John Cale returns with a new single/video, “Lazy Day,” his first new music since his recent collaboration on Kelly Lee Owens’ “Corner of My Sky” and 2016’s M:FANS, a reworking of Music for a New Society. “Lazy Day” is gradual, inching forward with skipping percussion and aperiodic piano. Over droning organ, Cale sings: “Tie me down // Lazy Day // Tie me down // My lazy day // Shoemaker making shoes without leather // With four elements all together.” In the accompanying video, directed by Abby Portner, a pink-haired Cale lounges around, intertwining with clips of the natural world and abstract images.

“I was so ready to finally get my new album out; fits and starts and then damn 2020 happened! A lot to say in these times,” says Cale. “Context is everything and 140 characters isn’t going to cut it! As a songwriter my truth is all tied-up in and through those songs that must wait a while longer. And then it occurred to me that I do have something for the moment, a song I’d recently completed… With the world careening out of its orbit I wanted to stop the lurch and enjoy a period where we can take our time and breathe our way back into a calmer world.”