The New Pornographers are debuting their new track “Angelcover” in anticipation of their forthcoming album Continue as a Guest, their first for Merge Records, due March 31.

“I pictured this one as a weird little George Saunders-esque sketch, a snapshot,” explains frontperson A.C. Newman. “I found myself a lot more concerned with performance and/or delivery, changing melody and phrasing to get a better performance, less concerned, less precious about the original melody or lyric that I wrote. With that in mind, I had the idea of angels visiting me in the night with the message that ‘melody ain’t got nothing on delivery.’ Kind of a fever dream, where feelings take on their own personality and shape.”

The band previously shared the record’s first single, “Really Really Light,” alongside a Christian Cerezo-directed video; watch/share here. The album is available to pre-save/pre-order here.

In celebration of the new album, The New Pornographers are set for a run of North American shows this spring, with support from Wild Pink. The dates include two sold-out nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, as well as further performances at New York’s Brooklyn Steel and Boston’s Royale.

Newman began work on Continue as a Guest at his Woodstock, New York home over the course of a year, after the band had just finished touring behind 2019’s In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights. During the writing and recording process, he discovered new lyrical, artistic and sonic approaches experimenting with his own vocal register. The 10-track record is produced by Newman and features compatriots  Neko  Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey and Joe Seiders as well as contributions from saxophonist Zach Djanikian and co-writes from Dan Bejar (Destroyer) and Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13). 

The album tackles themes of isolation and collapse, following the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the pandemic and the endless pitfalls of living online. But Newman says that Continue as a Guest’s title track also addresses the continually rolling concerns that come with being in a band for so long. “The idea of continuing as a guest felt very apropos to the times,” he explains. “Feeling out of place in culture, in society—not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out.  Find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest.”

TOUR DATES

April 19—Asheville, NC—Salvage Station*

April 20—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*

April 21—New Orleans, LA—Tipitina’s*

April 22—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall*

April 23—Dallas, TX—Studio at The Factory*

April 25—Austin, TX—Paramount*

April 26—Oklahoma City, OK—Tower Theatre*

April 27—St. Louis, MO—Sheldon Concert Hall*

April 28—Omaha, NE—The Waiting Room*

April 29—Kansas City, MO—The Truman*

April 30—Denver, CO—Gothic Theatre*

May 3—St. Paul, MN—The Fitzgerald*

May 4—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall*

May 5—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*

May 6—Chicago, IL— Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*

May 8—Cincinnati, OH—Memorial Hall*

May 9—Columbus, OH—Newport Music Hall*

May 11—Detroit, MI—El Club*

May 12—Toronto, ON—Danforth*

May 13—Burlington, VT—Higher Ground Ballroom*

May 14—Norwalk, CT— Wall Street Theater*

May 15—Boston, MA—Royale*

May 17—New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel*

May 18—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer*

May 19—Washington, DC—9:30 Club [SOLD OUT]*

May 20—Washington, DC—9:30 Club*

May 21—Saxapahaw, NC—Haw River Ballroom*

*with Wild Pink