Indie rock veterans Manchester Orchestra have dropped their long-awaited sixth album, The Million Masks of God, via Loma Vista Records. Stream it below via Apple Music and Spotify.
The Atlanta four-piece band has grown steadily since their 2006 debut, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child, expanding their alternative rock pallet with flourishes of folk and Americana on subsequent releases. That progression continues on The Million Masks of God, the follow-up to 2017’s A Black Mile to the Surface. The album was created with a four-person production team led by band members Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, who teamed with previous collaborator Catherine Marks and Ethan Gruska, known for his acclaimed work with Phoebe Bridgers and Fiona Apple.
Appearing on Kyle Meredith With…, Hull spoke about how the themes in The Million Masks of God follow from A Black Mile to the Surface. “If Black Mile was sort of the idea of birth to parenthood, and getting to that place in life, this is definitely sort of a from birth to death cyclical album,” he explained, adding,
“The influence of it obviously came from Robert’s dad that was coming towards the end of his life. As kids growing up in church, we’re told certain things about what the afterlife is and what the connection is with people who pass on, and I remember [McDowell was] going through and thinking about that stuff and researching that stuff, ‘Man, what is this thing I’ve been told? What is it?’ This beautiful — and it can be tragic — realization that we just don’t know is a very enticing thing creatively. You could spend your whole life thinking it’s going to be this thing. But I have a feeling, whatever it is, it’s going to surprise everyone. [Laughs] Even if that thing is nothing.”
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The Million Masks of God includes the band’s previous singles “Bed Head” and “Keel Timing”, the latter of which the band broke down for an Origins feature last month.
The Million Masks of God Artwork:
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The Million Masks of God Tracklist:
01. Inaudible
02. Angel of Death
03. Keel Timing
04. Bed Head
05. Annie
06. Telepath
07. Let It Storm
08. Dinosaur
09. Obstacle
10. Way Back
11. The Internet
