Black Marble Announces New Album Bigger Than Life, Shares Lead Single “One Eye Open”

Los Angeles synth-pop outfit Black Marble (aka Chris Stewart) announced a new album on Thursday afternoon. Titled Bigger Than Life, it’ll be Stewart’s debut on Sacred Bones Records, and today we’re hearing the album’s first cut.

“One Eye Open” is a foot-tapping, head-nodding groove. Synths staccato and soar in equal measure, with Stewart’s vocals being the only non-electronic sound on the track. While Stewart’s timbre is firm and secure, his lyrics are anxiously awaiting a potential failure. Stewart explains in a statement:

We seem to like when our public figures take a fall, which sort of makes sense considering societies long standing desire to publicly flay the fortunate as catharsis, but I’ve always found it ironic that artists/musicians seem to fall into the category as well considering the disparity in income between say, a famous actor and a middling indie musician. Either way, “One Eye Open” is loosely based on the visual metaphor of a high wire artist in a three ring circus who elicits ooh and aahs from the crowd, but after awhile starts to perform with one eye open as they grow restless.

The track comes paired to a video that Stewart co-directed with Ben Pier. The hazy affair is a lo-fi ode to Los Angeles, showing a woman riding a Lime scooter throughout several of the city’s notable locations. Stewart says he loves those pesky scooters: “People make fun of them but I think they are awesome and wanted to celebrate that through a character that seems a bit isolated but finds a kind of freedom on them and doesn’t really care what other people think.”

Bigger Than Life is due out on Oct. 25 via Sacred Bones Records. You can preorder it here. Watch the video for “One Eye Open” below. Keep scrolling and you’ll find the album’s details, which you can peruse while revisiting Black Marble’s 2017 Daytrotter Session.

Bigger Than Life Album Art:

Bigger Than Life Tracklist:
01. Never Tell
02. One Eye Open
03. Daily Driver
04. Feels
05. The Usual
06. Grey Eyeliner
07. Bigger Than Life
08. Private Show
09. Shoulder
10. Hit Show
11. Call

Black Marble Tour Dates:

November
02 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ SUBSTANCE at the Los Angeles Theater
07 – Austin, Texas @ Levitation at Empire Control Room
22 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom (Record Release Show) w/ Automatic