Merge recording artists The Love Language, will release their full-length Baby Grand on August 3rd. The LP has its share of breakup songs—nobody writes those better than Stuart McLamb, but this time, even as something is being mourned, something else is being worked through; as lovers have been left behind, so have places and a time in life. This sentiment becomes crystal clear by the album’s second cut, the widescreen-ready “New Amsterdam,” which McLamb is sharing today paired with a self-directed kaleidoscopic music video and new tour dates!

Stuart McLamb on the meaning of the song and video:

This video follows much of the same DIY ethos as I used while making the first Love Language album: Just do the best with what you have. After our first location and concept fell through last-minute, I decided to make a video myself using everything I had filmed on my phone over the past few years—bits of Virginia, North Carolina, Colombia, southern California, friends, family—and ran the footage through Hyperspektiv using different filters to give it all a cohesive feel.

“New Amsterdam” is ultimately about being stuck in a rut but having such a strong desire to break out of it, whether it’s a town you’ve lived in too long and need a change of scenery, or an on-again, off-again relationship. One of the lyrics was originally “wish I could forget everything,” then a friend suggested I change it to “forgive” and that pretty much changed the whole song for me in a great way.

As mentioned, The Love Language will embark on an East Coast tour that begins on release day in Charlotte, NC, and includes stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Philadelphia, NYC, and more before a homecoming show at Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival.

The Love Language

on tour:

Aug 03 Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor*
Aug 04 Wilmington, NC – Bourgie Nights*
Aug 07 Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light*
Aug 08 Nashville, TN – The Basement*
Aug 09 Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre*
Aug 10 Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
Aug 11 Winston-Salem, NC – Monstercade*
Aug 13 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern*
Aug 14 Roanoke, VA – The Spot*
Aug 15 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter*
Aug 16 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel*^
Aug 17 Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle*^
Aug 18 Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right*^
Aug 20 New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine*
Sep 6–8 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
* w/ Moon Racer
^ w/ Bat Fangs