Moses Sumney Announces New Double Album græ, Shares First Single

Immensely talented neo-soul artist Moses Sumney has announced a forthcoming double-album titled græ, due out next spring on Jagjaguwar. The album, Sumney’s second after the acclaimed Aromanticism, will be released in two parts—one in February and one in March—and follows a conceptual narrative on the idea of grayness. The album’s first single, “Virile” is a triumphant return for Sumney, arriving along with a self-directed video that solidifies the strength of his multi-faceted approach to his art.

“Virile” is a term used to describe a male with a strong sexual attraction—something that Sumney has no problem conveying through his vocal and physical performances. The song opens with a strange wail from the singer before a gleefully plucked harp begins the movement. “Virile” is undoubtedly spiritual, with a focus on the connection between earth and the body: Sumney sings, “And I realize now / That none of this matters / ‘Cause I will return / The dust and matter.” The song displays opulent orchestration, with harp, flute, piano and vocal harmonies intermingling in a smooth, symbiotic bliss.

The stunning video for “Virile” emits a resounding energy that proves Sumney to be as much of a visual icon as he is a musical one. In the cold, depressing setting of a meat locker, Sumney contorts his shining bare body through a fantastic interpretive dance. Later he kneels before a religious candlelit shrine surrounded by hanging meat—a surreal sight, indeed. The last few seconds of the video show Sumney laying in a field completely covered in ladybugs while hyperventilating. The video is bizarre, cryptic and wonderfully shot.

In a statement, Sumney explains that his approach to his art maintains a crucial self-awareness that prevents him from being pulled in any single musical direction:

It all works to create a paradox, keeping art and artist somewhere between any one sure thing—but surely something that demands your attention affixed and your breath bated.