Evan Dando continues to peel back the layers of his long-awaited return with “The Key of Victory,” the third single from Love Chant—the first Lemonheads studio album since 2006’s Self-Titled. Where earlier singles “Deep End” and “In The Margin” leaned into momentum and clarity, “The Key of Victory” lingers in a quieter, more contemplative register. The track, written with David Ashby (Rum Shebeen), is anchored by Apollo Nove’s elliptical guitar work and accented by harmonies from Nashville’s Erin Rae. Dando’s vocal, tracked at Abbey Road, carries the same cracked honesty that’s long defined his songwriting.
Due out October 24 via Fire Records, Love Chant comes after years of stops, starts, and geographical shifts. Now based in Brazil, Dando has spent much of the last decade between records—writing, touring (including a recent visit to Australia,) and slowly shaping a new collection of songs. The result is a record that spans moods and decades, stitched together by long-time collaborators including J Mascis, Juliana Hatfield, Tom Morgan, and Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond), with production by Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Apollo Nove and Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Antony and the Johnsons).
The album’s release will closely follow the publication of Dando’s memoir Rumours Of My Demise, due October 28 via Allen & Unwin (AU). The book is expected to trace the long arc of Dando’s career—from cult success and critical acclaim in the ’90s, through burnout, and into a quieter form of reinvention.
Stream “The Key of Victory” HERE.
Pre-order “Love Chant” HERE.
