Lukas Nelson has returned with Promise of the Real to deliver the band’s first new single of 2021, “Perennial Bloom (Back To You)”. The track is set to appear on the band’s forthcoming album, A Few Stars Apart, due out on June 11th via Fantasy Records.
Recorded with producer Dave Cobb at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, A Few Stars Apart was tracked live by the full band on eight-track tape over the course of three weeks. The album comes as the group’s first since the double-shot of 2019’s Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) and its 2020 companion, Naked Garden. On A Few Stars Apart, Nelson—spawn of Willie Nelson—took his inspiration from the initially uncomfortable stillness he found at the beginning of quarantine. Like many affected by the pandemic, however, Nelson settled into this newfound homebound life and let the transition seep into his art.
“I’m from what one might say is the ultimate road family—I’ve been on the road my entire life,” Nelson said in a press release. “I’ve never been anywhere longer than three months, and suddenly here we are, the four of us together. And thank god we were together. I can’t remember the last time we had that much time together as a family. We had a lot of really important bonding that happened during that time. And I have to say, as terrible as the pandemic has been in so many ways, for my inner peace, I was able to take a lot of good from this time. I was able to pause and reflect.”
Related: Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real Cover J.J. Cale For ‘Soundcheck Songs’ Series [Watch]
On the album’s lead single, “Perennial Bloom (Back To You)”, Nelson and the Promise of the Real share a dose of optimism as they hopefully await the inevitable bloom that has shrouded our dormant lives since March 2020. The song combines the diverse influences that define the group, from Nelson’s acoustic leanings that open the song to the driving Americana-rock rhythms that have made the band beacons of a country revivalist movement sweeping across popular music.
“It took me a really long time to come back to the home in my heart,” Nelson said. “In a physical sense, that’s Texas and Hawaii. But in a spiritual sense as well—I think I finally decided not to run from who I am and who I am destined to be. First and foremost, that’s a songwriter. That’s what this record means to me. There’s a story being told through the whole record. A story about connection and coming home.”
Listen to “Perennial Bloom (Back To You)”, the lead single from the forthcoming Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real album, A Few Stars Apart. Scroll down to see a full tracklist and album art, and click here to pre-order.
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – “Perennial Bloom (Back To You)” (Official Video)
[Video: Lukas Nelson]
