#Julie Byrne presses pause with restful new song “Moonless”

Julie Byrne has released “Moonless,” the third and final single from her upcoming album The Greater Wings, set for release on July 7 via Ghostly International. Scroll down to listen to the song now.

“Moonless” follows Byrne’s “Summer Glass” and album title track “The Greater Wings”. It was written in Portugal, where Byrne was participating in an artist residency, and marks her first song written on the piano.

The Greater Wings was finished following the death of Byrne’s friend and collaborator Eric Littmann. “Moonless” is part of a collection of luminous songs on the record that was written prior to his loss but tap into a feeling of grief. “The sky is moonless, And the sea surrounds me,” Byrne sings over spectral instrumentation, her voice urgent but calming nonetheless. “What does it matter the story? If your absence remains.”

“Something I love about being a songwriter, especially as a queer woman, is being able to have the last word in my work, becoming myself line by line,” she says in a statement. “This is a breakup song, and it’s the first song I wrote on piano.”

In addition to the new music, Byrne has also added a few dates to her upcoming tour. She will now perform a July 18 album release show at Public Records in Brooklyn, New York plus two nights at Tubby’s in Kingston, N.Y. on July 15-16.