Just a few months back,  Alex Nicol released his EP Been A Long Year Vol. 1. Produced by Corridor producer Emmanuel Ethier, and featuring Angel Deeradorian of Dirty Projectors. Today, Nicol is announcing Been A Long Year Vol. 2, a second chapter that will be released on December 1st, and together with its predecessor forms an album-length statement from Nicol. To mark the announce Nicol is sharing a single entitled “Working On My Tan,” along with an accompanying video.

Though all of Nicol’s music is drawn from his thoughtful first-person viewpoints, Been A Long Year Vol. 1 tended to be metaphorical. Songs here like “Simple Fires” are far more overt, calling out the fossil fuel industry and their destructive practices. With the wildfires of 2023 that produced some of the worst quality air on recent record being directly linked to emissions from gas, oil, and coal companies, the song’s anger surrounding these toxic entities is both acute and topical. “Working On My Tan” looks at how difficult it can be to live in the moment.

“The relaxed pacing and laid-back instrumentation of ‘Working On My Tan’ gives the song a deceptively chill veneer, but there’s a tension bubbling beneath it,” Nicol explains. “The protagonist runs through a list of ways he’s trying to be present and live in the moment, but he’s clearly struggling to find a sense of lasting calm in an overwhelming world. Ultimately, the song finds its antidote for stress overload by connecting with the natural world, but also examines how difficult unplugging from the grind can be.”

Alex Nicol
Been A Long Year vol 1 & 2
Tracklisting

1. Eye For An Eye
2. Fabricated Hedonist
3. Sit Around And Wait
4. Hollywood
5. Been A Long Year
6. Working On My Tan
7. Simple Fires
8. Colour My World
9. Simmer
10. Song For Franz

Pre order Been A Long Year vol 1 & 2 by Alex Nicol HERE