On Feb. 14, Bartees Strange releases Horror, his third full-length studio album, via 4AD. He then returns to DC for a show at 9:30 Club on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Last year, Bartees released “Sober,” the first single from the new album. It was produced by Strange, Jack Antonoff, Yves Rothman, and Lawrence Rothman.
Strange said, “This song is about falling short in a relationship, over and over and drinking because of it. I think this is something a lot of people can probably relate to. Being in love, but not being the best at showing it or feeling successful within it. And being afraid that this is something you’ll just always deal with because you never really saw a better example of how love works.”
The single is paired with a music video directed by Ricardo Betancourt that draws inspiration from Sly & The Family Stone’s 1974 Soul Train performance.
Watch the official music video for “Sober” by Bartees Strange on YouTube:
Watch Sly & The Family Stone perform “Thank You” live on Soul Train in 1974 on YouTube:
Strange was raised on fear. His family told him scary stories to teach life lessons, and at an early age, he started watching scary movies to practice being strong. The world can be a terrifying place, and for a young, queer, Black person in rural America, that terror can be visceral. Horror is an album about facing those fears and growing to become someone to be feared.
Strange said of Horror, “In a way, I think I made this record to reach out to people who may feel afraid of things in their lives, too. For me it’s love, locations, cosmic bad luck, or that feeling of doom that I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember. I think that it’s easier to navigate the horrors and strangeness of life once you realize that everyone around you feels the same. This album is just me trying to connect. I’m trying to shrink the size of the world. I’m trying to feel close — so I’m less afraid.”
Bartees Strange
W/ Tré Burt
9:30 Club
Saturday, Feb. 15
Doors @ 6pm
$25
All ages
