Tim Heidecker – “Well’s Running Dry” [Video]

Tim Heidecker announces his new album, Slipping Away, out October 18th via Bloodshot Records, and releases its lead single/video “Well’s Running Dry.” After the breakthroughs of 2020’s wistfully lush Fear of Death, and 2022’s High School, whose tales of nostalgia were never quite as distant as they seemed, the multi-hyphenate comedian and songwriter Heidecker has reached a new peak with Slipping Away, his warmest and fullest record to date. While all of his albums are concept records to some degree, this one tells a story on a larger scale, offering an imagistic framework that allows for some of his brightest melodies, heaviest themes (the feeling of before the fall and after), and most direct and vulnerable lyrics.

While on his first combined comedy and music tour in 2022, and his first time performing his own material with a full band every night, Heidecker noticed a recurring response to his lyrics among his devoted fanbase. “Especially people my age, maybe a little younger,” he recalls, “They would come up to me and say, ‘That is how I feel. And it’s nice to know you feel that way, too.’” Where his celebrated work in film and television is often an act of complex, surrealist worldbuilding, the increasingly tender and expertly crafted singer-songwriter material Heidecker releases under his own name is built to encourage these person-to-person connections.

Working with The Very Good Band — Eliana Athayde on bass, vocals and additional production; Josh Adams on drums; Vic Berger on keys; and Connor “Catfish” Gallaher on guitar and pedal steel; alongside a contribution from Tim’s daughter Amelia — Heidecker wrote a series of songs that tap into universal anxieties, familiar settings, and, occasionally, a blast of apocalyptic unease. If he were to perform them solo acoustic, they might sound like folk songs, with their instantly hummable melodies, singalong choruses, and unexpected ability to zoom out far beyond their initial premises. Even the simple act of making music, as portrayed in the cleverly constructed writer’s block anthem “Well’s Running Dry,” can lead to an earnest reflection on insecurity and aging. “As soon as I wrote that, I worried that it’s not cool to talk about,” Heidecker says. “But a second later, I thought—well that’s challenging and exciting. Let’s push past that.”

This August and September, Tim Heidecker & The Very Good Band will support Waxahatchee with Snail Mail on a run of east coast dates, including a co-headlining show with Snail Mail at SummerStage in New York. A full list of shows can be found below, and tickets can be purchased here.

Pre-order Slipping Away

Tim Heidecker & The Very Good Band Tour Dates
Sun. Aug. 11 – Carnation, WA @ THING
Tue. Aug. 27 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage ∞
Thu. Aug. 29 – South Deerfield, MA @ Tree House Summer Stage %
Fri. Aug. 30 – Portland, ME @ State Theater %
Sat. Aug. 31 – Accord, NY @ Arrowood Farms %
Sun. Sept. 1 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summerstage %
Wed. Sept. 4 – Charlottesville, VA @ Ting Pavillion %
Thu. Sept. 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
Fri. Sept. 6 – Vienna, VA @ Filene Center – Wolf Trap %
Sat. Sept 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore ^

∞ w/ Snail Mail & Fenne Lily
% w/ Waxahatchee & Snail Mail
^ w/ Waxahatchee & Gladie