Lael Neale portrays a frustrated school teacher with talent show aspirations in the droll and self-directed official video for ‘I’ll Be Your Star,’ another wonderful new single with glowing instrumentals and Neale’s beguiling vocals, it is available now on all DSPs. The new song was recorded during the sessions for Star Eaters Delight, her excellent 2023 album released earlier this spring.
‘I’ll Be Your Star’ was written by Neale and produced and arranged by Guy Blakeslee. It also follows the release of the raw gem ‘White T-Shirt,‘ released in June.
Neale says, “Getting to make this video at my beloved elementary school felt like coming full circle. I had my first and only film class there in which I learned the spontaneous and primitive approach to making things that I’m still committed to.”
Lael Neale’s international tour schedule for 2023 in support of Star Eaters Delight, which resumes Wednesday, September 6th in Rotterdam, Netherlands, at Roodkapje and currently runs through Friday, September 29th in Seattle, WA, at The Paramount Theatre. The tour includes headlining European tour dates (through September 16th) and U.S. Pacific Northwest dates with label mate Weyes Blood (September 27th-29th). A list of dates is below, and tickets for these shows are on sale now.
Wed. Sep. 06 – Rotterdam, NL – Roodkapje
Thu. Sep. 07 – Utrecht, NL – Ekko
Fri. Sep. 08 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso Upstairs
Sat. Sep. 09 – Asten-Heusden, NL – Misty Fields Festival
Mon. Sep. 11 – Bristol, UK – Crofters Rights
Tue. Sep. 12 – Brighton, UK – The Prince Albert
Wed. Sep. 13 – London, UK – Moth Club
Thu. Sep. 14 – Dublin, IE – The Workman’s Club
Sat. Sep. 16 – Leffinge, BE – Leffingeleuren Festival
The beguiling Star Eaters Delight reveals an expansion of Neale’s sonic collaboration with producer and accompanist Guy Blakeslee and arrives on the heels of her Sub Pop debut Acquainted With Night, which won international acclaim for its crystalline vocals, clever songwriting, and excellent use of Omnichord to build a world of beautiful reveries.
In April of 2020, Lael moved from Los Angeles back to her family’s farm in rural Virginia. Looking at the world from a distance and getting in tune with her own rhythms, she wrote and recorded steadily for two dreamlike years, driven by a need to make order out of chaos. Forged in isolation, Star Eaters Delight is a vehicle for returning, not just to civilization, but to celebration. She explains: “The unbroken silences on the farm compelled me to break them with sound. This album is louder and more external, calling out to the world.”
Star Eaters Delight was written by Neale, with arrangements and production by Guy Blakeslee. The recordings were made on cassette in Virginia and mastered by Chris Coady in Los Angeles.
Photo credit: Sylvie & Seven
