Marcus King is back on the saddle again, as he’s announced the release of his fifth studio album, Young Blood.
Produced by Dan Auerbach, the blues rocker’s latest project is slated to drop on August 26th on Rick Rubin’s American Records/Republic Records.
With that being said, the 26-year-old, Greenville, South Carolina native dropped the lead single for the album today, titled “Hard Working Man.”
Known for his full throttle, larger than life sound incorporating southern rock, soul, and the blues, all three sounds are easily recognizable in the new single.
King weighed in on the new release:
“We tour almost 200 days of the year, and even when I’m home, I’m doing something. Working hard is just the way I was raised. It would make my grandfather proud to know I’m a hard working man and I’ve worked for everything I have.
It’s an anthem for the people. You’ve got folks who work all week and spend their hard-earned money just to come see us. They’re the backbone of America. It’s a real blessing.”
Check it out:
He also discussed how the album is a reflection of a tough time in his life, struggling with personal loss and addiction:
“I was going through a lot during the album with addictions, breakups, and addictions because of breakups. I was overindulging in everything. It’s not a big secret to my friends.
I was in a real rough place for a while. I was trying to process the death of family members and I was on the wrong medications.”
Producer Dan Auerbach weighed in on the immense talent of King, summing it all up quite simply… music isn’t what Marcus King does, it’s who he is:
“Music runs so deep in Marcus’s blood he might not even realize how born to do this he is. He’s the real deal. Marcus has Southern Soul as part of his foundation.
If you’re going to play rock ‘n’ roll with Marcus, you have to understand that element. It’s just who he is. These songs are live performances. The whole damn thing is live… the solos and everything. It’s so rare in this day and age.”
Check out the full tracklist below:
1. It’s Too Late
2. Lie Lie Lie
3. Rescue Me
4. Pain
5. Good and Gone
6. Blood On The Tracks
7. Hard Working Man
8. Aim High
9. Dark Cloud
10. Whisper
11. Blues Worse Than I Ever Had
