Ben Nichols, frontman and songwriter for the long-running Memphis rock band Lucero, announced his sophomore solo album In the Heart of the Mountain will be released on July 25 via Lucero’s label Liberty & Lament. The album is one of his most personal pieces of work to date and marks his first solo release in 16 years since 2009’s acclaimed The Last Pale Light in the West.
Along with the announcement, Nichols has shared lead single “Fading Back Into the Night,” a heartfelt track that reflects on regrets and missed chances while offering hope that redemption is right around the corner. The release is accompanied by a music video shot and edited by photographer Chad Cochran at his studio in Cleveland, OH.
Nichols explains, “I’ve written a number of songs about being a fuck-up and this is another one. A song about missing the boat. Getting to the game just a little too late. And then just fading away. That and the idea of the stars disappearing with the sunrise but always still being there in the night on the other side of the world. For some reason I thought those two sentiments went together nicely in one song.”
“A few years ago, a stranger mailed me a copy of What About This, Collected Poems of Frank Stanford. He sent it because he knew I was from Arkansas and Stanford had lived and died in Arkansas and he thought my lyrics shared something in common with those poems. Even at the age of 50, I’ve never read much poetry, but there was something about Stanford’s writing I fell in love with. There was something alive and dangerous in his words. Nothing safe about the way he wrote. Soaked in Southern tones but not backwards, more unconventional and pushing at the edges of Southern decorum. It was mythology and everyday life, it was an exotic landscape and it was home. It was not quite like anything I’d read before.
Nichols’ has also announced a run of solo tour dates for July and August including shows in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas as well as St. Louis, Columbus, Cleveland and more. See full list of tour dates below.
In the Heart of the Mountain Tracklist:
- In the Heart of the Mountain
- The Darkness Sings
- A Bleak Overture
- From a Western or a War Movie
- While the Stars Disappear
- Fading Back Into the Night
- I’m in Over My Head
- She’s Starlight in the River
- The Prayer
- The Swamper’s Lament
- The Devil Takes His Leave
Ben Nichols Solo Tour Dates:
July 5 – Fischer, TX – Devil’s Backbone
July 24 – Little Rock, AR – Whitewater Tavern
July 25 – Little Rock, AR – Whitewater Tavern
July 26 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
July 27 – St. Louis, MO – Golden Record
July 29 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi Indy
July 30 – Lexington, KY – The Burl
July 31 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Café
August 2 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
August 3 – Huntington, WV – The Loud
August 5 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
August 6 – Knoxville, TN – Open Chord Music
August 7 – Greenville, SC – Radio Room
August 8 – Chattanooga, TN – Cherry Street Tavern
