Today artist Natalie Merchant announced she has shared her new video form latest single “Come On, Aphrodite.” Filmed in Brooklyn, New York, the new video is directed by Matthew Shattuck and edited by Andrew Pulaski.
In the press release Merchant describes what the meaning behind “Come On, Aphrodite” is about.
“‘Come on, Aphrodite’ is an invocation to the goddess of love and passion. In the lyrics, I list all the clichés we use to describe falling in love: being drunk and blind, over the moon, weak in the knees, and half out of our minds.”
The artist adds, “For the Greeks, when the spirit of love descended, it was seen as a kind of assault; you would become powerless against an all-consuming, sweet madness. Amazingly, humans still crave it, in spite of the perils.”
Produced by Merchant, Keep Your Courage is the artist’s ninth solo studio album, and the latest new material since 2014’s self-titled record. The album features additional contributions from Celtic folk group Lúnasa, Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and jazz trombonist Steve Davis.
There are orchestrations by seven composers throughout, including Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobsen, and Megan Gould. The new record comprises nine original songs by Merchant as well as an interpretation of “Hunting the Wren” by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum.
The vinyl LP edition includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums, previously unreleased on vinyl. Keep Your Courage will be released on April 14 by Nonsuch Records.
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