Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas releasing collaborative album 'Mariner,' share "The Wreck of SS Needle" (listen)

Swedish post-metal vets Cult of Luna and NYC singer Julie Christmas (formerly of Made Out of Babies) have a collaborative album on the way, and they’ve shared a new song from the album. The album is called Mariner and the song is called “The Wreck of SS Needle.” You can listen to that below, via Stereogum.

This is a particularly exciting collaboration, partially because of how unexpected it feels and partially because the skills of each artist complement each other so well. Both artists have several distinct modes of address, and on the new song Julie’s shifts from softer, lighter singing to her raw screams mirror and enhance the ambient-to-heavy dynamics of Cult of Luna. It’s the kind of collaboration that just instantly makes sense, bringing out new shades in a band (Cult of Luna) that had threatened to become a bit stagnant on the last couple albums, and reinvigorating the career of Julie Christmas in a totally new context. “The Wreck of SS Needle” covers a ton of ground over its 9 minutes, the measured pace of Cult of Luna colliding with the high-pitched, manic delivery of Christmas in fascinating ways.

Mariner is out 4/15 via Indie Recordings. Stream “The Wreck of SS Needle” along with the previously-released “A Greater Call,” below.