Ezra Furman announces new album with punchy lead single "Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone"

"Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone" is Furman's first single since last year's cover of Vampire Weekend's "Unbelievers", and his 2018 album Transangelic Exodus.

The vicious new single lands with trippy animated visuals directed by directed by Beth Jeans Houghton.

Offering an explanation about the new single, Furman says, ""Calm Down" is so desperate, and not what I want to say about the world. I think we curate our reactions to current news because we’re overwhelmed by how bad it is, and I noticed I was suppressing how bad I truly felt. I wanted music that gave me permission to feel how it felt to live in a broken world, which punk rock does."

Speaking about his upcoming album, Furman says, "This is our punk record. We made it in Oakland, quickly. We drank and smoked. Then we made the loud parts louder. I hurt my voice screaming. This was back in 2018, when things were bad in the world. The songs are naked with nothing to hide."

Furman adds, It was a carefully written and recorded version; we took a lot of time with edits and overdubs. I knew I wanted I make this album quickly and not spend time thinking how to play the songs. Twelve Nudes is a "body" more than a "mind" record - more animal than intellectual, And by affirming negativity, it gives you energy, to reject stuff. There’s more space for positivity."

Tracklist:

1. Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone
2. Evening Prayer aka Justice
3. Transition From Nowhere to Nowhere
4. Rated R Crusaders
5. Trauma
6. Thermometer
7. I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend
8. Blown
9. My Teeth Hurt
10. In America
11. What Can You Do But Rock’n’Roll