Following on from 2020’s Transmigration Blues and 2022’s Dust, Ryan Gustafson of The Dead Tongues has announced the release of two new albums on Psychic Hotline: Body of Light and I Am a Cloud. The 16 tracks that make up the albums are described as interweaving and disparate. Watch the videos for the two lead singles below. Both albums will be released together as a physical 2xLP on August 9th. ‘Body of Light’ will be released digitally on June 14th.
According to the album press, Gustafson spent a month at “the Shack,” a primitive and private structure in rural western North Carolina, working on new material and sorting through piles of poems, sticky notes scattered across the windows, and stacks of free writing streams of thought. Most of the songs were written during this time. Gustafson wanted to continue with that explorative energy once he got into the formal studio, allowing it to lead the group of players assembled – the albums feature performances by Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Bon Iver), Mat Davidson (Twain), Matt Douglas (The Mountain Goats), Joe Westerlund (Califone, Megafaun), Jeff Ratner (Bing and Ruth), and more. Gustafson wanted to dedicate the studio time to not just recording songs but also making something new, with new improvisations.
The title track, I Am a Cloud, is described as a fever dream of song and spoken-word about the toggle between identity and ephemerality, while Body of Light is about finding sanctuary with someone else.
Both videos were directed by Ryan Gustafson & Cat Siravantha
Bandcamp: https://thedeadtongues.bandcamp.com/