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Jan 10, 2022 By Joey Arnone Photography by Alexa Viscius

Brooklyn-based artist Barrie has announced the release of a new album, Barbara, which will be out on March 25. Barrie has also shared a video for a new track from the album, “Quarry.” Check it out below, along with the album’s tracklist and cover art.

Barrie elaborates on the new album in a press release: “The album is diaristic, but not in obvious or intimate ways. Music is my job, and it’s also intensely personal. I want the music to connect with people, but have reservations about the toll it takes on the artist to have to live up to whatever the music ends up representing for the listener. To connect with people about grief is beautiful, but I don’t want to relive the trauma of it at every show and interview. I also don’t want to become desensitized to my sadness. There’s both rawness and a measure of control in the album; I want to make sure the project and the person are tied, but only by certain limbs.

Since I wrote, played, and produced the album by myself in isolation, with the help of my wife, it felt like it should be self-titled, but maintain that same sense of separation I achieved with the music. Barbara is my legal name, my formal name. No one calls me Barbara except the bank and the government, and odd occasions when my dad inexplicably introduced me that way to friends. Since my name and moniker are Barrie, calling the album Barbara felt like the fitting way to keep that balance between intimate and public.”

She adds, regarding the new song: “‘Quarry’ is about falling in love in an isolated environment. There’s a surreal quality to the experience, but also explosive joy. Disjointed drums, syncopated bass, arpeggiated synth; the ground of the song shifts constantly. It’s uplifting but also a little wary.”

Last year, Barrie shared the album tracks “Dig” and “Frankie.”

Barrie’s debut album, Happy to Be Here, came out in 2019 via Winspear. It featured the songs “Clovers” (one of our Songs of the Week), “Darjeeling” (also one of our Songs of the Week), and “Saturated.”

Barbara Tracklist:

1. Jersey
2. Frankie
3. Jenny
4. Concrete
5. Dig
6. Bully
7. Harp 2 Interlude
8. Harp 2
9. Quarry
10. Basketball
11. Bloodline

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