Manchester Orchestra Details New Album ‘The Million Masks Of God’ & Shares Single

Manchester Orchestra detailed their new album, The Million Masks Of God, due out on April 30th via Loma Vista Recordings. The Atlanta-based rockers also shared the single, “Bed Head.”

Manchester Orchestra — guitarists Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very — began teasing the new album following the screening of A Black Mile To The Surface: The Global Concert Film, which saw the band performing their 2017 album, A Black Mile To The Surface, in its entirety. The Manchester Orchestra songwriting duo of Hull and McDowell produced The Million Masks Of God with help from Catherine Marks (PJ Harvey, The Killers) and Ethan Gruska (Phoebe Bridgers).

“If Black Mile was this idea of ‘from birth to death,’ this album would really be more about ‘from birth to beyond,” Hull said about The Million Masks Of God in a statement. “Focusing on the highs and lows of life and exploring what could possibly come next.”

The exploration of death and the beyond became very real for the band when McDowell’s father lost his battle with cancer in 2019. Hull also spoke about dealing with the loss. Read his words below:

It started off really abstract, but as Robert’s dad’s fight with cancer got harder and harder those last couple years, I started making parallels in my mind to what I was actually writing about. It became an examination of my own faith. While Robert’s dad’s story certainly influenced this album, it’s equally about me coming to grips with the realness of adulthood and that there’s an expiration date to all of this—and how you’re going to live your life knowing that.

There’s a decision we’re faced with when experiencing loss and the inevitable grief that follows. Do we let it sink us? Try to ignore it and pretend it’s not there? Or do we search and dig until we find signs of beauty in life and all of its experiences? In a way, the grief will always define you but being together and creating something meaningful from all of the hardships has been the most helpful tool I’ve found.

Additionally, Hull detailed the new single on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation, where the track premiered. “‘Bed Head’ is two old friends existing in two separate realities,” he said. “It’s a conversation about the lives they lived, the consequences of life’s decisions, and finding purpose in trying to be better.”

“Bed Head” arrived with an accompanying Andrew Donoho-directed video. Watch it below:

The Million Masks Of God Tracklist:

1. Inaudible
2. Angel Of Death
3. Keel Timing
4. Bed Head
5. Annie
6. Telepath
7. Let It Storm
8. Dinosaur
9. Obstacle
10. Way Back
11. The Internet