Caroline Polachek has released her new single “Billions.” Stream it below.
The ethereal, pulsing “Billions” features a chorus from London’s Trinity Boys & Girls Choir. Polachek co-produced the track with her frequent collaborator Danny L Harle. “Headless angel/ Body upgraded,” she sings. “But it’s dead on arrival/ Oh whoa, billions.”
“The overabundance of this world overwhelms me,” said Polachek in a press statement. “Sometimes it seems like ultimate tragedy, the earth being pillaged and destroyed for it. Sometimes it seems pre-human, beyond morality, sublime. I don’t pick sides, I just live here, with you. How does it feel, being so rich?”
In a September 2021 interview with The New Yorker, Polachek revealed she wanted to capture “the afterglow of a reopening” with the song. According to writer Jia Tolentino, Polachek heard an “oceanic and potent” melody out of nowhere after receiving the beat from Harle and “started jotting down psychedelic images: a headless angel, an overflowing cup, a pearl inside an oyster.”
“Billions” is Polachek’s follow-up to July 2021 single “Bunny Is a Rider,” which at the time marked her first new material since 2019. Since then, she has played one of the best sets at Day 3 of Governor’s Ball 2021 and reunited with Charli XCX on “New Shapes.”
The new track will also be available as a 7-inch single along with a new reworking of “Long Road Home,” her collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never. Pre-order the special edition vinyl here.
Starting on February 9th, Polachek will open for Dua Lipa on her “Future Nostalgia Tour.” The 28-date North American trek will make stops in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, and more. In between, she will also have headlining shows in Chattanooga, New Haven, Cleveland, Saint Louis, Flagstaff, Santa Cruz, and Tacoma. Polachek will also play both weekends of Coachella. Pick up your tickets here.
