José González announces first album in six years with new track "Visions"

After returning with his first new single in six years "El Invento" back in February, González is back with a second track "Visions" and news of his fourth studio album Local Valley.

González says of the new song, "We are the apes that are starting to understand the universe and our place in it. We are changing our surroundings in an exceedingly rapid pace, so much that we’re becoming stewards of our planet whether we like it or not. As Stewart Brand said “We are as gods and we have to get good at it"."

He adds, "The lyrics came to me in early February 2020 just as there were more and more tweets about the possible pandemic. The topic of the song felt very timely. You can hear the birds and ambient sounds from the veranda, along with a layer of synth loops in the background."

Local Valley will follow his 2015 album Vestiges & Claws, and was recorded at Studio Koltrast Hakefjorden, located at his family's summer house north of Gothenburg.

The album will be the first that sees González sing in three languages - English, Spanish and Swedish.

He says the album "is a natural continuation of the styles I’ve been adding through the years both solo and with Junip", and adds, "I set out to write songs in the same vein as my old ones: short, melodic and rhythmical. It’s more outward looking than my earlier works, but no less personal. On the contrary, I feel more comfortable than ever saying that this album reflects me and my thoughts right now."

González says of the songs, "Many of these songs have a crystal-clear, secular humanist agenda: anti-dogma, pro-reason. There’s no political agenda, though, at least not in a classical left-right spectrum. The focus is on underlying worldviews, and on our existential questions as smart apes on a quest to understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos."

Tracklist:

1. El Invento
2. Visions
3. The Void
4. Horizons
5. Head On
6. Valle Local
7. Lasso ln
8. Lilla G
9. Swing
10. Tjomme
11. Line of Fire
12. En Stund Pa Jorden
13. Honey Honey