Deafheaven band members left to right: Kerry McCoy (guitar), Daniel Tracy (drums), George Clarke … [+]
The San Francisco quintet is back, unveiling their sixth studio album Lonely People With Power, along with a brand new metal-focused single “Magnolia.” Deafheaven are firing on all cylinders on “Magnolia” — the galloping dissonant riffs have returned, George Clark’s screeching vocals sound as sinister as ever, and blast beats are front and center throughout the track.
While heavy music, specifically black metal, has been at the core of Deafheaven’s sound for the majority of their career, the band’s previous 2021 LP Infinite Granite saw them take a sharp turn in sonic direction, adopting a more melodic and alternative rock sound.
Infinite Granite was a rare case of a metal band attempting something drastically different and ultimately succeeding in their new sonic direction, however, the Deafheaven many fans have grown fond of over the years is the band heard on “Magnolia.”
“Magnolia” is the first single off the band’s forthcoming LP Lonely People With Power, which marks Deafheaven’s first album since signing with Roadrunner Records (subsidiary of Elektra Music Group). The record was mixed by Zach Weeks of GodCity Studio (Kurt Ballou’s studio) and was produced and recorded by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who worked with the band on 2021’s Infinite Granite.
Below is the album artwork and track listing for Lonely People With Power, which is due out March 28th.
‘Lonely People With Power’ Album Artwork, design by Nick Steinhardt
Tracklisting:
1. Incidental I
2. Doberman
3. Magnolia
4. The Garden Route
5. Heathen
6. Amethyst
7. Incidental II (feat. Jae Matthews)
8. Revelator
9. Body Behavior
10. Incidental III (feat. Paul Banks)
11. Winona
12. The Marvelous Orange Tree
Apart from the album featuring guest spots from Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews and Interpol’s Paul Banks, what’s most striking about this new album is the unusual high number of tracks. Deafheaven typically write epic songs with runtimes sometimes clocking in past 10 minutes, which has often kept their albums between five to seven tracks (with the exception of Infinite Granite, with nine tracks).
Lonely People With Power sits at a staggering 12 songs, which is the longest tracklisting for an album in the band’s discography. Based on the first single “Magnolia,” Deafheaven are clearly returning to their black metal roots, but it’ll be interesting to see if they also bring back any of their more recent sonic motifs, specifically the alternative rock songwriting and the clean singing heard on Infinite Granite.
