Big Red Machine announce new LP ft Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes & more (hear "Latter Days" ft. Anais Mitchell)

Pre-order Big Red Machine’s new album on double red vinyl in the BrooklynVegan store.

Big Red Machine, the project of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The National, released their debut self-titled album in 2018. Since then, they’ve both been busy — working with Taylor Swift, among other things — but last year Aaron confirmed that a new BRM album was indeed on the way, and would include guest appearances from Sharon Van Etten and Anaïs Mitchell. Now the project’s sophomore album, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, has been officially announced (pre-order on red double vinyl in our store). It’s due out on August 27th via 37d03d, and Aaron produced it as his Long Pond studio in upstate New York.

In addition to the promised guest appearances from Sharon and Anaïs, the new album also features a bunch of other friends and regular collaborators, including Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Ben Howard, This Is The Kit, Naeem, Lisa Hannigan, Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond, La Force, and, yes, Taylor Swift. “This is all music I initially generated and feel emotionally connected to, but it has been very interesting to hear how different people relate to it and how different voices collide with it,” Aaron says. “That’s what makes it special. With everyone that’s on this record, there’s an openness, a creative generosity and an emotional quality that connects it all together.” He also sings lead vocals on three tracks on the album, a first for him.

They’ve shared the first single, “Latter Days,” a gorgeous duet between Justin Vernon and Anaïs Mitchell. “It was clear to Anaïs that the early sketch Justin and I made of ‘Latter Days’ was about childhood, or loss of innocence and nostalgia for a time before you’ve grown into adulthood — before you’ve hurt people or lost people and made mistakes,” Aaron says. “She defined the whole record when she sang that, as these same themes kept appearing again and again.” Hear it below.

Pre-order How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? on red double vinyl in our store.

Big Red Machine – How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last tracklist:
Latter Days (feat. Anaïs Mitchell)
Reese
Phoenix (feat. Fleet Foxes and Anaïs Mitchell)
Birch (feat. Taylor Swift)
Renegade (feat. Taylor Swift)
The Ghost of Cincinnati
Hoping Then
Mimi (feat. Ilsey)
Easy to Sabotage (feat. Naeem)
Hutch (feat. Sharon Van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, and Shara Nova [My Brightest Diamond])
8:22am (feat. La Force)
Magnolia
June’s a River (feat. Ben Howard and This Is The Kit)
Brycie
New Auburn (feat. Anaïs Mitchell)