Saturday 14 November 2026
Palehound, the project of singer, songwriter and guitarist El Kempner, has announced a fifth album, You Sing Like You’re Joking. It is out on 5 February 2027 on Polyvinyl Record Co., and it comes with a new single, “Natural Disasters”, and a video directed by Rachel Brown of Water From Your Eyes. The album deals with loss and changing relationships, but it is also about friendship and community. Here’s what you need to know.
1. “Natural Disasters” is about a friendship that drifted apart
The lead single is a stripped-down reflection on a friendship that has grown apart, set against climate catastrophe. “My basement is flooding, and your house is burning, and we’re not talking,” Kempner sings. They explain: “I was like, ‘Damn, the future is pretty doomy right now. Why can’t we just get over it and get through this together?'” It’s a very relatable song about how hard it is to stay connected when everything feels uncertain. It sits at number five on the nine-track album and is out to stream now, alongside its official video.
2. A video shot as a storm warning came in
Director Rachel Brown says: “I’ve been a huge fan of Palehound since the first record, so when El asked me to collaborate on a video, I was so honoured. My main focus was to capture the idea of friendship and love as a memory.” She also wanted to show “the concept of impending societal doom as something subtle and lonely”, and the gas mask in the video “was a direct reference to the nuclear war imagery of the 1960s”. The team kept filming despite official warnings about a nor’easter. “Strangely enough, the weather was perfectly fine pretty much all day,” she says.
3. One of Rolling Stone’s greatest guitarists
Kempner has been making music for nearly 15 years, since their early days as a DIY indie songwriter in Boston. They are known for diary-like lyrics that turn very personal moments into songs that feel universal, and Rolling Stone has named them one of its “Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Earlier praise includes The New York Times calling Palehound “full of wry humour and hard-won wisdom” and NPR saying “You can feel Palehound’s songs in your gut”. On the new album, Kempner’s guitar work expands to include bass guitar.
4. Made with friends from the New York scene
Kempner co-produced the album with Julian Fader of Ava Luna and Katie Von Schleicher of Frankie Cosmos, and Nick Hakim also contributes. Over the past two years in New York, Kempner has become friends with fellow musicians Cassandra Jenkins, Adrianne Lenker, Samia and Annie DiRusso. Most of them appeared at Kempner’s completely sold-out ‘You’re Joking!’ residency, which raised funds for the Immigrant Defense Project. “In music, the relationships are so different,” Kempner says. “Because we all have this major thing we connect on, and that is an amazing starting point of friendship.”
5. Heavy subjects, but a light touch
The album looks at big changes and successes in Kempner’s life and career, but those good times have been punctured by loss, and much of the record deals with shifting relationships. Even so, it doesn’t feel heavy. It’s described as a taut, jangly listen that focuses on the beauty of friendship and community. “I was so lucky to be raised in DIY,” Kempner says. “I feel like I’ve finally settled into something that feels stronger and fully formed.” The nine tracks are “Incisions”, “Hourglass”, “The Midwest”, “Patio”, “Natural Disasters”, “Target”, “Color”, “Sum Of Our Days” and “Sleep Through Anything”.
Listen
Palehound – You Sing Like You’re Joking
Released Friday 5 February 2027 on Polyvinyl Record Co.
New single “Natural Disasters” out now
Pre-orders open now