Willis Earl Beal Returns with 'Noctunes' LP, Shares New Single
Published May 28, 2015
Lo-fi pop experimentalist Willis Earl Beal followed up 2013's XL-issued Nobody Knows with a couple of freeleases and a self-released album called Experiments in Time. Now, the Chicago tunesmith has announced plans for his next release.
Titled Noctunes, Beal's latest full-length will arrive on August 28 via Tender Loving Empire.
In a statement, Beal describes the inspiration behind the minimalist sound on the new record. "People had all these ideas about what I was supposed to be," he said. "I had only ever wanted to make lullabies. ... I wanted to create this persona that could say everything perfectly with very little. The record, to me, is a perfect record. I listen to that thing a lot, and it helps me."
You can hear a sample of the new sleepy-time single "Flying So Low" in the player below. Despite the dreamlike instrumentation, his soulful, layered vocals are probably a bit too mesmerizing to actually lull you to sleep. Scroll past the Noctunes tracklisting to give it a listen now.
Noctunes:
1. Under You
2. Flying So Low
3. Like a Box
4. Lust
5. No Solution
6. Stay
7. Say the Words
8. Love Is All Around
9. Able to Wait
10. Survive
11. Start Over
12. 12 Midnight