Judah & the Lion Announce Fourth Studio Album Via New Single
The new release, "Happy Life," is accompanied by a music video.
By: Marissa Tomeo Apr. 01, 2022
Judah & the Lion announce their fourth full-length studio album Revival today with the release of their "HAPPY LIFE" single and music video, listen/watch HERE. The new album was recorded at Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC and finds the band attempting to recapture the innocence of their youth, embracing the sadness and loss of the last few years and welcoming the future with a renewed energy and spirit that harkens back to the group's earliest days. Like most of the world, Judah & the Lion's Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald found themselves doing a lot of soul searching over the pandemic that was the catalyst for personal and profession rejuvenation and evolution.
Revival is a collection of songs that speaks to the band's journey back to innocence and hope through reclamation. "It's learning to let go of things that are out of our control," Judah said, reflecting on working with his therapist through anxiety and depression. "Finding purity in life again. For all of us, we're gifted innocence when we're born, and at some point in our lives, be it through choices or tragedy, innocence is robbed. Second innocence is where we're not given it, but we choose to take it."
Revival follows 2019's Pep Talks - an album that found Akers dealing with the loss of his family's stability and learning how to ask for help. For Revival, Akers tackles grief and anxiety at home without the ability to shut out his emotions while non-stop touring. Being primarily on the road prior to 2020 created a misunderstanding of where they were individually and their connection to feeling at home. "Being home and not getting to mask my emotions with being on tour and being around crowds was big," Judah said. "It's an easy distraction because you can avoid dealing with it emotionally. You can get on stage and perform, and everything's fine."
Brian also had a journey in finding peace and putting in work to feel complete in a different emotional environment. His wife attended a graduate program in Sweden, thousands of miles from the home they made. As the world slowed to a halt, he had to find comfort in Visby Island's cold, lonely, and grey terrain. "The big thing for me was re-learning what 'home' means," Brian said. "Leaving my home and trying to make a new one and realizing that home wasn't a physical place for me."
When they came back together, their fulfillment alone proved to change not just themselves but how they fit together. Founding member Nate Zuercher informed them he was leaving the group, changing dynamics for a group of friends making music together for over a decade. Brian picked up the banjo, trying his best to fill the void Nate left but making his playing be his own and offering a new style.
The loss of a key member helped Brian and Judah grow further in reinvigorating their partnership. It brought new energy to their songwriting and collaboration and last fall the two invited their longtime friends and touring musicians with them to record Revival. "It was one of the most fun times we had in the studio," Brian said. "There was a lot of freedom to it, and it felt like a retreat. We were all in it."
Revival is out June 10th via Cletus the Van/Virgin Music, you can pre-save or pre-order the LP HERE. The band will be playing Bonnaroo on June 18th and they were just announced for the Wonderfront Festival Nov. 18-20th in San Diego, CA.
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