Richard Neuberg has announced his new album, The Vine, will be released on the 29th of May and has shared the first single, Saltwater which you can watch the video for below. Richard is best known as the frontman of Viarosa, described by Uncut as “like The Birthday Party doing Johnny Cash”; they released two widely acclaimed albums and played alongside the likes of Josh T Pearson, Robyn Hitchcock, and REM.
In the long hiatus since his last release with Viarosa and this forthcoming solo debut album, Richard worked as a producer in his own studio in Oxford before a debilitating illness, ME/CFS, left him a virtual shut-in. The illness followed a long stretch of tragedy for Richard, his sister’s suicide when he was 19, the loss of his father as a young boy, and, more recently, his mother, and a run of unsuccessful IVF attempts. These profound life experiences provide the basis for the album, whose artwork has been created by Neuberg’s wife, Emma.
Of the single Neuberg comments, “My emotional vulnerability is central to ‘Saltwater’, aware as I am that the thorn I carry within me might find its way to my heart. And however much I wait for things to change, for the ‘bird to sing a rhyme that goes better with me’, things never seem to quite settle down to a place of peace. Saltwater is also about the life I share with my wife Emma, of our love and our journey together, of how hard it can feel to be apart.”
Throughout, Neuberg alternates between his nylon-string and electric guitar, accompanied by expressive strings, brass, and percussion arranged by his long-time collaborator Johnny Parry. Lyrically, images and threads appear to merge, creating deeply personal songs that Neuberg likens to “self-portraits – though that’s not always the conscious intention.” Welcome back, Richard, it’s been too long! The album is available to preorder here.
“The Vine” tracklist:
1. Everything Dark Is Light
2. Saltwater
3. Crow Needs The Pine
4. Gold In The River
5. Hide and Seek
6. The Fever
7. Bells and Whistles
8. Better Ways To Mend
9. A History
10. Prayer Wheel
11. Weed Out The Wine
