Basia Bulat is joining forces once again with Jim James (My Morning Jacket) for her new album, Are You in Love?. The record is out March 27 via Secret City Records and is produced by James, who also produced Bulat’s 2016 release Good Advice.
In celebration of the forthcoming album Bulat is premiering her new single and video “Your Girl.” “I wrote Your Girl during a snowstorm in Montreal and recorded it under the warm desert sun in Joshua Tree,” says Bulat. “Someone once told me you can’t sing and cry at the same time but that wasn’t true for me when we were recording this one. There’s joy in finally being free from a painful situation, relief, laughter—even as it feels impossible to ever forget the pain or understand why that storm came through your life the way it did. And so, light on your feet, you dance with the memory instead. If you’re listening to this song and understand what I mean, know that I’m singing with you as we’re dancing in that swirling wind.” The video was directed by Brian Sokolowski and filmed in northern Quebec.
Watch/listen to “Your Girl” below:
The recording began at Hi-Dez Studios in Joshua Tree but the album was not complete when Bulat returned home to Montreal. It would be nine more months before she would return to it. She fell in love and she lost her father, leaving her in search of a sense of beauty and where it might be hidden. “Throughout this whole record, I was struggling between keeping it together and letting go,” Bulat explains, “between holding onto old narratives or accepting what’s before me.” The new record represents this time of death and grief, but also forgiveness, reinvention and love. “I want to make a really beautiful record about compassion,” she wrote to producer Jim James.
The album cover was created by accomplished painter Kris Knight, who says, “I’ve joked with Basia before that we have this weird parallel in our lives – a sibling-like connection that makes collaboration feel as natural as it is inspiring. I’ve been privy to these heartfelt songs for a while now – enough time to have them become part of my life and soundtrack new memories in a way that only good music does. We’ve spoke about collaborating for a long time and I feel very honoured to have been asked to paint Basia for her new album. I hope I captured a little of magic that this album exudes.”
Tracklist & Artwork/Painting (by Kris Knight):
1. Are You in Love?
2. Electric Roses
3. Your Girl
4. Light Years
5. Homesick
6. Hall Of Mirrors
7. I Believe It Now
8. No Control
9. Pale Blue
10. Already Forgiven
11. The Last Time
12. Fables
13. Love is at the End of the World