Watch Imelda May’s live video of ‘Black Tears’

After the Dublin singer revealed her new album cover, she officially announced her fifth studio album, titled Life. Love. Flesh. Blood., which will be released on Decca Records on April 7, 2017. The album’s first single, the heart wrenching ballad ‘Black Tears’, already premiered on BBC Radio 2 with a live video.

Imelda May, born and raised in Dublin, is one of the most celebrated female artists, who emerged from Ireland. Following her previous record Tribal (2014), which debuted at #1 in Ireland, May’s new album provides a mix of different musical genres, spanning blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz. It will also feature musical contributions from guitarist Jeff Beck (in ‘Black Tears’), pianist Jools Holland (in ‘When It’s My Time’) and an accomplished group of background musicians, including guitarist Marc Ribot, drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Zach Dawes.

The album was produced by T Bone Burnett, who once said of Imelda: “When I first happened onto her music, she was a punky Irish Rockabilly singer with a great band. When I ran across her several years later, she had gone through a change of lives and was writing about it with a wild intensity and singing about it in the most open hearted way.”

May’s music was also praised by several other voices, saying she “poured her heart and soul” into her music (Evening Standard) and her songs were “stylish and extremely moving” (The Mirror).

The singer describes her new record as her “most honest” album yet, as it presents the most personal and autobiographical songs she has ever written. In the time of recording, May was going through some noticeably life changing events, which reflects in her pieces.

“It’s like therapy,” the singer explained, “like keeping a diary that a lot of people read.”

Her new single ‘Black Tears’, written with Angelo Petragalia (Kings of Leon), was inspired by a very personal moment in the life of May: “I wrote Black Tears with Angelo Petraglia after a heart wrenchingly difficult goodbye. I closed my door and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror with black tears rolling down my face. It's a sight and situation most women have unfortunately seen ourselves in at some point in life. Angelo had a beautiful guitar piece that fit the mood perfectly.”

Imelda first impressed viewers of Jools Holland’s annual Hootenanny with her new song on New Year’s Eve. Just a day after the video was uploaded it landed hundreds and thousands of views on YouTube.

Recently May has also announced her extensive UK and Ireland headline tour including three dates in Dublin’s Bord Gais Energy Theatre on the 29th, 30th and 31st of May 2017.

Watch her live video for ‘Black Tears’ below: