Jessica Pratt – “World On A String” [Video]

Jessica Pratt, the revered Los Angeles-based artist hailed by NPR Music as “out of time and otherworldly,” releases a new single, “World on a String,” from her upcoming album, Here in the Pitch, out May 3rd via Mexican Summer. Following last month’s lead single “Life Is,” praised by the New York Times as “utterly bewitching,” “World on a String” sees Pratt exploring her lower register, a scrappy band powering an array of desperate, soaring hooks. On the heartbreaking yet dazzling track, she sings “I used to want for what your desolation hadn’t come by / And as your seconds spark our turning off and turning up now… I want to be the sunlight of the century / I want to be a vestige of our senses free.” “On this track I was influenced by the swaying, naive brilliance of ‘lost’ teenage garage rock bands, as well as enduring loves like The Nazz and Guided By Voices,” Pratt says. “Record the song moments after you’ve learned it on an instrument you’ve just picked up. Oftentimes, that’s all you need.”

The surreal yet dreamy accompanying video was directed by Kate Bollinger. “Making this video with Jessica was a dream art project,” explains Bollinger. “We emailed for days, eventually landing on a mondo style march-of-the-pagan village meets field of freaks. We brought in many friends from Los Angeles: 2 DPs, 20 cast members, and a production designer. It was a big group effort and a day I’ll always remember.”

Over the last 12 years, Pratt has become one of the most singular songwriters of her generation, largely through the mystical, elusive blend of just her delicate acoustic guitar and breathtaking vocals. Here in the Pitch, however, is a very different kind of album from Pratt and features some of her most adventurous music yet. She envisioned a more expansive set of influences—“big panoramic sounds that make you think of the ocean and California”— and throughout these nine songs, timpani, glockenspiel, baritone saxophone, and flute are layered alongside robust vocal arrangements that create a triumphant mood, even when the lyrics hint at devastation. The album’s tone can range from comforting and even chipper to a malevolent quality. Pratt notes the influence of Los Angeles’ strange, seedy history and the bleak end of the hippy era on the album; “the dark side of the Californian dream.” “I spend a lot of time worrying and imagining bad things happening,” Pratt confesses. “So maybe the idea of creatively inhabiting a character who wields power is interesting.”

Pratt worked on Here in the Pitch at Gary’s Electric Studio in Brooklyn with her trusted collaborators, multi-instrumentalist/engineer Al Carlson and keyboardist Matt McDermott, and enlisted the rhythm duo of bassist Spencer Zahn and percussionist Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) and contributors Ryley Walker, Peter Mudge (Mac Miller, J.I.D.), and Alex Goldberg. Five years after her 2019 breakthrough album Quiet Signs, Here in the Pitch sees Pratt re-emerging with new ambition and new parameters for what her music can be.

Pratt will be touring with a full band in support of Here in the Pitch. After selling out shows in London and New York City, Pratt has recently announced second shows in each city, in addition to a return to Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago and headlining dates in Nashville, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and more. Tickets for all shows are on sale now and can be purchased here.

Jessica Pratt Tour Dates
Fri. May 31 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Sun. June 2 – Paris, FR @ L’Alhambra *
Mon. June 3 – Brussels, BE @ AB Theater *
Tue. June 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Zonnehuis *
Thu. June 6 – London, UK @ Union Chapel * [SOLD OUT]
Fri. June 7 – London, UK @ Earth Theatre ~
Tue. June 18 – San Diego, CA @ Lou Lous %
Thu. June 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom % [SOLD OUT]
Fri. June 21 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy + Harriet’s (Outside) %
Sat. June 22 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club % [SOLD OUT]
Tue. June 25 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret %
Wed. June 26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos %
Thu. June 27 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom %
Sat. June 29 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu %
Thu. July 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line ^
Fri. July 19 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre ^
Sun. July 21 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Mon. July 22 – Cleveland, OH @ The Roxy ^
Wed. July 24 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^ [SOLD OUT]
Thu. July 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom # [SOLD OUT]
Fri. July 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live #
Sat. July 27 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair #
Mon. July 29 – Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre #
Tue. July 30 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom #
Fri. Aug. 2 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East #
Sat. Aug. 3 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West #

* = with Joanna Sternberg
~ = with Astrid Sonne
% = with Tony Molina
^ = with June McDoom
# = with @