Azure Ray Release New Single 'Phantom Lover'

On June 18 Azure Ray will release Remedy, the band's first full-length album in 10 years (pre-order). Today the band is pleased to share the official video for "Phantom Lover" the latest single to be lifted from the forthcoming release. The song follows up the release of two pre-release singles, "Bad Dream" and "Remedy" which have been praised by Pitchfork, Stereogum, Paste, American Songwriter, SPIN Magazine, UPROXX and many more. "Phantom Lover" can be shared at YouTube and is available on Spotify now.

About the video the band says:

"Phantom Lover" is about lifting each other up in hard times. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you everything will be alright, even if you don't believe it. The video was shot in the Mojave Desert entirely in night vision on a Sony X70 Camcorder and two trail cameras. Even though they are their natural predators, the desert sheep help the baby coyotes (played by Maria's sons) in their time of distress and dance the night away. The result is NatGeo meets David Lynch.

Earlier this month the band released the video for "Bad Dream." Filmed in a Tik Tok-layout, the video features appearances by friends Tim Kasher, Ben Lee, Nik Freitas, Josh Radnor, Morgan Nagler of Whispertown, Nick White and more dancing to the band's latest single. The video debuted at Under The Radar along with an exclusive interview with the band.

The band says, "'Bad Dream' is our summer jam. It is more of an exhale; a drive with the windows down song. All of the songs on Remedy were written during the pandemic, so they all have elements of the struggles we faced this past year. 'Bad Dream' combines these anxieties but traces them through our past, questioning how our subconscious state of mind dictates our decisions."

Remedy marks the 50th release on Taylor's label, Flower Moon Records. The new 10 song LP will be available on digital platforms, CD, and vinyl in three color variants with a special illustrated lyric booklet, plus limited edition bundles featuring a custom-blended "Remedy" essential oil roller.

Twenty years have passed since Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink released their self-titled debut record as Azure Ray. Those familiar with their work now know that it was the tragic death of Taylor's then boyfriend which abruptly transformed the duo's relationship to music - their alt-rock roots gave way to the now signature, dreamlike soundscapes that became known as "whisper core" with songs like "Sleep" & "Rise." The influence of Taylor & Fink's hushed & intimate, ASMR-like delivery combined with hypnotic atmospherics is unmistakably apparent in (and openly acknowledged by) today's chart- topping songwriters. After four full length albums, multiple cities, two hiatuses, and one pandemic, their timeless, genre-defining sound returns with a bold new fortitude with Remedy.

Produced by Brandon Walters (Lord Huron, Joshua Radin), the band worked individually through the COVID-19 pandemic across three separate recording locations in southern California to craft Azure Ray's first full length album in 10 years. With Remedy, Taylor and Fink sought to explore new structural arrangements and sonic dynamics, providing Walters with both the creative direction and freedom to expand upon the bands long-established ambient sound. Reoccurring themes of tragedy, chaos and anxiety present from the very first Azure Ray record (as a result of immense personal loss) reveal themselves with new meaning set against a world - not just their own lives - in turmoil. However impartial it sounds, the result is the best version of Azure Ray ever captured to tape (or computer). It's the same Maria and Orenda who have lulled us through devastating agony and lifted our hearts over the last two decades, unchanged in their ability to find beauty in darkness, hope in desolation.

Photo Credit: Liz Bretz

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