The Church Choir is singing “Hallelujah” today — Eric Church has announced his long-awaited new album. Evangeline vs. The Machine is coming May 2 and you can preorder it.
In a statement, the Chief says, “An album is a snapshot in time that lasts for all time. I believe in that time-tested tradition of making records that live and breathe as one piece of art – I think it’s important.”
“The people that I look up to in my career and the kind of musicians I gravitate to never did what I thought they were going to do next – and I love them for it. I never want our fans to get an album and go, ‘Oh, that’s like Chief or that’s like this,’” he says. “Painstakingly, I lose sleep at night to try to make sure that whatever we do creatively, they go, ‘Wow, that’s not what I thought.’ I think that’s my job as an artist.”
The album includes the new single “Hands of Time,” out now, which quotes or mentions famous songs by Tom Petty, Meat Loaf, Bob Seger, AC/DC, Bob Marley, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more.
“As I get older, I’m looking for things that make me feel not as old … when I hear music or see something from my past, I feel like I did then; I relate to what it was then,” he says. “I really believe that a good way to handle that is with music.”
Also included is “Darkest Hour,” which Church released last year for Hurricane Helene relief, and “Johnny,” inspired by both the hero of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the Covenant School shooting. The eight-track project ends with a cover of Tom Waits‘ “Clap Hands.”
Here’s the track list for Evangeline vs. The Machine, Church’s first album since 2021’s Heart & Soul:
“Hands of Time”
“Bleed on Paper”
“Johnny”
“Storm in Their Blood”
“Darkest Hour”
“Evangeline”
“Rocket’s White Lincoln”
“Clap Hands”
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