Sylvan Esso have surprised fans with new single “Sunburn”. The track was written on a warm January evening in Los Angeles earlier this year, the three-minute single is the band’s first new music since the release of their Free Love LP in 2020, marking both an aftermath and a new beginning for Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn.

The chorus of Sunburn came to Amelia Meath as she sat on the front porch of a house in LA, with the smoggy cityscape sprawled out ahead. Banging with a blistering beat and vivid descriptions of sensory overload, Sunburn is not, however, tied to any specific time or place, but the sting that comes from too much of a good thing. As Meath and Nick Sanborn explain:

Sunburn is:

eating candy til you’re sick
riding your bike too fast down a hill
when you’re five years old and don’t want to get out of the water, and by the end you’re shivering and all your fingers are pruney and your lips are turned purple
an undertow that sneaks up unsuspectingly
the painful pulsing pink of swollen eyelids leftover after a day lying in the sun
plunging forward without time for second-guessing

produced by Sylvan Esso
for you

Sylvan Esso recorded Sunburn at both their Betty’s studio in Chapel Hill, NC, and Dahlia Ave in Los Angeles, CA. Last week, the band performed it for the very first time during their debut taping of Austin City Limits, and beginning tonight, they will bring it to three headlining, career-spanning sets at the Historic Durham Athletic Park. From May 19-21, the largely sold-out series of baseball stadium shows are Meath and Sanborn’s biggest hometown performances to date, featuring support from Gus Dapperton & Vagabon on May 19, Yo La Tengo & Indigo De Souza on May 20, plus Little Brother & Mr Twin Sister on May 21. Find the final few tickets, as well as information on multiple afterparties, pop-up shops, late-night DJ sets and more at sylvanesso.com/ballpark.

Sylvan Esso 2022 Tour Dates

5/19 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park +
5/20 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park # SOLD OUT
5/21 – Durham, NC – Durham Athletic Park @ SOLD OUT
5/23 – Richmond, VA – The National!
5/24 – Ithaca, NY – Beak and Skiff Apple Orchard%
5/26 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point%
5/27-29 – North Adams, MA – Solid Sound Festival
6/23-26 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival
7/24 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
7/29 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT
7/30 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT
7/31 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* SOLD OUT
8/17 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion*
8/19 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater* SOLD OUT
8/20 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion* SOLD OUT
8/21 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*
8/23 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheater*
8/25 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion*
8/26 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium* SOLD OUT
8/27 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium*
8/30 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at the Mann*
9/1 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage*
9/2 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean-Drapeau*
9/3 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion*
9/4 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center*
9/7 – Cincinnati, OH – The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park*
9/8 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre*
9/9 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion* SOLD OUT
9/10 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion*
9/14 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
9/16 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT
9/17 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre*
9/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Life is Beautiful Festival
9/20 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre*
9/22 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater*
9/23 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Amp* SOLD OUT
9/24 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Amp*
9/26 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater*
9/27 – Boise, ID – Fort Idaho Center Amphitheater*
9/29 – Sacramento, CA – Heart Health Park*
9/30 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre*
10/1 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre* SOLD OUT

^w/ Palehound
! w/ Benét
% w/ Samia
+ w/ Gus Dapperton and Vagabon
# w/ Yo La Tengo and Indigo De Souza
@ w/ Little Brother and Mr. Twin Sister
*w/ ODESZA