Grace Cummings – Bloodhorse!
Lauded singer-songwriter Grace Cummings has released “My God” the first single to be taken from her upcoming album Bloodhorse!, also announced today for August 14th on ATO Records.
After quietly building a fanbase in her native Australia with a string of impressive releases, Cummings garnered international attention when her third album, Ramona, earned widespread critical acclaim in 2024. Bloodhorse!, like its predecessor, was recorded in Topanga Canyon, California with GRAMMY-nominated producer Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Margo Price).
“My God” comes replete with a homespun video by director Ben Portnoy. The song itself is a haunting piano track centered around Cummings’ deep, breathy vocals, recorded while she was suffering from pneumonia. “Lyrically, this song is about hatred, jealousy, rage. The God here is the dark forces that are wrapping around us, that we scroll through, the toxic energy that binds us together in this modern world, and the fear we feed it every day”, explains Cummings.
Bloodhorse!’s producer, Jonathan Wilson – recently nominated for a GRAMMY for his work on Father John Misty’s Chloe and the Next 20th Century – shares: “With Grace Cummings, you actually have a once in a generation voice. Everyone who hears her sing would agree with that. Beyond that, her songwriting and lyrical prowess is just getting better and better. I’m proud as punch of this new album. It’s a superb collection of songs that she delivers with humanity, power and emotion like no one else on earth.”
Says Cummings of the album’s title, ““A bloodhorse is a horse expected to be a winner. But they can often also be temperamental, fearful, fragile and easily broken. Sometimes I feel like I’m a trapped animal. And…when I go to sleep, sometimes it’s like I’m in the gate, twitching. And as soon as I open my eyes, I’m fucking running.”
Fight or flight is the fuel that powers Bloodhorse!, her fourth full length album – a bold, lush and, at times perversely provocative journey through the anxieties, confessionals, hopes and nightmares of one of Australia’s most acclaimed performers.
The album finds Cummings swooping from gorgeous to grotesque, velvet and violent, sacred and profane. If Ramona was a dusky expansion of Cummings’ universe from folk artist to widescreen, Bloodhorse! is a leap deep into the night… headlights off.
“In the past few years I’ve gone through one of the biggest personal changes of my life,” says Cummings. “Bloodhorse! is an attempt to express the things I can’t say. A confession, an act of courage. For no one else but me. And it’s me deciding to represent, not necessarily the way life is, but the way it feels.”
And those feelings are big. Themes of life, death, agency, abuse and self-examination – both psychic and physical – pump through the lyrics of Bloodhorse! It brings a new dynamic of sound: shuddering synths, tense strings, and woozy grooves, joining Cummings’ knack for campfire melodies, expressive piano and uniquely soulful voice. What unites it is the thrill of hearing Cummings’ push at the edge of her own understanding.
Upcoming Live Shows:
Monday, June 8 — Amsterdam, NL Live at Bos, Amsterdam (w/ Father John Misty)
Tuesday, June 9 — Cologne, GR Carlswerk Victoria (w/ Father John Misty)
Wednesday, June 10 — Antwerp, BE OLT, Rivierenhof (w/ Father John Misty)
Monday, June 15 — London, UK The George Tavern (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, October 3 — Reno, CA Offbeat Music Festival
#gracecummingsmusic