Bartees Strange released his official debut album Live Forever in 2020. Now, he's announced another debut—his first album on 4AD, which is called Farm to Table and is scheduled for a June 17 release. For now, Strange is previewing the album with the new single "Cosigns" and a video directed by Pooneh Ghana.
"This album is about all of the new shit I’ve experienced the last couple years and how I’m still trying to hold on to the person at the center of who I am. Don’t wanna change too much, and still, it’s good to change," Strange shared on Instagram. He also wrote about how "Cosigns" first emerged while staying in London—at the same spot where fellow genre-blurring 4AD alums TV on the Radio stayed—and that while in the label's studio with Fabian Prynn and Chris Connors he experienced a pivotal moment. "Had this feeling there that I’d found the thesis of the album within this track. In a room my heroes once were, making something new."
On the new single, Strange's voice is resolute and veiled in Auto-Tune as he reflects on how his life has taken some wild turns since he released his 2020 album. He shouts out being on tour with Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Courtney Barnett as muted, siren-like wails hover around minimal percussion and perky synths. As the track stealthily builds, he raps how he's accrued a wealth of things, experiences, and notoriety. "Cosigns" then combusts into a storm of fierce drums, guitar distortion, and Bartees' formidable vocal cries. "It's never enough," he sings. The track elegantly mirrors the zero-to-a-hundred feeling of his life drastically changing in what seems like the blink of an eye. Albeit scary, change can be good.
The video finds Bartees Strange with a group of people sitting at dining table in the middle of a field in a Last Supper kind of setup. There's some eerie hand choreography from his fellow diners before Strange stands up and gives the command for the others to stuff their faces. Then, he runs away into darkness and falls into an abyss.
Watch the video for "Cosigns" below.
