Singer/songwriter/harpist Joanna Newsom has just announced that a video for her song “Divers” will be premiering in the coming weeks, but it will be released in a rather unorthodox platform. The title track for her upcoming album (to be released October 23 through Drag City) Divers will be given an exclusively theatrical release in America from October 16-22, and also in the UK on October 27th. It will primarily screen at theaters renowned for showing independent and art house films, such as the IFC Center in New York City.
The video was directed by American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood), who featured Newsom heavily in his last film, Inherent Vice. Little is known about the video’s contents, but Anderson had already directed the video for her previous single, “Sapokanikan,” so it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that the two will have their similarities.
Joanna Newsom is considered to be one of the most singular talents in contemporary music, due to her idiosyncratic style and unmistakable voice. Divers is one of the most eagerly anticipated and discussed albums to make its premiere this fall, largely because it will be Joanna Newsom’s first new LP in five years. After releasing her 2010 album, Have One on Me, Newsom remained busy by performing at select concerts (All Tomorrow’s Parties 2012), collaborating with other artists (Hard Skin, Thao and Getdown Stay Down), contributing to soundtracks (The Muppets), and even pursuing a bit of an acting career (Portlandia, Inherent Vice). She also got married to Saturday Night Live alum Andy Samberg in 2013, after dating for five years. The fact that Newsom has managed to remain in the public eye for half of a decade without releasing a new album can be seen as a testament to the durability of her brand.
Newsom has also announced that she will be going on tour in support of the album. The European half of her tour begins on October 31st, and then she will tour North America in December with Alela Diane and Ryan Francesconi as the opening acts. This will also mark her first show in New York since her Carnegie Hall Performance in 2010. Tour dates and tickets are available here.