Sam Evian is the new solo moniker of Sam Owens, frontman of Brooklyn indie-rockers (and Stereogum Best New Band class of ’13) Celestial Shore. He’s putting out his debut solo album next month on Saddle Creek, and today, we’re getting our second taste of the LP following golden-hued lead single “Sleep Easy.” “I Need A Man” is decidedly less sunny but even more captivating, a beguiling sway that pairs Owen’s delicate falsetto, somewhere between wounded and seductive, with dreamy guitar and twinkling keys. This is what he has to say about the track:

Serge Gainsbourg fans will recognize the reference from Histoire de Melody Nelson. I was listening to that album incessantly last February when the HB2 law passed in North Carolina, my home state. Amidst the routine chaos of global tragedy, things at home were crumbling. My home state was falling back into the dark ages, sexual abuse was (and is) everywhere… the music industry, my NYC community, everywhere. And the police were getting away with murdering young black men across the country — on video. So with all of that going on and “Melody Nelson” in my head, I latched onto Gainsbourg the provocateur and made my voice a twisted version of his story. I imagined part of me was Melody, the naive teenager in Serge’s strange story of love and innocence lost. ‘I need a man I can trust.‘ It’s more of a conversation starter … is there such a thing? My hope is that people in my community and abroad will start to look out for each other more, and take more action in preventing abuse and violence.

Listen.

Tour dates:

10/10 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
10/11 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^
10/14 Montreal, QC @ Ritz ^
10/15 Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall ^
10/16 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme^

^ = with Whitney

Premium is out 9/30 on Saddle Creek.