Greta Van Fleet have returned with the new single, The Falling Sky, lifted from their forthcoming album Starcatcher, due out on July 21 via Lava/Republic/EMI.
The Falling Sky follows on from the recently-released tracks Farewell For Now, Sacred The Thread and Meeting The Master, and is driven by bluesy riffs, fiery vocals and resolute lyrics about standing in the face of misfortune and letting it pass by freely.
Speaking of the new track, Jake Kiszka explains: “An unwavering warrior carrying on the endless, eternal, and impossible battle for salvation; these were the elements of symbolism associated with this particular track.
“In essence our fate is sealed, alike the stars that fall from the almighty heavens to the earth. This philosophy is carried through in the story of a bluesman, at the crossroads of the universe.”
Starcatcher was recorded with Dave Cobb at his base at RCA Studios in Nashville, and finds the band exploring “the duality of fantasy versus reality and the contrast between light and darkness.”
“We had this idea that we wanted to tell these stories to build a universe,” says drummer Danny Wagner. “We wanted to introduce characters and motifs and these ideas that would come about here and there throughout our careers through this world.”
“When I imagine the world of Starcatcher, I think of the cosmos,” explains bassist and keyboard player Sam Kizska. “It makes me ask a lot of questions, like ‘Where did we come from?’ or ‘What are we doing here?’ But it’s also questions like, ‘What is this consciousness that we have, and where did it come from?’”
“We didn’t really have to force or be intense about writing, because everything that happened was very instinctual,” adds frontman Jake Kizska. “If anything, the record is our perspective, and sums up where we are as a group and individually as musicians.”
Later this summer, Greta Van Fleet will hit the road for their Starcatcher world tour, kicking off on July 24 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Last week, GVF frontman Josh Kiszka publicly identified as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community for the first time, and aired his concerns over US politicians “proposing bills that threaten the freedom of love.”
Via a statement shared on his personal social media accounts, the singer revealed how he had been in a “loving, same-sex relationship” with his partner for eight years, whom he lives with in Tennessee, and noted how “there is still work to be done for LGBTQ+ rights in TN, the nation, and the world”.