They’ve been working on it for a few years, and following a 2022 single, Lou Barlow and John Davis have finally announced the first new Folk Implosion album in 25 years. It’s titled Walk Thru Me and will be out June 28 via Joyful Noise.
“It was the middle of the pandemic and we were old guy musicians commenting on a lot of the same things,” says Barlow of his reconnection with his “Natural One” collaborator. Adds Davis, “There was a moment when I was worried one of us might kick it, or never talk to each other again, so I decided we should pick it back up.”
“Because we’re so separate, part of this album is me desperately trying to telepathically communicate to John and Scott, who are 700 miles away from me,” Barlow says. “A big part of what I consider to be the Folk Implosion is taking disparate things and turning them into pop.”
The first single from the album is its closing track, “Moonlit Kind,” which has The Folk Implosion’s head-bobbing, rhythm-forward sound they’re known for, albeit on the gentle side. Listen below.
Lou and John will take The Folk Implosion on the road this summer, and their first show in 25 years happens at Kingston, NY’s Tubby’s on July 16, with a NYC show at TV Eye on July 21 with The Mona Passage.
Currently the tour is just East Coast but they say “more TBA.” All dates are listed below.
Walk Thru Me
1. Crepuscular
2. The Day You Died
3. Walk Thru Me
4. My Little Lamb
5. Bobblehead Doll
6. The Fable and the Fact
7. Right Hand Over the Heart
8. Water Torture
9. O.K. to Disconnect
10. Moonlit Kind
THE FOLK IMPLOSION – 2024 TOUR DATES
07.16.24 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s
07.17.24 – Somerville, MA @ The Rockwell
07.18.24 – Portland, ME @ Oxbow Blending and Bottling
07.19.24 – Cedar Grove, NJ [Backyard show]
07.20.24 – Riverton, NJ [Backyard show]
07.21.24 – Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye
7.22.24 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Baltimore
07.23.24 – Richmond, VA @ Chilton House
07.24.24 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
07.25.24 – Athens, GA @ The Lab at CINE
07.26.24 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
07.27.24 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook