was recorded on cassette, and tape hiss acts like a third band member here. She sings of flowers, rivers, seas, and trees; holy water, perfect deaths; bells of time, patience, and the speed of medicine. Carried by words and rhythm, she’s barreling towards something just beyond the horizon.” - AQUARIUM DRUNKARD
 
“Neale has put together a tight package of an album with no stray notes but one also brimming with a sly multitude of ideas. Kudos to Neale for not playing it safe and simultaneously doing something wholly different than anyone else out there.”
9/10 - UNDER THE RADAR
 
“This collection of versatile songs acts as a tour of different neighborhoods in the beautifully smeary nocturnal dream world Neale began building on her last album.” ★★★★ - ALL MUSIC
 
“A collection of songs with the weight and conviction of hymns. Some have a more spare, lo-fi feel, with Neale’s voice accompanied by vintage instruments, including her signature mellotron, but the real centerpiece is the eight-minute “In Verona,” which brings a real sense of urgency to its invocations of Shakespeare.” “Notable Releases of the Week” - BROOKLYN VEGAN
 
“An elegantly spare showcase of her radiant voice, a tremulous yodel tinged with gospel and country inflections. Bathed in antique analog acoustics, spine-tingling ballads of romantic yearning....” - UNCUT

Posted by Abbie Gobeli