The world can always use new Paul McCartney music. How he has been able to fill his big brain with such wonderful melodies over the last six decades is a mystery, but thank goodness for it. Music lovers will get even more McCartney tunes soon, too, as it was announced he will be releasing a new album in May.
The record will be called The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which is promised to be songs based on reflective memories from his childhood growing up in Liverpool. That was before he formed a little-known band called the Beatles. They turned out to be pretty good.
The album will drop on May 29 and will be delivered by MPL/Capitol Records. The songs are expected to be introspective, and based on the first single released from the album, "Days We Left Behind," low-key, massively melodic, and intimate. Maybe not all the tracks will have the same kind of sound, but if they do, fantastic.
Paul McCartney announces the May release of his latest album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane
The single was released with a lyric video, which somehow makes the tune seem even more personal. No actual video might ever be needed. As far as being an earworm? Yes, it will get stuck in your head for the best of reasons.
The song and the album were recorded with the help of Andrew Watt, who has produced a bunch of excellent work for bands such as the Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, and Ozzy Osbourne. His involvement implies that while McCartney's new record (his 18th solo work, which doesn't seem like enough even with a few covers albums) might be quiet, it is still clearly in the rock realm.
According to a press release about the album, Paul McCartney has never turned the camera inward as much as he will on The Boys of Dungeon Lane. This is somewhat surprising because the former Beatle has never been one to keep his feelings to himself. He might hide those in epic melodies, but fans never doubt what the icon is trying to convey.
Will a tour follow the album's release? That isn't yet known. McCartney is doing a couple of shows in Florida in late March, but nothing in support of the new record. In other words, fans might get some more good news about upcoming shows so that McCartney can play his new songs to new audiences.