Recommended tracks: “I Did It For Love,” “Night Goes Black,” “What A Time To Be Alive”
Artists you may like: Johnnyswim, The Civil Wars, The Head and The Heart
Acclaimed indie-folk band, The Lone Bellows, have returned with their seventh studio album What A Time To Be Alive. The album has a classic folk sound with a story of hope that comes after the band was robbed while on tour. Amongst their equipment, gear, clothes, and other valuables that were stolen, they lost the hard drive that stored all their new recordings. The theft immediately set them back to square one with the album. When word got out, the band’s diehard fanbase stepped in, raising enough funds to replace their stolen equipment and get the group back into the studio within hours. What A Time To Be Alive is not only a gift to their fanbase, but to everyone who listens to it.
The second track on the album, “I Did It For Love” was released as a single in January and stands out as a statement for the record’s emotional core. Driven by warm harmonies and a steady, heartland pulse, the song balances vulnerability with resolve, tracing the complicated space where devotion and sacrifice meet. In the wake of the band’s real-life setback, the track feels especially resonant: “I did it for love / I did it for the thrill of it all / I know what it feels like / No stranger to the good life.” It is a romantic confession and a broader declaration about why they continue to make music at all.
“Night Goes Black” is set in the middle of the album and is another single released prior to the album in 2025. The track is like the pulse of the album, applying a heavier sound amongst the softer contemplations that surround it. A driving rhythm section and gritty electric guitar cut through the trio’s trademark harmonies, creating a sense of urgency that feels restless. With lyrics like, “It’s getting so hard to believe you / Everything we’ve been through / So hard not to let it all go dark” and “Did you do all of this just to get what you want? / Was what we did in vain just to prove to someone? / Ten years came and went like the moon and the sun” listeners can feel the uncertainty and doubt that creeps into a relationship that has been dragged on.
The title track is what truly pulls the album together. As a slower song, it pulls back from the driving rhythms and allows space for reflection, gratitude and hard-won clarity. “It’s a funny thing to be in love / I’ve never seen this grace / Oh what a time to be alive” lands like a quiet revelation, delivered with the true sincerity of The Lone Bellows. In the context of everything they endured the refrain feels earned. Rather than ignoring the darkness, the song acknowledges it and chooses awe anyway.
What A Time To Be Alive is out now.
The Lone Bellow will hit the road to promote What A Time To Be Alive on February 17 in Pittsburgh, PA with support from William Matheny and Fabrizio for select dates. Tickets are on sale now.
The Lone Bellow Tour Dates:
February 17 // Pittsburgh, PA
February 18 // Kent, OH
February 19 // Kalamazoo, MI
February 20 // Chicago, IL
February 21 // Indianapolis, IN
February 22 // Cincinnati, OH
February 25 // Louisville, KY
February 26 // Knoxville, TN
February 27 // St. Louis, MO
February 28 // Bloomington, IL
March 1 // Iowa City, IA
March 4 // Appleton, WI
March 5 // Madison, WI
March 6 // Hopkins, MN
March 26 // Savannah, GA
March 27 // Greenville, SC
March 28 // Cornelius, SC
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