Willis Earl Beal continues to tease us with singles from his upcoming LP Nobody Knows and this time, it's the haunting "Black Beauty," a response to Lana Del Rey's track of the same name. In his version, he sincerely engages Del Rey's lyrics in a conversation as if he were the morose lover to whom she dedicated the original. Not quite as lo-fi as some of his earlier work, there's a slightly '80s ballad feel to "Black Beauty," but with Beal's rich voice resonating over the music, which features samples of Del Rey, the unmistakably raw quality that characterizes his sound rings true here as well. True to form, the sort-of-bizarre-but-wholly-intriguing musician's emotions ooze from the track and the slightly more produced sound gives a similar feel to "Everything unwinds." off his 2012 EP. Although I don't usually follow Lana, they sound pretty damn good together on this one—perhaps a full collabo could happen one day? So far, the tracklist for Nobody knows. shows only one feature from Chan Marshall (of Cat Power), but perhaps his next project will include a few more voices. Check out "Black Beauty" and pre-order your copy of Nobody Knows below.
>>>Pre-order Nobody Knows double LP + poster & digital download poem (via AmazonVinyl)
