Margaret Glaspy shares new track 'Act Natural' from upcoming album

Margaret Glaspy has announced the release of her new album, Echo The Diamond, with a stirring opening single 'Act Natural'.

The California-born, New York-based artist has also confirmed that she will be returning to the UK this September, touring alongside Half Moon Run before a headline show at London’s Omeara on September 20th. No Irish date has been unveiled just yet.

'Act Natural' captures the strange thrill of infatuation, channelling wonder and wide-eyed bewilderment into her lyrics from the first verse. "'Act Natural' is about trying to play it cool when you meet someone remarkable," she shared. "I wrote it in the afternoon in the back of a tour bus and the riff came separately when I got home. It is one of my favourite songs on the record to play live."

The video for the track, directed by Phineas Alexander, is a deep dive into Glaspy’s artistic New York City community and a showcase of her love for the guitar.

Echo The Diamond is Glaspy's third full-length album. It was co-produced with with her partner, guitarist/composer Julian Lage and is the follow-up to 2020’s Devotion. Upcoming record Echo The Diamond takes its title from a turn of phrase that Glaspy tossed off in the midst of a conversation with Lage.

"Bruce Lee once said to be water—if water is in a teacup, it becomes teacup-shaped... if it’s in a glass, then it takes the shape of that glass," she said. "For me, Echo The Diamond is a way of saying 'shine bright', 'be brilliant.'"

Glaspy worked with drummer/percussionist David King of The Bad Plus and bassist Chris Morrissey, recording at Reservoir Studios in Manhattan and embracing an intentionally unfussy process that left plenty of room for spontaneity. "I love music with a big element of risk to it, which was really the heartbeat of this album," she said. "A lot of what you hear are the very first takes."

Originally from the Northern California town of Red Bluff, Glaspy first started writing songs at age 15 and soon began honing the potent balance of sensitivity and incisiveness that now imbues her music.

Echo The Diamond ultimately marks the glorious realisation of her most closely held intentions for the album. "I’m excited to make music that doesn’t try to manipulate the listener into wishing for things to be any different from what they are. Ideally, I want my songs to reveal life for what it is, and to show that it’s that way for everyone."

Echo The Diamond will be released on August 18th via ATO Records. Pre-order here.