Valerie June fans have waited four years for a new album from the Memphis-based, genre-blending singer-songwriter with a spellbinding voice. On March 12, they’ll get their wish: June’s ambitious new album The Moon and the Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is due out that Friday.
For the uninitiated, June’s first single from her new record, “Call Me a Fool,” is a perfect introduction to her sound. Over a dreamy melody that’s best described as retro, soulful R&B, she shows off her delightfully unique vocal delivery as she encourages listeners to dream big.
“Have you ever been a fool for a dream? It might have been a little dream, like a kiss from a lover, or a big one, like the dream of peace that Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.], John Lennon and so many others have had for humanity,” June says in a press release. “No matter how big or how small your dream may be, keep believing, and let the world call you a fool!”
Adding to the aesthetic is “Queen of Memphis Soul” Carla Thomas, a Stax Records legend who sings background. On the album, Thomas also recites an African proverb just prior to the song.
June worked on The Moon and the Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers with Jack Splash, a musician, songwriter and producer who has worked with St. Paul and the Broken Bones, John Legend and Kendrick Lamar. They holed up in studios in Los Angeles, Calif., and Miami, Fla., looking for a modern twist to a live-recorded album.
“With this record, it finally became clear why I have this dream of making music. It’s not for earthly reasons of wanting to be awarded or to win anybody’s love — it’s because dreaming keeps me inquisitive and keeps me on that path of learning what I have to share with the world,” June reflects. “When we allow ourselves to dream like we did when we were kids, it ignites the light that we all have within us and helps us to have a sort of magic about the way we live.”
Influenced early on by the gospel music she heard at church and from the artists working with her father, a part-time promoter, June earned acclaim for her 2013 breakout album, Pushin’ Against a Stone, and 2017’s The Order of Time.
The Moon and the Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Full album details are below.
Valerie June’s The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers Tracklist:
1. “Stay”
2. “Stay Meditation”
3. “You and I”
4. “Colors”
5. “Stardust Scattering”
6. “African Proverb Read By Carla Thomas”
7. “Call Me a Fool” (feat. Carla Thomas)
8. “Fallin”
9. “Smile”
10. “Within You”
11. “Two Roads”
12. “Why The Bright Stars Glow”
13. “Home Inside”
14. “Starlight Ethereal Silence”
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