Jack Garratt Shares New Song 'Better'

Jack Garratt is very pleased to share a new single, ‘Better’, from his forthcoming second album ‘Love, Death & Dancing’ now released 12th June (originally due on 29th May) via Island Records.

Alongside ‘Better’, Jack is also pleased to share both ‘Get In My Way’ and ‘Mend A Heart’ from the new record - ‘Love, Death & Dancing Vol. 2’ is streaming now.

The second installment of an eight-part longform visual series to accompany the new album is available to view now. Watch the video for ‘Better’ here and stream the song here.

‘Better’ is another brilliantly colourful and bold highlight from this second record, and follows the returning single ‘Time’ as a glorious re-introduction to an artist with so much to offer.

Jack’s initial explanation that ‘Love, Death & Dancing’ is “dance music for people who don’t want to go out” takes on a whole new meaning, perhaps best described as dance music for people who can’t go out. It’s a thesis perfectly embodied on ‘Better’ - an adrenalized, electronic belter with a deeply personal meaning. “‘Better’ is a dance song about the end of times,” Jack says. “It’s a song about the claustrophobia some of us feel when confronted by daily reminders of how a change outside of our control is coming, and how we force ourselves into repetitive sequences of familiarity and nostalgia to feel safe again. It’s a distracting fable about self-awareness and futile escapism.”

Oh, if I can take something to make me feel better than I’m feeling now

Then everything else will work itself out

Everything else will work itself out

Oh, if I can swallow something

Then people might like me better when I choke it down

And everything else will work itself out

Everything else will work itself out

The mammoth dance track is accompanied by an equally captivating video, which serves as the second instalment of a long-form visual piece, ‘Love, Death & Dancing - a film by Jack Garratt’ to be released in full alongside the album. The abstract clip depicts Jack on a chaotic rollercoaster of his own making, hounded by an inability to take control of his fate. Jack describes the film as a whole as “me, in the back rooms of my mental health, interpreting the album,” and performs choreography throughout, a rediscovery of his passion for dance, which he’d lost during the turbulent period of his life which inspired the album.

‘Love, Death & Dancing’ is a candid, extremely personal exploration of the past few years of Jack’s life, which saw him buckle under the monumental pressure of his early success. “I was in what should have been this huge celebratory moment,” Jack says. “I’m 24, 25, my album has not only sold but sold well, globally, the tours were selling out, I was getting all these accolades and awards - I should have felt comfortable, at the very least. And instead I was scared and alone, and desperate for affection. I’d realised that a lot of the pillars of affection were hollow; they weren’t real.”

The period that followed saw Jack struggle in his personal relationships, scrap an entire follow-up album and grapple with self-loathing and suicidal thoughts. “The album was written from the point of view of someone who has a functioning sadness,” he says. “The album is about that functionality, that day-to-day battle, conversation, tug of war.” Now, having taken some much-needed time out of the limelight, sought therapy and found peace within himself, Jack is ready to deliver his proudest body of work to date. It’s a triumphant testament to survival and courage and ultimately a joyous album, introducing a sleeker, more refined artist with a no-holds-barred mentality and a powerful story to tell.

‘Love, Death & Dancing’ will be released on June 12th on Island Records.