The Dead Tongues’ New Album ‘Body of Light’ Out Today
June 14, 2024 - By Psychic Hotline
Asheville-based The Dead Tongues release new album Body of Light today! This is the first of two releases out this summer: the song-centric and magnetic Body of Light and the discursive and wonderfully elliptical I Am A Cloud, out on August 9th along with the physical release of both albums together in one package.
FLOOD Magazine, who premiered the album, called Body of Light “a cosmically detached take on folk music that ranges from emotive, pop-structured anthems to wispy Americana.” In his interview with FLOOD, Ryan Gustafson of The Dead Tongues commented, “I consider myself very lucky to have a community that I can bring my ideas and songs to and fully trust them and be vulnerable with. When I got to the studio this time around, I was so tired of my ideas and habits—I was champing at the bit to see how everyone else would react to the songs, and was totally revived to hear other folks’ hearts and vibes come through in the music.” Body of Light features performances from Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Bon Iver), Mat Davidson (Twain), Matt Douglas (The Mountain Goats), Joe Westerlund (Califone, Megafaun), Jeff Ratner (Bing and Ruth), and more.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH FLOOD MAGAZINE
“Baby there ain’t no rules here/We can just slide,” Gustafson sings at the start of Body of Light’s opening title track, establishing a collective credo inside this gorgeous anthem about finding sanctuary with someone else. The characters on Body of Light are restless, damaged, and beautiful, whether clinging to an underground amid gentrification’s high rises during “Wolves” or holding on to the most intoxicating wisps of love during “Moon Shadow.” The band plays as if they’re just meeting these people for the first time, responding with an admixture of recognition and astonishment, springing forth from the thick of the elemental and natural beauty these songs reference. Body of Light and I Am A Cloud are both brilliant chapters written after Gustafson wondered if he’d closed the book, and they are, in turn, hard to put down. And this latest addition to The Dead Tongues’ catalog, shows why Gustafson is one of modern folk’s most distinct voices.
