Last month, Shane Renfro announced that his project RF Shannon would return with its sophomore album Trickster Blues, quick on the heels of his 2017 debut Jaguar Palace. We first got a preview of the new collection via lead single “Cold Spell,” a dreamy and introspective slice of Americana that came out of a period of significant life changes for Renfro. And today, he’s back with another one called “Black Madonna, So Divine.”

RF Shannon is often discussed as playing a spectral, lightly psychedelic breed of desert Americana, and “Black Madonna, So Divine” certainly fits in with those descriptors. Built on a calm, suggestive guitar figure, the song wanders forward ruminatively, Renfro’s melody sighing and giving way as the guitars shift into diffuse lightning-on-the-horizon flashes. Here’s what he had to say about the inspiration behind the track:

I first came across the Black Madonna archetype from reading Marion Woodman’s The Pregnant Virgin, and it really resonated with my own inner struggle to comprehend the apparent state of things in our country. Drawing from her inspiration, the song explores a reckoning within oneself and culture at large regarding the power and wisdom of feminine energy. It’s not a protest or topical song, per se, but I hope it can be one of many sinews reconnecting us with this crucial aspect of ourselves as individuals, communities, and culture at large.

The new song is accompanied by a clip made by Melissa Cha and Jenni Kaye, in which the patient and spiritual nature of the song is reflected through a series of nature- and flower-dominated imagery. Check it out below.

TOUR DATES:
05/16 Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie’s*
05/17 Marfa, TX @ Lost Horse Saloon*
05/18 Tucson, AZ @ Exo
05/19 Landers, CA @ Landers Brew Co*
05/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Resident*
05/24 San Francisco, CA @ Amnesia
05/27 Denver, CO @ Lion’s Lair*
05/28 Taos, NM @ Parse Seco
05/30 Denton, TX @ TBA*
05/31 Dallas, TX @ Small Brew Pub*
06/01 Tyler, TX @ El Guapo*
06/02 Lafayette, LA @ Sickbay
06/04 New Orleans, LA @ The Mudlark*
* w/ Jesse Woods

Trickster Blues is out 5/4 via Cosmic Dreamer. Pre-order it here.