Later this summer, Buffalo psych-rock legends Mercury Rev will return with Born Horses, their first new album of original material in nine years. (They released a Bobbie Gentry tribute LP in 2019, but even that was a while ago now.) We’ve already posted first single “Patterns,” and now they’ve also shared the new six-minute track “Ancient Love.”

Mercury Rev have cited beat poet Robert Creeley as one of the inspirations behind Born Horses, and “Ancient Love” goes in an unexpected spoken-word direction, with breathy spoken-word lyrics over contemplative horns and pianos. The song gradually gathers steam without ever quite reaching the cinematic crescendo that I was expecting. It’s more of a mood-piece.

In a press release, the band says, “What we are today comes from our thoughts and perceptions of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life for tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind which originates from ancient love.” Listen below.

Born Horses is out 9/6 on Bella Union.