Ásgeir announces new album Julia

Ásgeir has announced his fifth studio album, Julia, out February 13 via One Little Independent Records.

The Icelandic singer-songwriter's 2012 album Dýrð í dauðaþögn was the best-selling debut in Icelandic history and was re-recorded in English upon its success.

"This was kind of the first time I was writing lyrics totally on my own," Ásgeir said of Julia in a press release. "It was scary. I’m still trying to find myself within that. But I tried to open myself up and I learned a lot through that process, and it was definitely therapeutic for me."

He cites Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Adrianne Lenker, and Gregory Alan Isakov as influences for the folk-pop album.

Along with his album announcement, Ásgeir has released the music video for new single 'Against the Current'.

About 'Against the Current', Ásgeir wrote, "The lyrics paint a picture of me seeing myself really for the first time. Seeing that I’ve been stuck in my ways, letting other people’s opinions of me change who I am and wanting to break from that pattern. To not let anyone, including myself, put me in a box and not limit my potential through what ideas someone might have of me."

The song features a brass arrangement from Samuel Jón Samúelsson.

Ásgeir will embark on a UK tour in April, with European and North American dates yet to be announced.

Read the tracklist for Julia below:

1. 1. Quiet Life
   2. Against the Current
   3. Smoke
   4. Ferris Wheel
   5. Universe Beyond
   6. Julia
   7. Sugar Clouds
   8. Stranger
   9. In the Wee Hours
   10. Into the Sun