Eleanor Friedberger is back with the first single from her follow-up to 2016’s New View. Whereas last album the former Fiery Furnaces singer worked closely with her live band, on the upcoming Rebound she holed up mostly on her own with producer Clemens Knieper, funneling her unique songwriting disposition into a context of synth, guitar, and programmed drums. The album is named after a bizarre dance club Friedberger visited while living in Greece last year to get a fresh perspective after the 2016 presidential election. In a press release, she explains:

After a month in Athens I asked my friend, the Greek musician Σtella, “What’s one thing I have to do before I leave?” After some long and careful consideration she smiled and said, “you have to go to Rebound. It’s a time warp; kind of an 80s goth disco where everyone does the chicken dance; you’ll love it… but it’s only open on Saturdays after 3:00 AM.”

“In Between Stars,” the album’s lead single, is not as wild as that description might entail, but it’s one of the best Friedberger songs I’ve heard in a long time, gliding ahead with simplicity and grace without forgoing the quirky compositional left turns that made albums like Blueberry Boat such a trip. The last lyric is particularly resonant and mysterious: “I don’t know how I’ve come to see the world exclusively through your eyes/ Everything I buy and eat and do with you in mind.” Listen below.

TOUR DATES:
02/15 New York, NY @ City Vineyard at Pier 26
02/16 Boston, MA @ City Winery
2/17 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
4/04 London, UK @ Moth Club
4/28 Kingston, NY @ BSP *
5/01 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
5/03 Toronto, ON @ The Drake *
5/05 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
5/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge *

Rebound is out 5/4 on Frenchkiss. Pre-order it here.