It feels fitting on a website that I named ‘Road Trip Playlists’ that I get to write about one of the artists that was a constant on the car rides with my mother growing up. Growing up, I don’t remember many periods where a Natalie Merchant cd wasn’t in the rotation in my mom’s Saab. Whether it is long road trips to visit extended family in California or the striking voice and powerful lyrics of Merchant in the background as my mom and I talked on the way home from basketball practice, Natalie Merchant’s catalog is a core memory in my life. Now, the 59-year-old singer-songwriter is back with a new song that will live on my Road Trip Playlists.
On Friday, Merchant released her newest single ‘Tower of Babel’ and an accompanying video. In ‘Tower of Babel,’ the award-winning songwriter displays the power of her voice not only in its beauty and uniqueness but in speaking to a divided country.
“As much as I had wanted to not let events in the world intrude,” Merchant says of the song, “I couldn’t disregard the prevailing atmosphere of fear and confusion that we have been living in as a result of the pandemic, climate crisis, economic instability, insane politics, violent insurrection and the shocking fallout from the conservative-stacked reactionary Supreme Court.”
The lyrics of ‘Tower of Babel’ are somehow both simple and potent. She describes a house divided and the lingering confusion created by two sides seemingly speaking separate languages, followed by the haunting reality of “Everybody feeling the danger, Nobody dares to make a move,” followed by what becomes chilling arrangements from trombone player Steve Davis as Merchant reminds “Nobody gets out alive.”
The song comes shortly after the release of her single “Come On, Aphrodite” which explores the subject of love and humans yearning for it despite it’s perils. Both tracks will be on Merchant’s forthcoming album ‘Keep Your Courage,’ which is tabbed for an April 14 release via Nonesuch Records. It marks Merchant’s ninth studio album and was fully produced by her.
Of ‘Keep Your Courage,’ the Tigerlily singer describes, “For the most part, this is an album about the human heart.” The eclectic album features contributions from Celtic folk group Lúnasa, Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are lush orchestrations by seven composers throughout, including: Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobsen and Megan Gould.
In celebration of the new album, Merchant will embark on an extensive tour which we will include details below. After seeing her perform last summer at Newport Folk Festival, we can say that she is a must-see.
Celebrate a brilliant artist’s catalog of work as well as her exciting new album in a city near you this spring and fall. Ensure your pre-save to her forthcoming album to be notified of its release here.
TRACKLIST
KEEP YOUR COURAGE
1. Big Girls
2. Come on, Aphrodite
3. Sister Tilly
4. Narcissus
5. Hunting the Wren
6. Guardian Angel
7. Eye of the Storm
8. Tower of Babel
9. Song of Himself
10. The Feast of Saint Valentine
Bonus Content
11. Spring and Fall: To a Young Child (from 2010’s Leave Your Sleep)
12. Butterfly (from 2017’s Butterfly)
13. Giving up Everything (from 2014’s Natalie Merchant)
14. Frozen Charlotte (from 2017’s Butterfly; original version on 1998’s Ophelia)
