Julia Holter Shares Video for New Single “Words I Heard”

Julia Holter has shared the video for “Words I Heard,” the second single from her forthcoming album Aviary, out Oct. 26 through Domino.

“Words I Heard” is a literary deep-dive into a world of sensory warmth that serves as a contrast to Holter’s examination of what she called “the cacophony of the mind in a melting world.” The song’s orchestral accompaniment swirls like fog, a picturesque landscape for Holter to stroll through as she draws on sources from Dante to Lebanese-American poet Etel Adnan for lyrical inspiration.

“Save our souls and our laughter / I love you in the City of Man,” Holter sings, referencing a translation of Dante’s Inferno and the work’s misanthropic view of humanity. Etel Adnan’s poem “Journey to Mount Tamaplais” served as a touchstone for Holter when writing Aviary, and the poem’s focus on the tactile beauty of nature can be seen as a vision of hope compared to the cacophonous world of people Holter beheld when writing. “I think this album is reflecting that feeling of cacophony and how one responds to it as a person,” she said in a statement. “Maybe it’s a matter of listening to and gathering the seeming madness, of forming something out of it and envisioning a future.”

The video features film shot on California’s Mount Tamalpais, bringing the song’s roots to life with close-shot warmth. Director Dicky Bahto said that he felt he had to shoot there when he heard that Adnan’s poems were an inspiration for Holter. “When Julia told me that the title of her album was inspired by Etel Adnan, one of my favorite writers, I felt that I had to make a film for one of the songs on Mount Tamalpais,” Batho said in a statement.”It’s a recurring subject in both Adnan’s visual art and her writing.”

Watch the video for “Words I Heard” and check out Holter’s 2012 Daytrotter Session below. Holter will be touring through the remainder of the year and into next—find her full list of dates further down.

Julia Holter Tour Dates:

November
24 – Leeuwarden, Netherlands @ Explore The North Festival,
26 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso Noord
27 – Bochum, Germany @ Schauspiel
28 – Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma
30 – Berlin, Germany @ Funkhaus

December
01 – Hamburg, Germany @ Elbphilharmonie
02 – Frankfurt , Germany @ Brotfabrik
03 – Munch, Germany @ Kammerspiele
04 – Paris, France @ Petit Bain
06 – Manchseter, U.K. @ Gorilla
07 – Bristol, U.K. @ Fiddlers
08 – Dublin, Ireland @ Button Factory,
10 – Edinburgh, U.K. @ Summerhall,
11 – Leeds, U.K. @ Howard Assembly Rooms
12 – London, U.K. @ Hackney Arts Centre

January
18 – Tasmania, New Zealand @ Mona Foma Festival

February
19 – Washington, D.C. @ U Street Music Hall
20 – Philadelphia , Pa. @ Underground Arts
22 – New York, N.Y. @ Warsaw
23 – Boston, Mass. @ Brighton Music Hall
24 – Montreal, Que. @ La Sala Rossa
26 – Toronto, Ont. @ The Great Hall
27 – Detroit, Mich. @ El Club
28 – Chicago, Ill. @ Thalia Hall

March
01 – St. Paul, Minn. @ Turf Club
04 – Vancouver, B.C. @ Imperial
05 – Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir
06 – Seattle, Wash. @ Neumos
08 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Great American Music Hall
09 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Lodge Room