Photo: Tonje Thilesen

Julie Byrne appreciates the alchemy all around on “The Greater Wings”

Julie Byrne recently returned with her first new music in six years, “Summer Glass”, and announced a new album called The Greater Wings. Today she shares the title track from the album, ahead of its release in July.

Ditching the electronics of “Summer Glass” and returning to the feathery acoustic guitar that forms the backbone of most of her songs, Byrne is deep in observational mode as she describes years of gliding through this overwhelming life. Along the way she hears “voices winding through the room” and “music in the walls”, and this sense-memory extravaganza continues to builds as it goes; “I feel it, the tilt of the planet / The panorama of the valley.” As strings slide in and memories of distant tour stops are woven into the piece, she delivers the pledge “to carry you up, on the greater wings”. Ascending gracefully to the finale, her unending journey continues into a beautifully unknown future, carrying the memories of the past everywhere she goes.

Watch the lyric video for “The Greater Wings” below or find the track on streamers.


Julie Byrne’s new album The Greater Wings arrives on July 7 through Ghostly International (pre-order/save). You can find her on Bandcamp and Instagram.

She has these tour dates ahead:

7/23 – Hebden, UK @ Bridge Trades Club
7/26 – London, UK @ Kings Place Hall
7/28 – Brighton, UK @ St Barts

8/18-20 – Brecon Beacons, Wales @ Green Man Festival

9/5 – Seattle,WA @ Fremont Abbey
9/6 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
9/8 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
9/9 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
9/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
9/14 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
9/19 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
9/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church (Sanctuary)
9/21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
9/29 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
9/30 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom

11/16 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
11/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono
11/18 – Manchester, UK @ St Michael’s Church
11/22 – Bristol, UK @ The Jam Jar
11/24 – Limerick, IE @ Dolans Upstairs
11/25 – Dublin, IE @ Pavilion Theatre, DĂşn Laoghaire
11/26 – Belfast, IE @ The Black Box