Illiterate Light, New Music-Sunburned, In Denver 11/18 at Globe Hall

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Photo Credit: Joey Wharton

DETAIL FORTHCOMING LP SUNBURNED

OUT JANUARY 27 VIA THIRTY TIGERS

SHARE ALBUM TRACK “HEAVEN BENDS”

Illiterate Light – the duo of singer-guitarist Jeff Gorman and drummer Jake Cochran – are pleased to announce details of their upcoming album, Sunburned, which is set for release January 27, 2023 via Thirty Tigers. Alongside the album announcement comes the LP’s second single, “Heaven Bends,” a synth-laden, slow-burner which follows on the heels of the already released “Light Me Up.”

Speaking on the meaning behind the song, Gorman recalls, “Last summer I held my friend while she had an intense panic attack at a barn party in rural Virginia. ‘Heaven Bends’ is about that night. It’s a song about the deep connection between light and dark. It’s a song about paradox, about one thing dying, and something new being born.”

Pre-order the album HERE. The band is currently in the midst of a North American tour, including a run of shows supporting Futurebirds beginning in October. The trek features stops in AustinLos AngelesDenverSeattle, Cochran’s homebase of Nashville and other major markets before wrapping up on November 20 in Kansas City, MO.

With Sunburned, Gorman and Cochran have turned their attention inward to their songwriting and studio craft, creating their most fully-realized and ambitious work yet – one that’s full of immediate songs that update and revolutionize the band’s approach to making music. There are rich keyboard and programmed percussion textures now populating their songs, as well as soaring anthemic choruses, slathered with hefty doses of fuzz. “On our first record, we were very live-focused and wanted to make sure whatever we were writing was translated in person,” says Gorman. “Without that crutch, we could be more adventurous and take more risks. We definitely weren’t timid in the studio.”

Though their 2019 self-titled debut garnered rave praise from the Washington PostSpin, and NPR as well as led to tours with The Head And The Heart, Shakey Graves, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Sunburned is a document of a band pushing themselves to new heights. With the success of their debut, Gorman and Cochran decided to double down on their bond and their commitment to the band. “We built our own studios, decided to release the album ourselves, and leaned into being multi-instrumentalists while recording,” says Gorman. Between Cochran’s studio at his Tennessee home and Montrose Recordings in Richmond, VA with longtime collaborator and producer Adrian Olsen, they started fleshing out the earliest versions of the songs in intense writing sessions.

As their writing started, Gorman’s father died after a years-long battle with multiple system atrophy (MSA). While his grief was devastating and palpable, it also gave him clarity and newfound motivation. “These songs aren’t about my dad dying but there’s been such a shift in my own life that my own writing took on a certain fearlessness,” says Gorman. “I saw the thin veil between life and death and I realized there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore. I wanted to embrace the things I love and the weird things that’ll come to us in life. My grief found its way into the record, sonically and emotionally, but not topically.”

Sunburned is an album for searchers, the people who channel the darkest energy into something healing and positive. “This record was all about chasing a gut feeling and going for songs that had more depth and darkness and pain,” says Gorman. “We’d rather share what we’re really going through and let that come out.”

Tour Dates[purchase tickets]

10/07 – Nashville, TN @ The BasementEast

10/08 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre

10/09 – Roseland, VA @ Devils Backbone Hoopla

10/11 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27

10/12 – Greenville, SC @ The Radio Room

10/13 – Charleston, SC @ The Pour House

10/15 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle

10/26 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks

10/27 – Houston, TX @ Last Concert Café *

10/28 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn *

10/29 – Dallas, TX @ The Echo Lounge & Music Hall *

10/31 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Tannahill Tavern & Music Hall *

11/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar *

11/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *

11/05 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s *

11/07 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah *

11/09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel *

11/11 – Eugene, OR @ Sessions Music Hall

11/12 – Portland, OR @ Star Theater

11/13 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival

11/15 – Boise, ID @ The Olympic

11/16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room

11/18 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall w/ Kind Hearted Strangers

11/20 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar

* supporting Futurebirds

Sunburned Track Listing:

1.) Wake Up Now

2.) Light Me Up

3.) Heaven Bends

4.) Feb 1st

5.) Hellraiser

6.) Closer

7.) Automatic

8.) Fuck LA

9.) Luckiest Man Alive

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