Four years after breaking through with his sophomore album In Plain Sight, vintage Chicago pianist Neal Francis is back with news of his third album, Return to Zero. Out March 14th via ATO Records, the nine-track offering draws inspiration from the lush production of Electric Light Orchestra.
Along with Thursday’s album announcement, Francis delivered its second single “What’s Left of Me” following November’s “Back it Up“. An intimately personal confessional about the difficulties of maintaining a committed relationship while on the road, “What’s Left of Me” underscores the charmingly anachronistic quality of Francis’ sound as soaring piano arrangements and a driving beat merge with dancefloor incantations of yesteryear. Francis co-wrote the song with veteran Nashville songwriter Chris Gelbuda (Sabrina Carpenter, Meghan Trainor, Zac Brown Band), and the lyrics continue Neal’s career-long commitment to remaining unguarded in his storytelling.
“Chris and I are good friends and we got to talking about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’re on tour,” Francis said. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Electric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music and pop songwriting, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I was going for an ELO vibe.”
Francis co-produced Return to Zero with frequent collaborator Sergio Rios (ORGŌNE) and recorded the album live in-studio with his ace backing band. To celebrate the release, Francis will take Return to Zero on the road for an international tour beginning March 20th in Cleveland and running through May 31st when it wraps at Denver’s Outside Festival. Along the way, Francis will play Australia’s coveted Byron Bay Bluesfest (4/17–4/20), a pair of shows in Japan, two nights at New Orleans’ Tipitina’s during Jazz Fest (5/2–5/3), and more. See below for a full list of tour dates and visit Francis’ website for tickets.
Check out the music video for “What’s Left of Me” and pre-order Neal Francis’ new album Return to Zero here.
Neal Francis — “What’s Left Of Me” [Official Video]
