Brooklyn’s Adam Lytle has levelled the hell up on his new record, it has to be said – nothing difficult about this second album, at least not in execution, as these songs were written while splitting his time between Paris and Arles last year. The follow-up to This is the Fire, Altars has been previewed by way of ‘Heaven’ and ‘Black Masses’—two impressive songs elevated further by album context—and you’ll be happy to know he’s three for three when it comes to singles.
‘Sister Wave’ leans further into gothic folk territory; some Leonard Cohen here, some jet-black Fleetwood Mac there. Lytle is someone who also wants it darker, and his new song is about the thorny topic of making peace with death: ‘It is not a song of sorrow. It is a song of knowing. Years ago, I read The Tibet Book of the Dead. The text is a guide to the experiences of the consciousness after death. This idea that “by learning how to die, we can know how to live” was revelatory and has had a profound effect on my daily life since. ‘Sister Wave’ was written in conversation with this idea, setting the experience amongst the beauty of the natural world.”
Out tomorrow, ‘Sister Wave’ is a celebration of life as much as it is anything else, and we’re delighted to premiere the song via its Paris-shot video below; Altars follows on Friday May 2nd.
