The space-themed collaboration between singer songwriter Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner of The National, composer and arranger Nico Muhly and drummer James McAlister is back with another video from their Planetarium album, for “Neptune.” The song, which is a simple, piano-guided ballad that stretches for a brief 3:15 run time. Meanwhile, the video is simple – the song’s lyrics float on screen above the rotating blue planet the song takes its name from.
See the interstellar lyric video below:
The clip is directed by Deborah Johnson, professional known as the visual performance design company CandyStations – who also worked on the videos for earlier Planetarium releases “Mercury” and “Saturn.”
While it was released last June, Planetarium was long-planned by Stevens and company. The conceptual album features songs named after all of the planets in our solar system, plus other space-related titles like “Black Hole,” “Moon” and “Kuiper Belt.” Even “Pluto,” the celestial body which recently lost its designation as a planet makes an appearance in the track list for the record.
Additionally, the band has announced they will play The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight (7/17). Asthmatic Kitty, Stevens’ record label, shared the news via Facebook this morning:
The four musicians have been playing select shows in support of the new album. In Paris last week, the group paid tribute to the late David Bowie with a fitting cover of his early-career standout “Space Oddity.” The limited tour will continue with three more announced shows in the United States – one in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and two on the West Coast. The shows will include string and brass arrangements, elevating the sound of this ambitiously themed project..
Planetarium Tour Dates
07/18 – Brooklyn, NY – Celebrate Brooklyn! – Prospect Park
07/20 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
07/21 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
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