The Mynabirds release new album It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward
The Mynabirds release new album It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward
Limited Vinyl Reissues of Be Here Now and Generals out Today
U.S. Tour Dates Announced
Stream: It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward
on Bandcamp or Apple Music
The Mynabirds Tour Dates:
November 9 - Las Vegas, NV @ Dustland (Free)
November 11 - Denver, CO @ Undertow Show
November 14 - Lincoln, NE @ Undertow Show
November 15 - Omaha, NE @ Undertow Show
November 18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Undertow Show
November 19 - Chicago, IL @ Undertow Show
November 20 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Undertow Show
November 21 - Cleveland, OH @ Undertow Show
November 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Undertow Show
November 23 - Arlington, VA @ Undertow Show
November 26 - Shepherdstown, WV @ Admiral Analog's (Free)
November 29 - Cincinnati, OH @ Undertow Show
November 30 - Nashville, TN @ Undertow Show
December 3 - Atlanta, GA @ Undertow Show
December 4 - Birmingham, AL @ Undertow Show
December 5 - New Orleans, LA @ Undertow Show
December 7 - Austin, TX @ Undertow Show
December 8 - Austin, TX @ Undertow Show
December 12 - Phoenix, AZ @ Undertow Show
The Mynabirds are excited to release their anticipated new album It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward today on Laura Burhenn’s Our Secret Handshake imprint (order).
The album arrives after the release of acclaimed singles "Ramona, Patron Saint Of Silence” and "Good Medicine" and is streaming now on Apple Music, Bandcamp, TIDAL and YouTube.
In tandem with the new release, two of The Mynabirds’ most beloved and long out-of-print albums are returning to vinyl. Our Secret Handshake will issue a limited-edition colored vinyl 8-year anniversary reissue of Be Here Now, while Saddle Creek will reissue Generals. Both are available to order now via Bandcamp.
Speaking about the new album, Burhenn says:
It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward is a quiet record in a capriciously loud time. The title has become a mantra I’ve repeated throughout the process of figuring out how to still create, on a small independent scale, in a time of so much destruction. I offer it as gratitude for the silence that helps us remember our voice, and for all that carries us through the night.
Pairing it with the reissues of Be Here Now (Now) and Generals forms a natural trilogy that continues my obsession with the places where music and art intersect with politics, the collective consciousness, and the psychological and spiritual work it takes to maintain our sanity as we push toward the just, equitable future we all deserve.
I’m excited to tour these songs across America in intimate settings and to partner with nonprofits in each city who support refugees and immigrants, to elevate the great work they do every day. I expect this tour will be my indie-musician version of Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley, set to the score of this new Civil Rights era. But unlike Steinbeck, if I come across a protest, I won’t just bear witness, I’ll jump right in.
On the re-release of Be Here Now, Burhenn adds:
Eight years ago, I went into the studio in the first weeks of Trump's presidency and wrote a protest album, Be Here Now. I got to play some of those songs on NPR's Tiny Desk, including “Hold On,” a song written for immigrants and refugees during the first so-called Muslim Ban. Last fall when I was on tour during the presidential election -- the election that would bring Trump back into office, the vinyl sold out of print.
I decided to do an 8-year anniversary limited edition repressing, Be Here Now (Now) -- remastered on colored vinyl, with a previously unreleased song from the original recording sessions -- as a fresh round of protest. The new song, “The Party's Over,” will be released digitally with the LP release alongside my new album, It's Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward.
To celebrate, The Mynabirds have announced a U.S. tour. The band will be playing shows in Minneapolis, Omaha, Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia, Arlington, VA, Atlanta, Austin, and more. Tickets are on sale now via Undertow Music.
In addition to releasing the new records, Laura Burhenn is continuing her activist work by leading the "Disarm Spotify" charge as part of the BDS movement to divest from war and refocus our collective energy on creative, rather than destructive, solutions for our collective survival.
She has removed all her music from Spotify in protest of Daniel Ek's investment in Helsing, along with fellow musicians Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Indie.Arie, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Massive Attack, Taylor Swift, Deerhoof, Xiu Xiu, Hotline TNT and more.
Photo credit: Jess Ewald
