Returning for the first time since last summer’s conceptual An Evening at Macri Park LP (and this past February’s homage to The Clash), Seán Barna will release a new five-song EP titled Internal Trembling next month. Although the musical focus will see a shift from that aforementioned Kill Rock Stars debut’s glam-rock stylings toward a more bluegrass feel with the help of backing instrumentation from the band Hawktail (featuring session players for Yola, Steve Martin, Gillian Welch, and more) on the majority of these tracks, Barna’s lyrical focus remains firmly planted on celebrating queer spaces and mourning the violence that they’ve historically attracted.
The first single to be revealed from Internal Trembling introduces these topics, with Barna teaming up with indie-folk royalty (and upcoming tour partner) Mirah on a full-band ballad celebrating the lives of just a few of the victims of violence against queer spaces. “In late November 2022, Daniel Davis Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump, and Raymond Green Vance lost their lives to gunfire while enjoying an evening out at a gay bar in Colorado Springs,” Barna shares. “I speak their names in this song, recognizing and respecting their hallowed place in queer history and the fight against hate. The icon, Ms. Marsha P. Johnson, makes an appearance, as does my friend, Andy Fafoutakis, who was working at a Hell’s Kitchen bar when its window was broken by a man wielding a brick. Andy is fine. The others are not.
“The day after the shooting, I felt a responsibility to respond on social media as a ‘public’ queer artist,” Barna continues. “Then I remembered that I, too, deserve time and space to process the tragedy. This song recognizes my need to do that, but more so celebrates and mourns these beautiful, inspiring people—my chosen family. Thank you, I know I will never forget you.
Check out the new track below, and pre-order Internal Trembling here before it arrives on November 22 via Kill Rock Stars’ new Americana imprint KRS Nashville.
