Jess Williamson shares new single "Tracking the Tropics" ahead of new album 'A Mile South of Heaven' out Oct. 9

JESS WILLIAMSON NEW SINGLE “TRACKING THE TROPICS” OUT NOW

LISTEN HERE | WATCH LYRIC VIDEO HERE

SINGER-SONGWRITER TO RELEASE SIXTH STUDIO ALBUM A MILE SOUTH OF HEAVEN OUT OCTOBER 9 ON NEW WEST RECORDS

READ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROLLING STONE

WRITTEN BETWEEN LOS ANGELES AND MARFA, NEW TWANG-FORWARD LP EXPLORES THE SPIRITUAL PUSH AND PULL BETWEEN DIVERGENT WORLDS

(CREDIT: JACKIE LEE YOUNG)

“Williamson has honed a sound that’s built on elements of roots and country but ventures freely. It’s her ability to combine it all with a knack for a perfectly-crafted chorus that exists somewhere in the middle between earworm and poetry that makes her songs unforgettable.” ROLLING STONE Best Songs/Music of 2023 NPR, THE NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES, & PITCHFORK “Anchored in her dusty twang, these songs are written with poetic precision, loading each lyric with subtext and stories.” STEREOGUM “the Texan singer embraces exuberance, sexual freedom and killer choruses” THE GUARDIAN "Her teardrop voice and audacious candor imagine Lana by way of Lucinda while sounding Texas to the bone.” PITCHFORK “Jess Williamson is leaning further into country without leaving behind the dreamy introspection that has made her one of the most distinctive voices operating between indie folk and Americana” GLIDE

Tuesday, August 11 – Today, Texas-born singer-songwriter Jess Williamson announced her latest single “Tracking The Tropics,” from forthcoming album A Mile South of Heaven, coming October 9, via New West.  The track, with driving guitar, shimmering pedal steel, and irresistible drum groove, soundtracks Williamson's arresting vocals. Her stunning lilt tells the tale of hard moments on the road, with tears on a Friday night, and reflections on the siren call of old friends and familiar places.  "I was in a situation where my confidence had really taken a hit, and all I wanted to do was get in my car, drive as far away as I could, and be back at this one particular little honky-tonk bar in East Austin where I spent so many weekends with my friends throughout my twenties before I moved away (the bar is still there, shout out to The White Horse), It’s a song about wanting to escape, and longing for a simpler time and for the people and places that make you feel truly known and accepted.” Williamson stated.

Pre-order A Mile South of Heaven HERE  Listen to “Tracking The Tropics” HERE

Produced by Shooter Jennings at the famed Sunset Sound in Hollywood, A Mile South Of Heaven, is twang-forward masterwork, rich with pedal steel, fiddle, and banjo and places traditional country music at the center of the frame, without sacrificing any of the mysticism, emotional depth, and indie sensibility that have long defined her work. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Shooter Jennings stated, “Jess Williamson is such a unique singer and songwriter. When I first met her, I was taken by her explorative spirit with where she wanted her music to go. But I always found her songs and even singing style mysterious and refreshingly original. I’m proud of the album we made together and I really am grateful for the time we were able to spend exploring this music with each other.” Written between LA and Marfa, where the acclaimed artist splits her time, it explores the spiritual push and pull between two vastly different worlds– from Hollywood ambition to the quiet beauty of Far West Texas. Across twelve songs, she explores the moving target of success, the search for home, relationships, grief, identity and the freedom that comes from finally letting go of other people's expectations and, more importantly, your own.  In addition to showcasing Williamson’s powerful vocals, the 12-track LP also serves as a mosaic of her life, lit by the crucial epiphany that perfection is a fallacy, outside validation is a losing game, and fulfillment comes from embracing the journey rather than chasing impossible goals. All of the stories shared on A Mile South of Heaven (the wins and losses, growth and setback, beauty and discomfort, confidence and uncertainty) create an imagistic narrative world that is, above all, deeply human and relatable.  “Depending on your outlook, a mile south of heaven may sound sad, or it may sound hopeful,” Williamson explains. “We’re always a mile south of the impossible goals we set for ourselves, and my point is, maybe that’s ok, because a mile is pretty close. It’s about appreciating where we are now, because there is no finish line. There is always more work to be done.”   Long regarded as one of the most compelling voices at the intersection of indie folk, American Roots, and country, Williamson has earned widespread acclaim for albums including Time Ain't Accidental and Sorceress, while expanding her creative vision with Plains' I Walked With You a Ways. A Mile South of Heaven is Williamson's most personal, emotionally resonant, and fully realized work to date—an album that finds one of America's finest songwriters at her creative peak, with songs that reject the myth of arrival in favor of something richer: a life lived in motion, where fulfillment is found not at the end of the road but somewhere along it.

TRACKLIST Goodbye to All That  High Heels and Blue Jeans  Country Mile  A Mile South of Heaven Tracking the Tropics  Dark Day in Dallas  Hum of the City  Texas Time  Someone Else's Horses  Legends Die  Battle Scar The Gem and Mineral Show

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES Oct 4 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Festival

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