Gus Dapperton's New Album 'Orca' Out Today

Gus Dapperton's new album Orca is finally here. Named by Uproxx as one of their most anticipated records of the Fall, he describes it as an album about "feeling trapped, depressed, and having these people and unconditional forces of love in your life that reel you back in." The 10 song LP was written and produced by Dapperton, with Spike Stent (Frank Ocean, Lady Gaga, Beyonce) mixing the album.

In celebration of the album's release, tickets are now on sale for Gus Dapperton Broadcasting from Zerospace, where he will perform both new and old songs in one of New York's most innovative spaces on September 25th. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Earlier this week, Gus Dapperton shared the final single from his highly anticipated second album Orca, out today on AWAL. With "Bluebird," Gus dives headfirst into the heaviest sort of anxiety: the fear of death, and how to come to terms with mortality. Musically "Bluebird" is all swagger, the feeling of moving through your life with thoughtless ease-the piano is bright and the bass drives the action forward-but the lyrics tell a different story. He sings, "My grave puts all the weight on hold," meaning that the discomfort of living could be gone in death. It's but one perspective on a complicated album that takes pain seriously-and healing too.

The single comes alongside a video directed by Dapperton.

The release of "Bluebird" follows the previously-released singles "Medicine," a somber, yet powerful piano-led track, "Post Humorous," the major pop melody with devastating lyrics, and "First Aid," a song centered around themes of perceived isolation.

If you've followed the 23-year-old's career from the bright and charming early singles and EPs to 2018's full-length album Where Polly People Go to Read, you'll have recognized that the singer-songwriter-producer has entered new territory here. The new album explores human pain and suffering, but also healing and redemption. Dapperton began writing Orca while on tour in 2018, exhilarated by performing for fans and first-time listeners in countries he'd never visited before, but feeling the stresses of the road as well. "I was unbalanced," he recalls. "My lifestyle and habits had gotten extreme. I wasn't getting eight hours of sleep a night, I was drinking and doing drugs often. Wasn't eating healthy. And on top of it, I was performing. A show can be the most inspirational, emotional high; but if something goes wrong it can be devastating."

Those precipitous highs and lows, and the desire for home, took Gus to dark places-even if it wasn't obvious to those around him. One of the nastier aspects of depression is how it sabotages and dismantles connection; you're alone in your head, feeling unable to communicate what you're going through, and if you're a young, physically healthy person the folks around you won't necessarily see what's afflicting you.

Gus's creative decisions in pursuit of a raw sound to match these raw emotions didn't come easily. "I'm a huge advocate for putting myself in vulnerable positions in my music," he says but admits that confronting these feelings "was a chance to be open that I was afraid of." But he pushed himself and, with the help of his friends and family, came out on the other side stronger. "It was cathartic to put these emotions into music," he says. When Orca is released in September, he won't be the only one feeling that way.

Gus Dapperton first exploded on scene in 2016 as a singer, songwriter, and vibe maestro who invites you to take up residence deep inside of his subconscious. He released songs straight from his upstate NY bedroom like "Prune, You Talk Funny" and "I'm Just Snacking." He soon followed up with the 2018 release of Where Polly People Go To Read, showcasing Dapperton's talent for melodies and lyrical whimsy with tracks like the drama-filled "World Class Cinema", the slow-tempo aquatic love song "My Favorite Fish," and r&b-tinged "Fill Me Up Anthem". World tours followed, playing numerous sold out shows and further honing his skills that he brought to the making of album number two. More recently you can find Gus's distinct vocals on BENEE's viral hit "Supalonely," which currently is taking TikTok by storm, and performing with the New Zealand singer on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Listen to "Orca" here:

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