Bay Area folky indie rock trio Sour Widows confirmed that their first full-length album was coming back in the summer of 2022, and now it’s finally announced. It’s called Revival of a Friend, and it comes out on June 28 via Exploding In Sound (pre-order). They made the album at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studio in Oakland, and they cite Joni Mitchell, Duster, Bedhead, and Slint among its influences. You can hear just about all of that coming through in the towering, climactic, nearly-six-minute new single “Cherish.” Here’s what guitarist/vocalist Maia Sinaiko says about it:
“Cherish” is a plea for love disguised as a curse against the world. I started struggling with my mental health in my late teens, and the loss of my partner at age 21 – as well as the tumult of our relationship – exacerbated those issues. I was a very angry person, and I went through several years of being emotionally volatile. Both wanting to connect and be seen while being enraged at the state of my life, I would lash out just to make contact with someone, even if that contact was hurtful. To cherish something is to love it for all that it is. The song says everything I couldn’t say to my family and friends in that grief-stricken state; I hope it can serve as a reminder that we all deserve to be cherished through our hardships, even when we are at our most difficult to love.
The album also includes remixed versions of the band’s 2022 singles “Witness” and “I-90.” Check out “Cherish” and its Carr Conaway-directed video, the tracklist, artwork, and upcoming tour dates below.
Tracklist
1. Big Dogs
2. Revival
3. Witness
4. I-90
5. Initiation
6. Gold Thread
7. Cherish
8. FTGE
9. Shadow Of A Dove
10. Staring Into Heaven/Shining
Sour Widows — 2024 Tour Dates
6/20: San Diego, CA – Voodoo Room *
6/21: Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room *
7/10: Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
7/11: Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
7/13: San Francisco, CA – The Independent
7/27: Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon
* w/ Teethe