A couple months back, Palehound re-emerged with a new track, “Killer,” that earned a spot on our best songs of the week list. Today, Ellen Kempner’s Boston-based band are announcing the release of a new album, called Black Friday, that’ll be out in June. They’re sharing another song from it, too, “Aaron.”

“Aaron is a character that represents my partner, who is trans,” Kempner explains in a statement. “It’s not specific to his experience though, the song is about change in relation to our bodies in general. It’s about learning to be comfortable in our skins, whether that means changing our bodies or mindsets.”

The song flips Kempner’s often sardonic songwriting on its head, instead going for sweet and sincere, empathetic and hopelessly devoted to letting everyone be their best self. In a particularly touching scene, Kempner sings: “You sing your song with your back turned to me/ Your body’s shaking, voice sturdy and still/ And if closing my eyes will help you turn around, Aaron, I will, I will, I will…”

The track’s video, which was directed by House Of Nod’s Robert Kolodny, is centered around a string figure running and eventually getting rid its yarn skin. “[Kolodny] captured this theme perfectly through portraying physical insecurity as living in an unruly, amorphous body and gradually shedding it,” Kempner says.

Watch and listen below.

TOUR DATES:
10/11 New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
10/12 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom #
10/13 Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre #
10/15 Montreal, QC @ Le Tulipe #
10/16 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre #
10/18 Chicago, IL @ Metro #
10/21 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue #
10/24 Portland @ Crystal Ballroom #
10/25 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre #
10/26 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre #
10/28 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore #
11/01 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom #
11/02 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister #
11/04 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s #
11/05 Dallas, TX @ Trees #
11/07 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse #
11/08 Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom #
11/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer #
11/10 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club #
# w/ Big Thief

Black Friday is out 6/7 via Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.