Composer and multi-instrumentalist claire rousay is set to release her new album, “a little death,” on October 31st via Thrill Jockey. Described as a return to her core solo practice after the more pop-oriented sentiment (2024), this work completes a trilogy that includes her albums a heavenly touch and a softer focus.
The announcement is accompanied by the new single “just (feat. M. Sage),” a collaboration that gives listeners a first glimpse into the album’s sound. The track showcases the album’s crepuscular mood, contrasting the sharp, metallic textures of “metallic grinding” and other percussive sounds with the warm, sustained drones of clarinets and piano. This creates a sonic landscape that is at once intimate and expansive.
True to her style, rousay’s new album is built around field recordings, but this time they are used as a textural foundation rather than the central focus. She views these recordings, captured at dusk, as “springboards” that “timbrally intertwine” with live instrumentation. This approach creates a subtle, diaristic impression, as if the sounds are a personal memory. a little death promises to be another delicate yet powerful constellation of sound and feeling from one of experimental music’s most compelling voices.
a little death features frequent collaborators M. Sage, more eaze, Gretchen Korsmo, Andrew Weathers, and Alex Cunningham.
claire rousay has also announced a North American tour throughout autumn 2025, including a hometown LA release show at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, and a New York release show in the round as the debut live show for the new Powerhouse International Festival at Powerhouse Arts featuring a full live band.
claire rousay Tour Dates
Sep. 3 – Miami, FL – Coral Gables Art Cinema *
Sep 6 – Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
Sep 9 – Lorain, OH – Lorain Cinematheque
Sep 10 – Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
Sep 11 – Nashville, TN – Random Sample [tickets]
Sep 12 – Asheville, NC – Revolve [tickets]
Oct. 24 – Los Angeles, CA – Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
Nov. 4 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Nov. 6 – Portland, OR – Holocene
Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA – Here-After
Nov 22 – NYC – Powerhouse Arts [tickets]
Nov. 30 – Chicago, IL – Constellation
Dec. 2 – Toronto, ON – Standard Time
Dec. 3 – Montreal, QC – Toscadura
Dec. 4 – Somerville, MA – The Rockwell
Dec. 5 – East Meredith, NY – West Kortright Center
Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church – Chapel
Dec. 7 – Baltimore, MD – 2640 Space
- screening/live performance of The Bloody Lady