Tashi Dorji is set to release his third album for Drag City, ‘low clouds hang, this land is on fire’, on January 30th. The new record marks a significant shift for the guitarist, moving away from the “furious acoustic improvisations” of his previous work. Instead, Dorji embraces the electric guitar for a “disarmingly gentle musical drift.”
The first single, “gathering”, is out today, accompanied by a contemplative video directed by Robert Beatty. The track exemplifies the album’s meditative and melancholy feel. When asked about toning down the volume, Dorji stated that he did it “to find the silence,” a move described as a political statement against “institutional inhumanity.”
Where his past work was a blaze, this album is a “quiet fire.” The music, which draws comparisons to the delicate lineage of Loren Connors or Bill Frisell, acts as a “simmering ode” and an anthem for resistance. The album’s song titles and accompanying verse (sourced from an anarchist ‘zine) point toward a narrative of exhaustion and the need to “get outside of yourself to save yourself.”
Dorji’s new sound is a punk anthem for 2026, finding its power in reserve and mindful progression rather than overt force. ‘low clouds hang, this land is on fire’ offers a striking signal for a time of grief, a soundtrack for deliberations on how to resist and begin again.
Pre-Order/Save low clouds hang, this land is on fire: https://tashidorji.lnk.to/lowclouds