Alternative indie-rock artist Brian Lopez (Calexico, XIXA) shares his latest single “Road To Avalon,” with a special guest feature and longtime friend KT Tunstall.
Tapping into the memory of shared exploration and experiences between the friends around Glastonbury Festival many moons ago, the waltz-leaning single narrates an escape into the unknown corners of your mind in the name of trust and the procurement of curiosity. It is less a love song and more of one that celebrates the power of companionship as you trek on towards greater unknowns hand in hand with the trust of a friend.
Paralleling its outer world during the time of its conception of the early thralls of the pandemic in 2020, winding guitar strings, mystic accordion melodies and texturized rhythms take listeners down a longing escape into the dark in a way that is less of a cautionary tale and more fueled by the excitement that the void left by uncertainty can bring. Although Lopez and Tunstall provide a lush sonic soundscape for the quest, the song’s open ended guitar-driven breaks and melodies allow the listener to fill in their own journeys to the mystically conceptual destination.
On the single and collaboration Lopez shares: “It was just nice to work together again, especially during the solitude of a pandemic. I really enjoyed the challenge of writing a song that would fit into, not only a storyline of KT and I, but also a song that gave KT some creative license to do what she does best. And she delivered those beautiful vocal arrangements you hear that I would never be able to conceive of on my own.”
LISTEN TO ‘ROAD TO AVALON’ HERE
The single will also be accompanied by a visual counterpart, a music video conceptualized and produced by profound UK Artist 10 Years Time. The music video takes viewers on an illustrated psychedelic trip painted by moving shapes and colors that bring the trip inside one’s own mind, navigating the uncertain void to life.
WATCH ‘ROAD TO AVALON’ HERE
The single also comes with his official announcement of his upcoming album TIDAL, out Friday, June 23rd. After taking the last few years to record and tour with acclaimed bands Calexico and XIXA, his to-be latest album (recorded at Dustin Stone Recording Studio in Tucson, Arizona) marks a creative reset and represents a sort-of coming home to himself journey after taking some time away from his solo career. TIDAL is a record about a man falling in love with music again and channels the glee and rush of excitement he felt as a child holding his first guitar. Finding a newfound freedom too. It’s a record that proves that Tucson’s famed desert romantic has lost none of his unique magnetism or Southwestern psychedelic tendencies. More info on the album to come soon. ABOUT BRIAN LOPEZ:A lead player in crafting the sound of the Southwest indie scene for the past two decades, Lopez will drop his 4th studio album, TIDAL, in May 2023.
According to Popmatters: “TIDAL’s debut single, “3000 Stories,” is indie rock and folk this side of Elliott Smith, finding its mellow vibe in subtle, undulating synths, guitar tones, and soft-sung vocals. It’s a gorgeously crafted, unassuming first single that sets the tone for something special from Lopez in the coming months with TIDAL.” Lopez released his first solo album Ultra in 2011 to international acclaim. Rolling Stone Germany described the record as “Psychedelic chamber-pop with the surrealist touch of Dalí.” After touring across Europe and the US as the opening act for KT Tunstall, Giant Sand and Heartless Bastards, he released Static Noise in 2014, followed in 2018 by Prelude, a lo-fi 10-song album written and recorded in his Armory Park bedroom during a two-week period.
