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Sep 17, 2021 By Mark Redfern

José González has released his first new album in over six years, Local Valley, today via Mute. Now that the album is out you can stream the whole thing below. Also, yesterday we posted our new interview with González about the album and today we posted our review of it.

Plus, González has shared a new lyric video for the album’s “Line of Fire.” Watch that below too.

Local Valley includes “El Invento,” a new Spanish language song González shared in February, and “Visions” (which was one of our Songs of the Week). Then he shared a video for “Visions” and announced some co-headlining U.S. tour dates with Rufus Wainwright. Then González shared its next single, “Head On,” via a video for the single (which was also one of our Songs of the Week). Then he shared “Swing,” via a video for the single.

The Swedish singer/songwriter/guitarist’s last studio album was 2015’s Vestiges & Claws.

Local Valley was recorded at Studio Koltrast Hakefjorden, a studio set up by González in his family’s summer house, north of Gothenburg.

In the previous press release the musician said the album “is similar to my other solo albums in sound and spirit, a natural continuation of the styles I’ve been adding through the years both solo and with Junip. I set out to write songs in the same vein as my old ones: short, melodic and rhythmical, a mixture of classic folk singer songwriting and songs with influences from Latin America and Africa. It’s more outward looking than my earlier works, but no less personal. On the contrary, I feel more comfortable than ever saying that this album reflects me and my thoughts right now.”

Of the themes on the album, González added: “Many of these songs have a crystal-clear, secular humanist agenda: anti-dogma, pro-reason. There’s no political agenda, though, at least not in a classical left-right spectrum. Maybe in a globalist-secular vs. theocratic-nationalist way: the focus is on underlying worldviews, and on our existential questions as smart apes on a quest to understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos.”

José González 2021/2022 Tour Dates:

September

20 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater *
21 – Des Moines, IA – Hoyt Sherman Place *
23 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop At UMN *
24 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre *
25 – Carmel, IN - The Palladium at The Center For The Performing Arts *
26 – Detroit, MI –Cathedral Theatre at The Masonic Temple *
28 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *
29 – Boston, MA – The Orpheum Theatre *
30 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 *

October

2 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre *

November

4 – Antwerp, Belgium – Da Roma
5 – Paris, France – Le Trianon
6 – Köln, Germany - Carlswerk Victoria
7 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
8 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Doornroosje
9 – Berlin, Germany – Astra

December

1 - Brighton, UK – Brighton Dome
2 – London, UK – Cadogan Hall
3 – Gateshead, UK – Sage Gateshead
4 – Liverpool, UK – Grand Central Hall
5 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
6 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall

April 2022

25 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
27 – London, UK – The Roundhouse

* with Rufus Wainwright

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