Marlon Williams Shares Video For “River Rival”

Singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has shared a new video for “River Rival"

Singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has shared a new video for “River Rival,” the latest single is off the New Zealander’s forthcoming album My Boy, available September 9th via Dead Oceans. Of the video Williams says “I reconnected with my buddy and ‘Vampire Again’ collaborator Steve Gullick to make the video in a studio in Cambridge while on the recent tour with Lorde. I was so tired I couldn’t be bothered blinking.” This fall, Williams will embark on a full North American and European Tour.

“This tune began with an idle google search. The Latin noun ‘rivalis’ means people competing for the same source of water. That got me excited and seemed to hit upon a central occupation of the record as a whole. Resource scarcity, very generally construed, is at the heart of most conflict: economically, materially, socially. Musically, it started out as a bleary-eyed Nick Drake-esque acoustic rambler but somehow, perhaps counterintuitively, it felt too heavy that way so with a bit of fussing and redressing (largely in pre-production with Mark Perkins) it gradually morphed into the cyclical synth rock-roller before you. Under Tom Healy’s guiding hand, Cass (Basil) and Paul (Taylor) then built up the rhythmic intensity, each stanza pushing the point a little more urgently every time”.

Instead of recording My Boy with his trusted, long-time backing band The Yarra Benders, Williams’ demoed half the album with Mark ‘Merk’ Perkins before entering Neil Finn’s Roundhead studios in Auckland in late 2020 with producer Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, The Chills) and a new cast of musicians: LA-based drummer Paul Taylor (Feist), bassist Cass Basil (Ladyhawke, Tiny Ruins), Healy on guitars and synths, and appearances from Delaney Davidson, Dave Kahn (the lone Yarra Bender on the record), and Elroy Finn on drums and percussion. “Having new personalities in the room allowed me to escape myself,” says Williams. “When everyone’s still working out each other’s roles, there’s an unsettling and exciting tendency to go off in different directions.”

Marlon Williams 2022 Tour Dates

Tue. Sep. 13 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
Thu. Sep. 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made *
Fri. Sep. 16 – Washington, DC @ The Miracle Theater *
Sat. Sep. 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
Mon. Sep. 19 – Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall *
Wed. Sep. 21 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
Thu. Sep. 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club *
Sat. Sep. 24 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake ^
Tue. Sep. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern ^
Wed. Sep. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theater ^
Thu. Sep. 29 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater ^
Mon. Oct. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour ^
Wed. Oct. 19 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory #
Fri. Oct. 21 – Glasgow, IE @ King Tuts #
Sat. Oct. 22- Leeds, UK @ Brudenell #
Sun. Oct. 23 – Manchester, UK @ YES #
Tue. Oct. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds #
Wed. Oct. 26 – London, UK @ Koko #
Thu. Oct. 27 – Brighton, UK @ Patterns #
Sat. Oct. 29 – Paris, FR @ La Maropquinerie #
Sun. Oct. 30 – Zurich, CH @ BogenF #
Wed. Nov. 2 – Munich, DE @ Ampere #
Thu. Nov. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Hole44 #
Sat. Nov. 5 – Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil #
Sun. Nov. 6 – Oslo, NE @ Parkteatret #
Mon. Nov. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Nalen Klubb #
Wed. Nov. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher #
Thu. Nov. 10 – Cologne, DE @ Artheatre #
Sat. Nov. 12 – Antwerp, DE @ TRIX #
Sun. Nov. 13 – Amsterdam, NE @ Paradiso #