But I'll Wait For You

''But I'll Wait for You'' is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Local Natives. It was released on April 19, 2024, through Loma Vista Recordings and Concord.

The album comes nine months after the band's fifth studio album, '' Time Will Wait for No One'' (2023), and is described as its companion or "sister" album. It was preceded by the singles "April" and "Alpharetta". It is the final album to feature co-lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kelcey Ayer, who announced his departure from the band on April 29, 2024, ten days following the album's release.

Background

Recorded during the same sessions as ''Time Will Wait for No One'', Local Natives described the album as "the second half of a large body of music we made together, the first half we shared last year with ''Time Will Wait for No One''. It's a companion piece. A sister album. Maybe not an answer to a question, but an exhale to an inhale. So little is in our control, but among all this chaos we can choose to be there for each other. Thank you again to John Congleton, Michael Harris, and Danny Reisch, the incredibly talented producers who helped us bring these songs into their fully realized selves."

On April 29, 2024, ten days after the album's release, Local Natives announced the amicable departure of founding member Kelcey Ayer, who will, however, remain with the group for the last phase of their touring in support of ''Time Will Wait for No One'' and ''But I'll Wait for You''.

Release

The album's lead single, "April", was released simultaneously with the album announcement on March 25, 2024. "Alpharetta" was released as the second single on April 5, 2024. ''But I'll Wait for You'' was released by Loma Vista on April 19, 2024.

Critical reception

Writing for AllMusic, Matt Collar rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote, "The fact that Local Natives are able to pull a wholly separate, not to mention catchy and emotionally engaging, album from those initial Congleton sessions speaks to the high level of quality and artistic inspiration they were working with."

Track listing

Personnel

Local Natives
* Kelcey Ayer – vocals, guitar (all tracks); piano (tracks 1–3, 6, 9, 10), synthesizer (1, 4), keyboards (2, 6, 9), bass guitar (6), organ (8, 10)
* Nik Ewing – synthesizer (tracks 1–3, 5–8, 10), bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 7–9), piano (1, 2, 5, 7, 10), samples (1, 5, 6), keyboards (1, 5, 7, 8), Mellotron (2, 4–6), Moog bass (2), vibraphone (7, 8)
* Matthew Frazier – drums (tracks 2–4, 6–10), percussion (2, 4, 5, 7, 8), drum machine (5), conga (8)
* Ryan Hahn – guitar (all tracks), electric guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–10), acoustic guitar (1, 8); conga, Moog bass (2); bass guitar (3–5, 10), percussion (4, 5, 8), synthesizer (5, 8); keyboards, samples (8)
* Taylor Rice – vocals, guitar (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2), bass guitar (1), electric guitar (2–10), samples (2); piano, synthesizer (7); organ (10)

Additional contributors
* Ruairi O'Flaherty – mastering
* Dean Reid – mixing (tracks 1–3, 8)
* John Congleton – mixing (tracks 4–7, 9), engineering (4, 7), choir (9)
* Michael Harris – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 8, 10)
* Tyler Nuffer – engineering, pedal steel, steel guitar (track 1)
* Danny Reisch – engineering (tracks 2, 3, 10), string arrangement (2)
* Sean Cook – engineering (tracks 5, 6, 9)
* Budapest Scoring Orchestra – strings (track 2)

Art
* Nik Ewing – art direction, design
* Ramón Coronado – art direction, design
* Marshall Rake – art direction, design
* Jonathan Chu – photography

References

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2024 albums
Local Natives albums
Loma Vista Recordings albums
Albums produced by John Congleton