Aoife Nessa Frances announces new album PROTECTOR via Partisan Records and shares the lead single "Way To Say Goodbye".
Irish artist Aoife Nessa Frances announces her forthcoming sophomore album Protector due October 28th via Partisan Records. Along with the album's announcement, Frances shares the lead single "Way To Say Goodbye" that she notes is, "a song about endings and a new beginning."
Coupled with the floating sonics are the dreamlike visuals directed by Ellius Grace portraying the journey of two men, one man being carried by another, as they traverse a lush meadow.
"This video is an allegory, a physical journey which embodies the emotional ones that many of us have experienced in our lives,"
Grace says,
"This story is about realizing when someone you love needs to find their own path, no matter how much you want to help them get there."
Aoife shares more about the meaning behind the song,
"'Way To Say Goodbye' reflects the feelings when a relationship ends, the difficulty of letting something go. How fear of loneliness can make you hold on to something for too long after it no longer serves you. The process of writing this song was incredibly cathartic and healing."
Protector was born in the spring of 2020, when Aoife packed up her things in Dublin and moved to rural County Clare on the west coast of Ireland. It was there, amidst the stillness, that she began to work on the songs that would become her second album: a personal, mystical journey of self-discovery through dislocation, transformation, and restoration. Recording took place in a small house in County Kerry, at the foothills of the Annascaul, with Brendan Jenkinson (producer, keys, bass, synth, clarinet), Brendan Doherty (drums), Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (string arrangements) and Conor O'Brien (horn arrangements). The resulting body of work deftly juxtaposes golden hours and arguments, affection and alienation, and above all marks a crucial period of her life that was transformative and left her wiser.
In Aoife's own words:
"Writing and recording this album was a spiritual experience. I experienced love for my family on a level I didn’t know existed, while slowly putting myself back together and watching the "protector" in me grow much bigger. 'Protector' acknowledges the part of myself that steers me towards a brighter path."
Protector follows Frances' debut full-length album Land of No Junction, which released in 2020 and features the stand-out songs "Blow Up" and "Here in the Dark."
Pitchfork wrote about the debut, "The Irish songwriter’s voice shines like a headlight in fog. Her debut abounds with deceptively serene serenades and surprising lyrical shifts."
After performing at a couple of festivals this summer in Ireland and United Kingdom, Frances will be supporting Destroyer on tour this fall across Europe and the UK before embarking on her headlining European tour and co-headlining North American tour with Indigo Sparke this November and December. The North American tour just announced and on-sale begins this Friday July 22nd at 10am local time. Tickets available HERE.
Pre-order/save Protector here, see full tour routing below, and stay tuned for more from Aoife Nessa Frances coming very soon.
Upcoming Live Dates
*month/day
^= supporting Destroyer
#= with Indigo Sparke
7/15 - Dublin, IE @ IMMA Summer Party
7/30 - Kendal, UK @ Kendal Calling
9/21 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso^
9/23 - Lund, SE @ Mejeriet^
9/24 - Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan^
9/25 - Oslo, NO @ Bla^
9/26 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega^
9/29 - Berlin, DE @ Lido^
9/30 - Cologne, DE @ Gebaude9^
10/01 - Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik^
10/02 - Lucerne, CH @ Subpol^
10/05 - Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur^
10/06 - Metz, FR @ Les Trinitaires^
10/07 - Paris, FR @ Petit Bain^
10/08 - Ghent, BE @ C Mine^
10/09 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix^
11/01 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
11/02 - Manchester, UK @ Castle Hotel
11/03 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy
11/04 - Todmorden, UK @ Golden Lion
11/05 - Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
11/06 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
11/08 - London, UK @ Moth Club
11/09 - Brighton, UK @ Prince Albert
11/11 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
11/12 - Kortrijk, BE @ Sonic City
11/13 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11/15 - Limoges, FR @ Le Phare
11/16 - Paris, FR @ Les Femmes s’en Mêlent Festival
11/17 - Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell
11/18 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
11/19 - Berlin, DE @ Prachtwerk
11/20 - Düdingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
11/21 - Milan, IT @ ARCI BELLEZZA
11/23 - Belfast, UK @ Ulster Sports Club
11/24 - Dublin, IE @ Whelans
11/25 - Limerick, IE @ Dolans, Upstairs
11/26 - Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
11/27 - Cork, IE @ Quiet Lights Festival, Coughlans Bar
11/29 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd#
11/30 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's#
12/1 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool#
12/2 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Club (Upstairs)#
12/3 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz#
12/5 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake#
12/7 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideout#
12/9 - Seattle, WA @ The Sunset#
12/11 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios#
12/13 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of The Hill#
12/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers#