Ben de la Cour's New Roses LP out Today!
BEN DE LA COUR’S NEW ROSES LP OUT TODAY!
ON JULLIAN RECORDS (LISTEN)
“A friend took me to see Ben de la Cour at a little hole-in-the-wall in Nashville. It didn’t take long to realize I was in the presence of greatness. He has much to say, and knows how to say it as only a true poet can. You owe it to yourself to check him out. He is important. You need this bright young talent now more than ever. We all need Ben de la Cour” - LUCINDA WILLIAMS
Ben de la Cour’s New Roses LP is out today via Jullian Records! “New Roses finds him flexing his muscles,” says No Depression of the album, calling it “a gritty exploration of the defenses we put up when we know we’re backsliding.” The record was also spotlighted in MOJO’s June issue, tied with releases from legends Willie Nelson and Taj Mahal for Album of the Month. They remark that “de la Cour is a hell of a songwriter and singer too,” and praised his “haunting, dark and poetic songs.”
New Roses out today via Jullian Records: https://orcd.co/bdlcnewroses
Weaving evocative stories of desperate characters with his signature “Americanoir” sound, de la Cour shines a raw, empathetic, and at times bleak light on the human condition. New Roses follows de la Cour’s 2023 LP Sweet Anhedonia (which won praise from American Songwriter, Twangville, The Telegraph and NPR), marking a sonic evolution into stranger, heavier, synth-inspired territory. This shift adds new layers to his delicately fingerpicked story songs, creating something that is at once soaring and beautiful, hammering and claustrophobic, yet ultimately hopeful and resilient
Watch the music video for “Stuart Little Killed God (On 2nd Avenue)” via YouTube
Stream “The Devil Went Down To Silverlake”: https://orcd.co/dwdts
Raised in Brooklyn, de la Cour lived in London, Cuba and across the United States before making his home in the American south over a decade and a half ago. Drawing on inspiration from writers and musicians alike—Townes Van Zandt, Jimi Hendrix, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, James Baldwin and Carson McCullers among them—de la Cour’s gothic folk songs are as heartbreaking as they are beautiful. He's still young but has lived a few different lifetimes already, and has the stories to show for it. Not to mention a lot of acolytes and friends made along the way. One of the latest is Lucinda Williams. “A friend took me to see Ben de la Cour at a little hole-in-the-wall in Nashville,” says Lucinda Williams, “It didn’t take long to realize I was in the presence of greatness. He has much to say, and knows how to say it as only a true poet can.”
While Sweet Anhedonia felt like “the American heartland witnessed through the window of a car going 80mph” (American Songwriter), New Roses feels like being stuffed into the trunk and driven into an imploding star. The album grew out of late-night writing and recording sessions at his home, where he experimented with layering synthesizers and looping sounds, snarling electric guitar and his expert acoustic fingerpicking. “I didn’t even set out to make an album, but I started recording these songs on GarageBand with one microphone and this second-hand synth I bought and then it sort of evolved that way,” de la Cour says, “I just experimented with different approaches to songs and kind of let each song go where it wanted to go.”
New Roses is a singular and personal vision, with de la Cour playing every instrument except fiddle (handled by long-time collaborator Billy Contreras) and trumpet while also delivering his strongest vocal performance yet. The result is a razor-sharp album full of what he calls “night songs”— haunting, impactful songs that feel like the witching hour. He balances doom and optimism, seeking out kernels of hope in the darkness, and finds his footing in accepting the dualities of life.
Upcoming tour dates below…
Upcoming Tour Dates:
JULY
23 - Madison, WI @ The Bur Oak
AUGUST
16-17 - Collegeville, PA @ Philadelphia Folk Fest
Photo Credit: Andy Muscroft
