Pre-Order True North

True North is available in a limited red-wine colored vinyl edition—our second-ever color pressing—in addition to regular black vinyl. Contingent on manufacturing schedules, we will ship your pre-ordered album approximately a week in advance of the February 8, 2019 worldwide release date. All pre-orders include an immediate 320k MP3 download of “It’s Too Late.“ 

For digital-only preorders, please visit Bandcamp (which also offers uncompressed, high-resolution audio files) or your favorite digital marketplace.

 

$9.00 – $31.00

Or support via:  Bandcamp  (LP/CD/DL/stream) |  Other Options (LP/CD/DL/stream) | Local Record Stores

 

 

We’re thrilled to announce Michael Chapman’s newest record True North, the masterful follow-up to his universally celebrated 2017 album 50. Due for release February 8, 2019, this authoritative set of predominantly new, and utterly devastating, songs hews to a more intimate sonic signature—more atmospheric, textural, and minimalist than 50, stately and melancholy in equal measure. Recorded at Mwnci Studios in rural West Wales, True North unflinchingly surveys home and horizon, traveling from the Bahamas to Texas to the Leeds of Chapman’s childhood, haunted by the mirages of memory and intimations of mortality. Joining him on this introspective journey is a cast of old friends and new disciples: once again Steve Gunn produces and plays guitar, and fellow UK songwriting hero Bridget St John sings, collaborating with cellist Sarah Smout and legendary pedal steel player BJ Cole, who has accompanied everyone from John Cale to Scott Walker, Elton John to Terry Allen, Felt to Björk.

True North begins with the gnawing regret of “It’s Too Late,” and every song Chapman sings thereafter directly references the passing of time—its blind ruthlessness, its sweet hazy delights—in noirish language almost mystical in its terseness and precision. “It’s Too Late” has premiered today via Billboard, with whom Michael recently spoke for a terrific Q & A. He reflects that the song is “about regret, but not about a particular person—apart from me. Regret is pretty universal. How many times does that come around in life, right? So it’s just a little page out of my notebook—that’s how I see my songs, as a diary like that.” Read on here, and watch an album trailer and listen to the poignant “It’s Too Late” below.

 

After last year’s fantastic 50, the 78-year-old Yorkshireman wastes no time in reuniting with Steve Gunn for a new record, led by this sage, yet defiant assessment of boozy regret. – The Guardian

Chapman’s voice has grown raspier with age, but his songwriting and guitar work remains as gripping as it was on his early ’70s classics. – Brooklyn Vegan

A fingerpicked portrait of regret. – Stereogum

 

 

 

  • The follow-up to the critically acclaimed 50 (2017, PoB-029) features Steve Gunn (producer, guitar, drums), Bridget St John (vocals),BJ Cole (pedal steel guitar), and Sarah Smout (cello).
  • Deluxe 140g virgin vinyl LP features heavy-duty matte board jacket, printed inner sleeve with lyrics, and high-res Bandcamp download code.
  • Available in a limited red-wine color vinyl edition, as well as on standard black vinyl.
  • CD edition features six-panel gatefold jacket with LP replica artwork.
  • Artist page/tour dates/back catalog: https://paradiseofbachelors.com/michael-chapman

 

 

Acclaim for Michael Chapman

Mesmeric. Even in the midst of the dark night of the soul he conjures up, Chapman remains defiant and unapologetic. 

– NPR Music

A rich, haunting, collection of forlorn love songs, apocalyptic picaresques, and bewitching instrumentals that marks the latest stage in a remarkable career renaissance … by the godfather of new cosmic Americana. 

– The Guardian

Beatific. Haunted by memories and auguries, and communicating something of their uncanny twilight power. 

– MOJO

A finely tuned piece that surveys the looming thunderclouds of mortality and the biblical gloom of the times, and—quietly, unshowily—transcends both. 

– Uncut

A world-class songwriter. Terrifically unpredictable … beyond any genre tag. 

– Pitchfork

A late-career triumph [of] mystery and weight. 

– The Times

He shreds on acoustic guitar the way Kandinsky wails with a paintbrush. 

– Thurston Moore

A titanic guitar picker and personality … heroic and inspiring in his approach to living for his music. 

– William Tyler

 

All Releases by Michael Chapman