John Moreland Finishes a Song He Started Three Years Ago With ‘When My Fever Breaks’
Songwriter began the love ballad when he was dating his now wife
John Moreland finishes a song he began writing three years ago with the release of “When My Fever Breaks,” a love ballad that originated in the early days of his relationship with his now wife.
“Star-crossed eyes and cross-eyed stars, no use hiding age-old scars/When you’re not here I can’t be still, I don’t think I’ll sleep until I see you,” he sings in the vulnerable heart-on-his-sleeve track. Moreland finally completed “When My Fever Breaks” for his upcoming album LP5, out February 7th.
The song opens with a drum-machine beat signaling the atmospheric vibes that are to come. Moreland’s vocal is prominent in the mix, more gentle than gritty, while the guitar accompaniment rises at just the right moments. In a career built on sometimes pained songwriting and cathartic live performances, Moreland relishes the idea of hard-won comfort here.
LP5 is the follow-up to 2017’s Big Bad Luv, which found Moreland reckoning with his reputation as a sadsack songwriter. “When I heard the sad bastard thing more and more, it came to a point where I felt like a caricature of a real person. It made me really depressed for a little while, where I kind of believed it and put too much stock in that. I felt like it was all I had to offer: just bumming people out. It got really dark,” Moreland told Rolling Stone Country in 2017.
The Oklahoma songwriter will play shows with Tedeschi Trucks Band later this month, and launch his own tour March 14th in Bentonville, Arkansas.
January 21 – Kansas City, MO @ Kansas City Convention Center #
January 22 – Ames, IA @ Stephens Auditorium #
January 31 – Rockford, IL @ Coronado PAC
February 1 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Ann Arbor Folk Festival
March 14 – Bentonville, AR @ Meteor Guitar Gallery *
March 15 – Little Rock, AR @ South On Main *
March 17 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn *
March 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
March 20 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East ^
March 21 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre ^
March 22 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle ^
March 24 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom ^
March 25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^
March 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^
March 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live ^
March 29 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair ^
March 31 – Montreal, QC @ L’Esco ^
April 1 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern ^
April 3 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall ^
April 4 – East Moline, IA @ The Rust Belt ^
April 5 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room at Colectivo ^
April 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fine Line ^
April 8 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room ^
April 9 – Wichita, KS @ The Wave ^
April 11 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre ^
April 30 – Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater +
May 1 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater +
May 2 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s +
May 5 – Tuscon, AZ @ 191 Toole +
May 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom +
May 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent +
May 10 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge +
May 12 – Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall +
May 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre +
May 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room +
May 16 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater +
May 17 – Colorado Spring, CO @ Lulu’s Downstairs +
# supporting Tedeschi Trucks Band
* w/ Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster
^ w/ S.G. Goodman
+ w/ Will Johnson