Today, S.G. Goodman returns with a new single "Michael Told Me" from her forthcoming album Planting By The Signs, which is out June 20 via Slough Water Records/Thirty Tigers. "Michael Told Me," which follows singles "Fire Sign," "Snapping Turtle," and "Satellite," is devastating and gorgeous.
"True friend, they will thread the needle/ True friend, they will set the bone/ Hold your legs and let you scream if they know where your pain is coming from," Goodman sings during the chorus over droning guitars. “Michael Told Me” captures the hard, beautiful truth about wanting to see a friend through their darkest time, even when you're not on speaking terms.
It's inspired by the rift between S.G. Goodman and her longtime collaborator Matt Rowan, which was brought on by the tough reality of touring. It resulted in two years of silence between them. Los Angeles is another significant reference in the track. "Wrote I love you from Los Angeles, the place we started drifting for each other/ So for years now I've took cover," she sings at the song's beginning. LA is where she heard that her father figure/mentor, whom she lovingly referred to as “Murray Dad Mike,” died tragically in a freak accident involving a tree. That loss was a thread back to Rowan.
The Kentucky singer-songwriter shared:
The grief of losing a father figure amounted to needing all of my chosen brothers. We told each other that we loved each other, and Matt told me he would take care of Mike’s partner and all of our friends while we finished up our run. The song “Michael Told Me” was started shortly after our falling out in 2021, and the song fully revealed itself in the winter of 2024.
It is a song of reconciliation, and a testament to my relationship to two great men who believe that there is something worth getting to on the other side of feeling hurt. Our friendship had been pruned back for a time, but Mike had always assured me that new growth would come, and I believed him. It truly is one of life's greatest gifts to understand and to experience love that can overcome ruptures.
Watch the Ryan Hartley-directed video for "Michael Told Me" below.
Planting By The Signs is out 6/20 via Slough Water/Thirty Tigers.
