White Lung announce new album “Paradise”

By: Staff –

White Lung. (Photo: Rick Rodney)

White Lung have announced their return with their fourth studio album Paradise, due out May 6th via Domino. Coming in at 28 minutes, the album simmers with desire and pain, love and beauty, and a seething urgency, hurtling towards the album closer and title track Paradise at signature breakneck speed.

In addition to today’s album announce, check out White Lung’s new video for their first single “Hungry”, which was written by Mish Barber-Way and Justin Gradin, directed by Gradin, and stars Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, The Ring, 127 Hours). Watch the video below. 

“‘Hungry’ plays with identity and perception, and the idea that sometimes public attention can create more isolation and delusion,” Gradin says of the video. “The video focuses on a self-obsessed girl (who is barely famous as the model on a brand of canned condensed milk) as she struggles to seem important while being haunted by the ghosts of fame until her eventual epiphany of disposability.”

For the making of Paradise, vocalist Mish Barber-Way, guitarist Kenneth William and drummer Anne-Marie Vassiliou reconnected in Los Angeles to work with producer Lars Stalfors (HEALTH, Cold War Kids, Alice Glass). In October of 2015, White Lung spent a month in the studio, working closely with Stalfors to challenge what could be done with their songs. Bringing all the energy, unique guitar work and lyrical prowess the band are known for to the studio, White Lung curated their songs with a new pop sensibility, focusing in on making a record for the present – “I wanted a record that sounded like it was made in 2016”, said William.

Mish Barber-Way and Kenneth William sat down with St. Vincent to discuss the making of the album and their creative process. See a excerpt below, and read the entire conversation here.

“There’s this really stupid attitude that only punks have where it’s somehow uncool to become a better songwriter. In no other musical genre are your fans going to drop you when you start progressing. That would be like parents being disappointed in their child for graduating from kindergarten to the first grade. Paradise is the best song writing we have ever done, and I expect the next record to be the same. I have no interest in staying in kindergarten.”

Paradise Tracklisting
1. Dead Weight
2. Narcoleptic
3. Below
4. Kiss Me When I Bleed
5. Demented
6. Sister
7. Hungry
8. I Beg You
9. Vegas
10. Paradise

White Lung will be touring extensively in support of the new album. For all dates currently announced please see below, including a special New York album release show at Baby’s All Right on May 7th, tickets for which go on sale this Friday.

White Lung 2016 Tour Dates
Fri Mar 11 || Vancouver, BC || The Cobalt
Mar 15 – 19 || Austin, TX || SXSW
Sat Mar 19 || Dallas, TX || Spillover Festival
Sun Mar 20 || San Antonio, TX || Burger Records Hangover Fest IV
Fri May 6 || Toronto, ON || Velvet Underground (CMW) – album release show
Sat May 7 || Brooklyn, NY || Baby’s All Right – album release show
Tues May 24 || Brighton, UK || Green Door Store
Wed May 25 || Bristol, UK || Start The Bus
Thurs May 26 || London, UK || Victoria
Fri May 27 || Birmingham, UK || The Flapper
Sat May 28 || Leeds, UK || Brudenell Games Room
Sun May 29 || Manchester, UK || The Star & Garter
Tues May 31 || Paris, France || Point Ephemere
Wed Jun 1 || Liége, Belgium || La Zone
Thurs Jun 2 || The Hague, Netherlands || Paard
Fri Jun 3 || Amsterdam, Netherlands || Paradiso
Jul 22-24 || Oro-Medonte, ON || Way Home Festival
Jul 29-31 || Montreal, QC || Osheaga Festival