Watch the Sunshine-Filled Music Video for Michael Rault’s “I’ll Be There”

Michael Rault’s new music video and single “I’ll Be There,” off his forthcoming album It’s A New Day Tonight, is just the pick-me-up needed to get over those mid-week blues. The Montreal-based singer-songwriter is set to release his Wick Records debut on May 18. “I’ll Be There” is the album’s opener and the second single to be released off the record, following “Sleep with Me” in 2017. You can revisit that first single below.

After going on tour with Aussie-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Rault teamed up with producer Wayne Gordon and signed to the Brooklyn-based Daptone Records rock subsidiary, Wick Records, during what was initially only supposed to be a two-week recording stint. Signing on to Wick made Rault the first Canadian member of the Daptone label, and the musician then went on to finish the record with Gordon as co-producer. The label’s unique live-to-tape recording setup gives the forthcoming album its loose ‘70s vibe, combined with an energetic “21st-century optimism.”

“The editing and patching together of tracks on the album was minimal compared to modern standards,” says Rault in a statement, “which forced me to get more used to having to perform each song all the way through in the studio and then live with the imperfections afterwards.”

The Alex Kingsmill-directed music video for “I’ll Be There” features Rault riding in the back of a pickup truck as fireworks and brightly colored rainbow lights are superimposed over a changing urban and rural landscape.

It’s A New Day Tonight derives its name from what’s described in the press release as “the most Canadian of sources”: a pregame interview with a hockey player who was quoted as saying, “It’s a new day tonight, we’ve got to put the past behind us.“ Rault addresses the album’s title (and title track) in a statement:

At first, I thought it was an awkward phrase. But I quickly thought: “Awkward turn of phrase… or a good album title?” [The title track] is almost completely describing a very positive nightlife experience, but the opening line implies that this evening is coming as a major relief after spending the majority of the day depressed.