Chicago musician Bill MacKay makes experimental music with a warm, approachable glow, merging strains of Appalachian folk music, gospel, blues, rock, jazz, and country with more avant-garde impulses. He’s signed on with Drag City to release his third album, Esker, this May. Ahead of that release we get a lovely new track called “Aster” accompanied by some impressionistic footage of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Ashland, Oregon by director Marc Riordan. The song itself almost entirely comprises a melodic dance between swooning slide guitar and twinkling piano cascades, generating more beauty in about 90 seconds than most songs manage in twice that time. It’s a gorgeous introduction to the album, so listen below and commence your anticipation.

Tracklist:

01 “Aster”
02 “Twilight”
03 “Candy”
04 “Clementine Cotton”
05 “Persona”
06 “Powder Mill Park”
07 “Rise”
08 “The Hollows”
09 “Wail”
10 “Scarlet’s Return”

Esker is out 5/5 on Drag City. Pre-order it from the label, iTunes, or Bandcamp.

CREDIT: Via Nuon