Singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Bella White has announced her new album Among Other Things out on April 21st via Rounder Records. The album was produced by Jonathan Wilson and features Buck Meek of Big Thief on guitar. To mark the occasion White has released a new single, “Break My Heart” and its companion music video.

Among Other Things is available for pre-order here digitally and on LP with speciality vinyl in Garnet and Tiger’s Eye via the artist’s website at www.bellawhitemusic.com.

Bella White on “Break My Heart”: “Out of all of the songs I’ve written, ‘Break My Heart’ is probably the most explicitly about getting dumped. I wrote it with no intention of ever sharing it. I didn’t even feel any particular emotional attachment to it like I do with my other songs, because it was such an isolated experience, zooming in on one specific moment in time. That said, bringing it to life by turning a valley into a peak felt deeply cathartic. It’s a heartbreaker that I hope will at least get you moving.”

Produced by Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty), Among Other Things embodies a strangely enchanting sound that fully matches the immense depth of White’s inner world—an element brought to life through her lived-in exploration of such complex themes as searching for purpose, the resilience of the human heart, and the deep-rooted tension between restlessness and inertia. Recorded at Fivestar Studios in Topanga Canyon, the album emerged from her free-flowing collaboration with Wilson and a stacked lineup of musicians, including Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek, indie-folk singer/songwriter Erin Rae, Drew Erickson (a multi-instrumentalist/string arranger known for his work with Weyes Blood and Lana Del Rey), and White’s longtime bandmate Patrick M’Gonigle (on fiddle, violin, and tenor guitar). “It was especially exciting for me to have Buck involved with this record,” White notes. “He’s got such an incredible ear for weaving through the songs and finding those little empty spaces that could use a touch of magic.” 

In a departure from the stripped-down sonic palette of Just Like Leaving, Among Other Things unfolds with a gorgeously textured but unfussy splendor, etched with such unexpected details as flourishes of organ and Fender Rhodes, delicate string arrangements, and the wild rumble of timpani. But even its most left-of-center moments, the 10-track album showcases the timeless country musicianship White first developed thanks to her father (a Virginia native who played in bluegrass bands all throughout her childhood) and later honed through years of making the rounds at leading roots-music festivals. To that end, each song is firmly grounded in White’s nuanced acoustic-guitar work and deeply affecting voice—an instrument imbued with wisdom well beyond her years, capable of telegraphing soulful world-weariness and whole-hearted compassion with a captivating grace.

Photo Courtesy: Bree Fish