The Tucker Zimmerman revival of the past few years looks set to continue with the announcement of a new album, Dance of Love, featuring and co-produced by Big Thief.

Due 11 October via 4AD, the 10-track album is the first new solo studio recording from the 83-year-old, San Francisco-born artist since 2005's Chautauqua. He's been putting out a lot of live and archival material lately, as well as his debut poetry collection, When in Flows the Sea, and three albums recorded with his Tucker Zimmerman Trio that all dropped earlier this year.

Big Thief serve as the backing band on Dance of Love, along with Mat Davidson (aka Twain) and Zach Burba of Mega Bog. The album's first single, "Burial at Sea" is out now, with a video made by Lenker's younger brother Noah:

At 33, Adrianne Lenker is only a few years older than Zimmerman was in 1969 when he released his debut album Ten Songs, which he'd recorded in London with David Bowie's producer Tony Visconti. Self-exiled from the US in protest at the Vietnam War draft, Zimmerman settled down in Belgium with his wife Marie-Claire, who he had met while studying in Rome in '66, and the pair have lived there ever since in creative semi-obscurity.

Those lucky enough to catch Zimmerman opening for and singing with Big Thief on their 2022 tour, or at their show in Belgium earlier this month, will already know that Lenker and Zimmerman have a genuine bond built on mutual love and appreciation.

In the album bio, Lenker calls Zimmerman "one of the greatest songwriters of all time," adding:

"What inspires me most about Tucker as a craftsperson is that even in his eighties he’s still writing more songs than I write. He’s one of the most prolific creators I’ve ever met. That’s what I want to be when I grow up – Ever-curious, ever-awe struck, full of wonder, creative... Recording this album was an experience of crystalized presence. It was so real it felt like a dream. This album contains treasure of the rarest kind. Putting this album out is about so much more than just promoting this one album – it's about helping bring Tucker’s legacy to light."

Lenker is not alone in her opinion of Zimmerman's greatness. David Bowie once called him "too qualified for folk," and he has other contemporary fans in Angel Olsen and psych-folk duo Olden Yolk, who have both performed his songs. “It was an extreme honor to make a record with one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” write Big Thief in the press release for Dance of Love. “We believe in this music with all of our hearts, and we hope it brings you joy."

Hinting at the meaning behind the album title, Zimmerman says:

“After years of writing and filling a box with over 500 song sheets, I had finally found my path, my originality, my voice. It had become clear to me that songs of only one kind were worth spending time on: those which had a positive message and a peaceful vibration [...] Just poetry. Little hums that perhaps might lift us all above our daily worries and fears, little hums that try to make the world a better place to live in.” 

Dance of Love tracklist:

1. Old Folks From Farmersville
2. Idiot’s Maze
3. Lorelei
4. The Season
5. Burial At Sea
6. They Don’t Say It (But It’s True)
7. Leave It On The Porch Outside
8. The Ram-a-lama-ding-dong Song
9. Don’t Go Crazy (Go In Peace)
10. Nobody Knows

To celebrate the album release, Zimmerman has a few live shows lined up for November, including appearances at Pitchfork London and Utrecht's Le Guess Who Festival.

11/03 Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
11/05 London, UK @ Pitchfork London, The Lexington
11/08 Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Festival

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