John Cale turned eighty this year, and as well as currently touring the UK Cale has just announced Mercy, his first new album of original songs in a decade, will be out on January 20th. Ahead of the album a new single/video ‘Story of Blood’, featuring Weyes Blood, has just dropped.
For nearly 60 years, or at least since he was a young Welshman who moved to New York and formed The Velvet Underground, Cale has been reinventing his music with dazzling and inspiring regularity. Once again, here is Cale, reimagining how his music is made, sounds, and even works. Mercy moves through true dark-night-of-the-soul electronics toward vulnerable love songs and hopeful considerations for the future. As well as Weyes Blood, Cale enlists some of music’s most curious young minds on Mercy, such as Animal Collective, Sylvan Esso, Laurel Halo, Tei Shi, and Actress.
Mercy will be available on 2xLP, CD, and digitally. The Domino Mart transparent blue vinyl 2xLP edition includes a 16pg booklet, a 7″ featuring 2 exclusive tracks, including an alternate version of “Mercy” featuring drummer Tony Allen. Preorder the album here.
Upcoming tour dates:
Mon 24th Oct – Barbican, York
Fri 28th Oct – Llais Festival, Cardiff *
Mon 31st Oct – Playhouse Whitley Bay, Whitley Bay
Thu 3rd Nov – Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham
Mon 7th Nov – De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea
Wed 9th Nov – The London Palladium, London
Thun 10th Nov – Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Fri 11th Nov – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
* = John Cale + special guests, 80th Birthday Celebration
You can buy tickets here.
Photo credit: Madeline McManus
