Durand Jones & The Indications release a new single/video, “Love Will Work It Out,” from their forthcoming album, Private Space, out July 30th on Dead Oceans in association with Colemine Records. Anchored by the high-low harmonies of Aaron Frazer (drums/vocals) and Durand Jones (vocals), and rounded out by Blake Rhein (guitar), Steve Okonski (keys), and Mike Montgomery (bass), Private Space leans into hope, coalescing around the idea that joy can set us free. “I want listeners to know that through really rough times something beautiful can be birthed,” says Jones, who proclaims on “Love Will Work It Out” that “All the people lost made me fall right onto my knees/all I could do was cry and shout/I knew I had to trust the faith that love would work it out.” The track – inspired by both the pandemic and social justice movements of the past year – is a mellow groove, as Jones’ voice is carried by drifting keys, relaxed percussion, and elegant strings.
“For months into the pandemic and the racial/political chaos that ensued, we found it hard to write,” says the band. “The biggest creative dry spell we’d experienced in a decade. The constant barrage of horrible news felt overwhelming, and songs just seemed inadequate in response to police murdering people in broad daylight. Songs felt inadequate in the face of a virus that decimated communities and kept us apart from our loved ones. We marched, protested, cried, wiped down our groceries, stopped wiping down our groceries, unplugged, breathed, replugged, reengaged. And when music finally flowed, the first song we wrote together was ‘Love Will Work It Out.’ Because conflict and confrontation require bravery, AND so does keeping the faith in the goodness of one another. It’s a big part of what so many people are fighting for- the benefit of the doubt, the ability to be seen as whole, the space to love and trust. It’s been a tough year, but we’ve come out the other side steady and hopeful.”
The accompanying video, directed by Weird Life, presents the band’s retro aesthetic as they perform.
Following The Indications’ 2019 album, American Love Call, Private Space unlocks the door to a wider range of sounds, boldly launching the band into a world of synthy modern soul and disco beats dotted with strings. The Indications are true masters at melding revival sounds with a modern attitude. The ten tracks across Private Space provide for both an escapist fantasy and a much-needed recentering after a tumultuous 2020.
Developed after being apart for much of the year, Private Space is creatively explosive and delights in upending expectations. Throughout, The Indications highlight a collective resiliency – as well as the power of a good song to be a light in the darkness. From ideation to the final album cut, Private Space is a meditation on what gets us through isolation and loss: community, love and friendship. As the world slowly resets from the chaos of the past year, Private Space comes at just the right time. “I feel we’ll be arriving into people’s lives as they’re exiting a really tough period,” Frazer theorizes. “We’re not out of the woods, but hopefully this allows people to get together again, to share and experience catharsis.”