Last month, Devendra Banhart announced a new album, Flying Wig, which will be out in September. The follow-up to 2019’s Ma, Flying Wig was made in collaboration with Cate Le Bon and recorded in a cabin studio in Topanga. We’ve already heard the album’s lead single “Twin,” and today Banhart is back with another preview. “Sirens” comes with a video, which co-stars multidisciplinary artist Dorian Wood and comedians Tim Heidecker and Mitra Jouhari.
“‘Sirens’ is about the bewilderment that precedes longing, the space between ‘everything hurts’ and ‘oh there’s a nail stuck in my back,’” Banhart says in a statement. “It’s like the relief mixed with fear that comes from finally finding the target. We haven’t hit it yet – but we know where to aim, that’s where the ‘And Yet’-ness of this song is. Another theme that seems prevalent throughout the album is obstacles into antidotes. I mean, what a bummer right? ‘Only the violence will ever hold me tight’ but if there’s no getting rid of then our only sane option is to learn to dance with it. This is all lyrical… Musically we wanted it to feel like dancing alone, weeping in a crowd, and somehow even relaxing into that melancholy, the sensual side of sorrow, the mournful side of joy.”
Of the video, which was a collab with Christian Stavros and directed by Joseph Wasilewski, Banhart adds: “We wanted to make a mini sci-fi film that was equally dystopian and utopian. What we came up with was a world where only artists are allowed to run for any government positions, the presidency is always shared between two people. In our world two legends won, Tim Heidecker and Mitra Jouhari, and in this world everyone’s a masseuse and massages are mandatory (played by myself and the amazing Dorian Wood) and crying is obligatory and enforced by law.”
Watch and listen below.
TOUR DATES:
08/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hollywood Bowl =
10/03 – Iowa City, IA @ The Englert Theatre +
10/04 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
10/06 – Toronto, ONT @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre *
10/07 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre *
10/08 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
10/09 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair @
10/11 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall @
10/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer @
10/13 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes ^
10/14 – Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre
11/07 – Lisbon, PT @ Coliseu
11/08 – Braga, PT @ Theatro Circo
11/10 – Madrid, ES @ Palacio Municipal %
11/11 – Valencia, ES @ La Rambleta %
11/12 – Barcelona, ES @ Paral.lel 62 %
11/14 – Paris, FR @ Le Grand Rex %
11/15 – London, UK @ Troxy %
11/18 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur %
11/19 – Lausanne, CH @ Theatre de l’Octogone %
11/21 – Milan, IT @ Auditorium Fondazione Cariplo %
11/22 – Trieste, IT @ Teatro Politeama Rossetti %
11/23 – Vienna, AT @ Globe %
11/25 – Berlin, DE @ Passionskirche %
11/26 – Hamburg, DE @ Kampnagel %
11/28 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso %
11/29 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique %
12/06 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park !
12/09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore !
12/11 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall !
12/12 – Seattle, Wa @ Neptune Theatre !
12/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom !
! with Hayden Pedigo
* with Le Ren
@ with Miho Hatori
^ with Soma
% with John Moods
+ with Rogov
= with Carla Morrison
Flying Wig is out 9/22 via Mexican Summer.
