Detroit rocker Anna Burch stepped out on her own — and onto our Best New Bands Of 2018 list — with her impressive debut solo album Quit The Curse. And today, she’s announcing its follow up If You’re Dreaming, out this spring via Polyvinyl, which she recorded with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York.

Along with the announcement, Burch is sharing lead single “Not So Bad.” If You’re Dreaming leans more towards the classic retro-pop craftsmanship of her debut than its scruffy ’90s alt-rock side, and “Not So Bad” is a languidly lovely soft-rock gem punctuated by occasional saxophone. As Burch explains:

I wrote “Not So Bad” the day before I left to record, because I felt there was an important piece of the album missing — a hopeful, escapist pop song that dealt more positively with themes the other songs were circling around — and luckily it came together almost immediately. The chord progression felt light and jazzy, and when I started to write the words I remembered my mom bugging me about how melancholic my lyrics tend to be, “Surely your life hasn’t all been that bad!”

I wanted to express the importance of cultivating a rich interior life that falls outside of the economy of images and information we’re disseminating at all times. “Not So Bad” is an optimistic love song about retreating into memories to find what you need to feel in control of your own narrative when everything else around you feels precarious.

The song comes with a glamorous video directed by Burch with Ben Collins as director of photography. Watch and listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Can’t Sleep”
02 “Party’s Over”
03 “Jacket”
04 “So I Can See”
05 “Ask Me To”
06 “Keep It Warm”
07 “Go It Alone”
08 “Tell Me What’s True”
09 “Not So Bad”
10 “Picture Show”
11 “Every Feeling”
12 “Here With You”

TOUR DATES:
03/14 Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
03/15 St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
03/16 Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge
03/17-20 Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/22 Norman, OK @ Opolis
03/24 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
04/03 Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory #
04/04 Toronto, ON @ The Baby G #
04/05 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo #
04/07 Boston, MA @ Great Scott #
04/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle #
04/10 New York, NY @ The Dance #
04/11 Washington, DC @ Songbyrd #
04/13 Atlanta, GA @ 529 Club #
04/14 Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR #
04/15 Columbia, MO @ Cafe Berlin #
04/16 Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse #
04/17 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge #
04/18 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive #
04/20 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah #
04/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar #
04/22 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill #
04/24 Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern #
04/25 Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar #
04/26 Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall #
04/30 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry #
05/01 Madison, WI @ UW Madison – Terrace #
05/02 Milwaukee, WI @ Company Brewing #
05/03 Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village #
05/06 Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana
05/07 Manchester, UK @ YES
05/08 Dublin, Ireland @ The Sound House
05/09 Belfast, UK @ Cathedral Quarter Festival
05/10 Glasgow, UK @ The Hug & Pint
05/12 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
05/13 London, UK @ Oslo
05/15 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso – Upstairs
05/16 Paris, France @ Le Pop-Up du Label
05/17 Groningen, Netherlands @ Vera
05/18 Leffinge, Belgium @ De Zwerver
05/19 Düsseldorf, Germany @ Kassette
05/20 Hamburg, Germany @ Turmzimmer
05/21 Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub
05/22 Munich, Germany @ Heppel & Ettlich
05/23 Freiburg, Germany @ Swamp
# w/ Long Beard

If You’re Dreaming is out 4/3 on Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Chloe Sells