Four years after bursting onto the scene with their acclaimed self-titled debut LP, Black Pumas have announced the highly-anticipated follow-up, Chronicles Of A Diamond, out October 27th. The neo-psychedelic soul outfit led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada broke its studio silence on Tuesday with the new single, “More Than A Love Song”.
This time last year, things weren’t looking as promising for the Grammy-nominated artists as they suddenly canceled all tour dates with minimal explanation. The group has yet to return to the road, fueling speculation that the Pumas’ charmed run had come to an end. Then, last month, the band posted a picture of a portable hard drive labeled “Pumas II.”
In a new interview with NME, frontman/lyricist Eric Burton addressed the sudden tour cancelation. “With us for how quickly our success happened,” Burton reflected, “I believe that it was really important for our team to ensure that we were taking every opportunity to capitalize on the movement by sending us out to different cities and countries around the world at this point to play as many quality experiences that we could for the growth of the brand as well as the stability of it.”
“We, as a group, feel like we will only get so much time in an attention span to solidify our place in the heart and psyche of the average music listener,” he continued. “For how hard we went, it was just time for a break. When we went home, it felt like the body telling the mind like that it’s just done. It almost felt like a kid fighting sleep. At some point you have to take a step back.”
As for the long gap between Black Pumas and Chronicles Of A Diamond, it wasn’t easy to try and follow a debut album that earned six Grammy nominations including “Album Of The Year”.
“We were under pressure this time,” Burton said. “Being that it’s the dreaded sophomore album it was really heavy, I’m not gonna lie. It was also a fun process and very cathartic as well. We were very fortunate for the fact that when Black Pumas first started, Adrian had made a lot of the music beforehand. I also had the opportunity to share some of my own music with Adrian for the first project. This round, I had a lot more to do with the creation of the music outside of lyrics and melody.”
Related: Black Pumas Frontman Eric Burton Has Big Theater Kid Energy [Interview]
Given the refreshed creative dynamic, Burton even went so far as to say it “feels more like a second debut” where “the handshake is reversed” between him and Adrian.
“We got really lucky, because the music that was sent on Adrian’s behalf for me to finish for the first album was really beautiful,” Burton said. “Now, Adrian has kind of been tasked to embrace some of my really weird and interesting ideas as well as bringing back some of my older material.”
Fans got their first glimpse of what this new partnership looks like with the Chronicles Of A Diamond lead single “More Than A Love Song”. Eschewing some of Quesada’s at-times grandiose production, the song is simple as it centers on Burton’s pontifications on affection. The band has included the track in its live sets for several years, with that familiarity and road-testing resulting in a relaxed feel as Burton waxes poetically and a gospel choir backs him up.
Check out the music video for “More Than A Love Song” from Black Pumas’ upcoming album Chronicles Of A Diamond, available here for pre-order. Scroll down for the album’s full track listing and album artwork. Read the full NME interview here.
Black Pumas – “More Than A Love Song” [Official Video]
