Since the departure of singer Jade Castrinos in 2014, new music out of the Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros camp has been severely lacking, though they’ve been playing shows and festivals here and there. Now, finally, the ten-piece has shared a new, near eight minute track Hot Coals. The single is a cut from a forthcoming studio album (the band’s fourth), slated for a release early next year via Create/Control & Community Music.
The track starts out with some distinctly dreamy vocals and acoustic guitar with some light backing melodies carrying the song along until a piano unexpectedly drops in at just over a minute into the song. It’s a refreshing change of pace, with the piano going on to be the true star of the piece, especially when it tangles with particularity psychedelic horn section in the second half of the song, before leading the entire thing out.
Of the new track and other forthcoming material, front man Alex Ebert has said “We’ve been on for a while now, but it’s like we just turned on a new page in the old book with the inscription: serve your power and work beyond reason. We have. Here’s a large helping of it” and he’s cited the departure of Castrinos as being hugely transformational. “We had long been a social experiment first, musicians second. Over time, though, we were emerging, by virtue of hours spent, into a group of musicians who could really play together. When Jade left, that confirmed our new fate – music first.”
London-born Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes member Christian Letts has also been working on his debut solo album Hold Fast, which was produced by Marcus Mumford from Mumford & Sons and featured artists from their respective bands. Additionally, Christopher “Crash” Richard has also been working on a solo album in a blend of Americana, folk, and soul.