Bernie Sanders may not have an election to look forward to this fall, but at least the Vermont senator will have something to keep his spirits up. His favorite band, Phish, have announced they’ll return later this year with the release of their new album, Big Boat. The follow-up to 2014’s Fuego is due out October 7th via the band’s own JEMP Records.
Like Fuego, Big Boat sees the jam quartet working alongside producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, KISS). All four band members — Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, and Page McConnell — contributed songs to the 13-track effort, both individually and in pairs. According to Anastasio, “There’s definitely a point of view to this one. We’re old enough to have a healthy respect for mortality.”
You can certainly hear that on the album’s lead single, “Breath and Burning” (a song those who went to the band’s summer shows may recognize). The song’s lyrics address the inevitable end of everything with grinning nonchalance. “And what does it matter that the end’s in sight,” asks Anastasio. “We’re not going gently, we’re going to rage with Page at the dying of the light.” It’s a breezy number with a bridge of party horns, and the beach vibe is no coincidence.
“I wrote this song on the beach after our three-night run in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico last January,” Anastasio explained to NPR Music. “I loved watching the faces of all the people dancing and splashing in the ocean while we played. I kept thinking, ‘This will all end sooner or later, one way or another. So I’m gonna enjoy every last second of it while we’re still here. I’m not gonna wave away the dessert cart on the Titanic. I want to be like that string quintet that kept playing while it sank.”
Take a listen below.
Pre-orders for Big Boat are going on now via the Phish Dry Goods Official Store. All pre-orders come with an instant download of “Breath and Burning”, while physical ones also include a 36-inch x 36-inch print of the album cover. Check that artwork out below, followed by the tracklist (complete with an author notation, since we know Sanders and you Phishheads love that kind of detail).
Big Boat Album Artwork:
Big Boat Tracklist:
01. Friends (Fishman)
02. Breath and Burning (Anastasio)
03. Home (McConnell)
04. Blaze On (Anastasio/Marshall)
05. Tide Turns (Anastasio)
06. Things People Do (McConnell)
07. Waking Up Dead (Gordon/Murawski)
08. Running Out Of Time (Anastasio/Marshall)
09. No Men In No Man’s Land (Anastasio/Marshall)
10. Miss You (Anastasio)
11. I Always Wanted It This Way (McConnell)
12. More (Anastasio)
13. Petrichor (Anastasio)
Phish previously announced a stretch of tour dates that will be in support of the new release. Find those below.
Phish 2016-2017 Tour Dates:
10/14 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Coliseum
10/15 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Coliseum
10/16 – Jacksonville, FL @ Veterans Memorial Arena
10/18 – Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
10/19 – Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
10/21 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
10/22 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
10/24 – Grand Prairie, TX @ Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
10/25 – Grand Prairie, TX @ Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
10/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
10/29 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
10/30 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
10/31 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
01/15 – Rivera Mexico, MX @ Barceló Maya Beach
01/16 – Rivera Mexico, MX @ Barceló Maya Beach
01/17 – Rivera Mexico, MX @ Barceló Maya Beach
