Gary Clark Jr. has surprised fans with a taste of new music; four new studio tracks from his much-anticipated upcoming album, JPEG RAW, set for release on March 22 via Warner Records. Check out Maktub,” “JPEG RAW,” “This Is Who We Are,” and “Hyperwave,” below.
This new body of work signals a brave new world for Clark’s ever-expanding creative palette. The new music is dense and adventurous with a more cohesive synthesis of his eclectic musical universe. His samples, Thelonious Monk and Sonny Boy Williamson, decorate flourishes of African, World Music, and even Jazz while merging with rock, R&B, hip-hop and blues; familiar areas he has ventured before, this time with more unity forging a fresh new style. Clark’s lyrics are pointed, deeply personal, outspoken and socially conscious with occasional forays into rap and spoken word from Clark himself. The sonics are immersive, verging on modern groove-oriented psychedelia with hip-hop-driven beats in verses giving way to anthemic choruses, rich with power-chording and wide fuzz riffage.
Songs like “Maktub,” “JPEG RAW,” “This Is Who We Are,” “Hyperwave,” and the epic 10-minute “Habits” break fresh ground defying categorization in the ever predictable music world. The co-written Stevie Wonder duet, “What About The Children,” feels like an immediate classic that could have lived on Innervisions or Talking Book if not for Clark’s fuzzed out riff and hip-hop pocket.
Tracklisting:
Maktub*
JPEG RAW*
Don’t Start (feat. Valerie June)
This Is Who We Are (feat. Naala)*
To The End Of The Earth
Alone Together (feat. Keyon Harrold)
What About The Children (feat. Stevie Wonder)
Hearts In Retrograde
Hyperwave*
Funk Which U (feat. George Clinton)
Triumph
Habits
*Included on 4-track sampler
