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Jun 28, 2023 By Mark Redfern Photography by Shervin Lainez

Buck Meek of Big Thief is releasing a new solo album, Haunted Mountain, on August 25 via 4AD. Now he has shared its second single, “Paradise.” Listen below, followed by Meek’s upcoming tour dates.

Haunted Mountain is Meek’s first solo album for 4AD (although Big Thief is already signed to them). Haunted Mansion is also Meek’s third solo album and the follow-up to 2021’s Two Saviors. Jolie Holland co-wrote five songs on the album.

Of “Paradise,” Meek had this to say in a press release: “Sometimes when you half-hear something spoken, something unspoken inside the words is revealed. Your mind fills in the blank, finishes the sentence, infers deep meaning—though you still can’t fully explain it. Jolie Holland sent me some of the lyrics for this song, about feeling in awe of the vastness within a loved one, and I wrote it thinking about how love often feels too big to comprehend, like death, or life after death, or space.”

Previously Meek shared the album’s first single, title track “Haunted Mountain,” via a music video (it was one of our Songs of the Week).

A previous press release said the album is about love, among other things, even though Meek admitted that love songs are hard to write. “Not break-up songs, but an actual love song written in earnest? That is taboo now,” he said. “Sometimes it can feel like all the great love songs have already been written.”

Mat Davidson produced the album and also plays pedal steel guitar on it. He’s joined by guitarist Adam Brisbin, drummer Austin Vaughn, bassist Ken Woodward, and Meek’s brother, Dylan Meek, on piano and synthesizers. Adrian Olsen mixed the album.

Davidson had this to say about producing the album: “The music here is an expression of a group. I asked for the job because I felt strongly that we shouldn’t bring in someone from outside the band. Otherwise, the only personal desire I had was that we be able to explore space, that we let the music open up and slow down in contrast to previous records—not in terms of tempo but rather overall movement, information between the beats.”

Buck Meek Tour Dates:

Fri. Aug. 18 - Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
Sat. Aug. 19 - Oslo, NO @ Langs Akerselva
Mon. Aug. 21 - Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Tue. Aug. 22 - Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
Wed. Aug. 23 - Groningen, NL @ Noorderzon Festival
Sat. Aug. 26 - Edinburgh, UK @ Summerhall
Sun. Aug. 27 - Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Mon. Aug. 28 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Tue. Aug. 29 - Manchester, UK @ YES
Wed. Aug. 30 - London, UK @ Lafayette
Fri. Sept. 1 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Sun. Sept. 3 - Vlieland, NL @ Into the Great Wide Open Festival
Tue. Sept. 5 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso | Tolhuistuin
Wed. Sept. 6 - Paris, FR @ Le Hasard Ludique
Tue. Sept. 12 - Milan, IT @ Magnolia Segrate *
Wed. Sept. 13 - Turin, IT @ Spazio211 *
Thu. Sept. 14 - Nyon, CH @ La Paranthese*
Sat. Sept. 16 - Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club *
Fri. Oct. 27 - New York, NY @ Racket

* solo

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