Andrew W.K. Announces New Album, Releases New Single, Sets New Tour Dates

May 6th, 2021 at 10:30am
Axl Rosenberg

2020 was a year so fucking bleak it even broke the spirit of Andrew W.K., previously a candidate for World’s Happiest Human. At least, I assume that’s the case, because his last two singles — “Babalon” and now “I’m in Heaven” — are by far the darkest, heaviest, least party-centric songs the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/conspiracy theory subject has ever released.

Both tracks are going to be included on Mr. W.K.’s new album, God is Partying, which suggests — dare I say it? — that the title might actually be ironic (e.g., “There’s a pandemic, the police are killing innocent people, our president is a sociopath… God is partying!”). The incredible album art (bottom of this post) further bolsters that notion, going so far as to suggest Andrew W.K. may be trying to say something about the consequences of party-party-partying for so long.

That sounds like a bummer, but I’m just gonna come out and say it: “Babalon” and “I’m in Heaven” are career highlights for Andrew W.K. They’re far more musically complex, far more epic, and far more thought-provoking than his (admittedly also-wonderful) previous output about partying, having fun, and having fun at parties. And it’s not just because they’re less-optimistic-sounding; the lyrics could still be about, I dunno, the deliciousness of pizza, and musically they’d still smoke W.K.’s other material.

Check out “I’m in Heaven” via the below music video, which is surprisingly unsettling.

Phem C. Palmer, the director of “I’m in Heaven,” discusses how they constructed the video’s visual language:

“A secret is no longer a secret if it isn’t being kept, and this is how we approached the spirit of meaning as it applies to the non-diegetic sound images in the ‘I’m In Heaven’ video.”

God is Partying will be released September 10 on Napalm. Pre-order it here.

On top of all of that, Andrew W.K. has a string of live dates scheduled for September. Those are below. They appear to be at unusually-tiny venues so best of luck getting a ticket. Motherfu-

9/10 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
9/11 – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365
9/13 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
9/14 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
9/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall
9/21 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
9/22 – Boston, MA – Royale
9/23 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
9/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Theatre Of The Living Arts
9/26 – Birmingham, AL – Furnace Fest (**festival date)

God Is Partying tracklisting:*