Esther Rose will release Want on May 2, 2025 via New West Records. The 11-track set was produced by Ross Farbe (of Video Age) and recorded live-to-tape at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville, TN. Want is the anticipated follow up to 2023’s Safe to Run which was met with wide acclaim from The New York Times, Pitchfork, Stereogum, No Depression, and more. The album features appearances by the singer songwriter Dean Johnson as well as members of Video Age, The Deslondes, and Silver Synthetic. Following the wide-open serenity of Safe to Run, Rose now leans toward confrontational arrangements full of distortion and full-band spontaneity, never sacrificing a classicist’s gift for melody that makes each song instantly memorable. “For me, these songs felt like revelations,” she explains, comparing the record to a memoir, alive with kinetic storytelling and personal insight. Ranging from stark solo performances to grungy blowouts, the album maintains a steady focus while never staying too long in one place. Vivid and bracing, she has made the most adventurous, hardest-hitting record of her career.
Today, Rose shared the album standout “The Clown.” Rose says, “This song is about self-acceptance, gender identity, and being turned on. Clothing and how it makes me feel is a huge part of my process. I heard that David Bowie would dress up in the studio when he was making records. The band caught on to my process, and it was fun to surprise them each morning with a lewk. Nothing too wild, but alluding to a vibe that would carry into the music. For ‘The Clown,’ I wore my favorite outfit: a blazer with huge shoulder pads and low-rise leather pants.”
Rose previously shared the video for the first single, “New Bad,” which was the music video directorial debut by the artist and New York Times bestselling author Anna Marie Tendler. Rose said, “This song leaps from the speakers. It’s part grunge, part shoegaze. Working with Anna Marie Tendler was the collaboration I’ve always dreamed of. We sparked an easy, natural rapport out of mutual admiration for each other’s artistry. After I read her book Men Have Called Her Crazy, I sent her a note, saying that my unreleased album and her memoir were apparently spiritual twins. Luckily, she agreed.” Anna Marie Tendler said, “We spent five days, just the two of us, traversing the desert talking and laughing about love, family, our careers, therapy, ketamine, divorce, and music, all while filming a video whose themes and visuals were predicated on the pluralism of self. We also spent a lot of time in comfortable silence watching a golden sun set into an inky sky. On our last day, I thanked Esther for taking this chance on me. She, of course, had access to all my photographs, but there was little in terms of video work to prove my proficiency, let alone talent. I was surprised to learn it wasn’t my visual work, but my memoir, which had gotten me the job. I just knew you would get what I was trying to say, Esther told me.”
Rose also previously shared the video for the album highlight “Had To.” as well. She said, “In ‘Had To,’ I examine my relationship with alcohol, and also my relationship with touring. A long time ago, I heard New Orleans legend Washboard Chaz say this: ‘People are always offering musicians exposure. But you can die from too much exposure!’ Since writing this song, I have stopped drinking, but I have not stopped touring.”
To reach the new level of confidence presented on Want, the Santa Fe-based Rose had to recalibrate her entire relationship with music. When she concluded the tour for Safe to Run, she considered quitting music altogether, feeling exhausted and depleted, seeing no way to continue at her relentless pace. After quitting drinking and finding new momentum in therapy, she devoted herself to the new material, letting ideas flow without worrying about the final product. She considered making an electro-pop album; a self-titled acoustic record. Eventually, she began categorizing her disparate ideas under the working title The Therapy LP. “There are things that I have tiptoed around in my writing — and in my life — that I wasn’t ready to look at,” she reflects, “and now I’m going for it.” The results are breakthroughs that tether her tightly structured melodies to narratives that bring distressing subject matter down to earth.
“Want” is the overarching theme to the new album. There are 77 mentions of the word throughout (Rose counted them). She says “This record is introspective and internal. In these songs, I examine my thoughts and behavior patterns,” adding, “there are other themes, fear being a big one. I write when I’m scared, and I was scared a lot, sometimes by external situations but mostly by deep-diving into my subconscious. Another theme is accountability. I’m still learning about this one. I believe in the power of music to reveal and heal.” Want is the widest-reaching album of Esther Rose’s career and a panorama of emotions. Describing the euphoria of sharing these intimate stories among trusted collaborators, she says, “Making this album was the most beautiful experience of my life.”
Esther Rose has announced a special in-store performance at Rough Trade in Manhattan on May 4th prior to launching support dates with Andrew Combs in the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Her own headline dates will then begin on May 19 in Glasgow.
Want will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited yellow vinyl edition and limited compact disc both signed by Esther Rose will be available at Independent Retailers. A limited to 200 white vinyl edition autographed by Rose and featuring a yellow flexidisc of the unreleased track “Heather” will be available via Rough Trade. An extremely limited to 250 “Smoke” color vinyl edition as well as a limited compact disc edition both autographed by Rose is available for pre-order NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS.
