Laura Veirs Duets With Sufjan Stevens on New Song “Watch Fire”

We wrote previously about Portland songstress Laura Veirs revealing her 10th (has it really been that long?) studio album The Lookout, which is due out April 13 via Raven Marching Band Records. She had previously released the album’s first single, “Everybody Needs You,” and now presents us with single number two: “Watch Fire.”

The immediate takeaway here is a collaboration so natural, it’s kind of a shock that it hasn’t happened on a Veirs album before. Sufjan Stevens is an obvious complement to Veirs’ indie folk leanings, and they make a natural duo exchanging verses on the “Watch Fire” lyric video below. Delicate guitar picking gives way to swelling keys in a quick, galloping 2:30 that gets in, accomplishes its goals and gets out again.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard wolves howling in the wild but there’s no mistaking their sound,” said Veirs, talking about the song with Pitchfork. “It’s nothing like the howling of wind; it’s much more eerie and sinister. “Watch Fire” is about protecting the vulnerable among us and how I feel vulnerable, too, in this political climate. You can hear that in the lyric ‘underneath this dome of red / white dog circling overhead.’ It was an honor to have Sufjan sing on this track, as I admire him a lot. I heard his voice on this song when I wrote it. We’ve been friends for a long time and he’s given me quite a few artistic pep talks over the years. I sang on his Carrie and Lowell sessions, so it’s nice to have him on my record this time around.”

You can check out the latest tour dates for Veirs below, as she tries out some new The Lookout numbers.

Laura Veirs tour dates

April
13 – St. Paul, MN @ The O’Shaughnessy Auditorium (St. Catherine University)
14 – Pittsburg, PA @ Club Café (WYEP) *
15 – Charleston, WV @ Mountain Stage *
17 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel *
18 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre *
19 – Saxaphaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom *
21 – Macon, GA @ Hargray Capitol Theatre *
29 – Portland, OR @ Music Millenium

May
18 – Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey Arts Center
19 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
25 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (upstairs)
26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
27 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
29 – Paris, FR @ Le Café de la Danse
30 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique (upstairs)
31 – Amsterdam, NE @ Bitterzoet

June
2 – Sheffield, UK @ The HUBs
3 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Brudenell Social Club
4 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ The Cluny
5 – Glasgow, SCT @ Oran Mor
6 – Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
8 – London, UK @ Union Chapel
9 – Cardiff, WAL @ Church of St. John the Evangelist
10 – Bristol, UK @ The Thekla
11 – Brighton, East Sussex, UK @ The Komedia