Bartees Strange Shares ‘Backseat Banton’ From ‘Horror’

In an age when pre-album promotional cycles can last just days or even minutes, Bartees Strange has been taking his time rolling out his latest, Horror: He shared the project’s first single, “Lie 95,” back in July 2024, and has dropped new tracks gradually since then.

Now, the album’s February 14 release is nigh, but before the project drops, he has one more pre-album single: “Backseat Banton,” which he premiered with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! before sharing the album’s studio version today (February 12).

Bartees previously said of the album, “In a way I think I made this record to reach out to people who may feel afraid of things in their lives too. For me it’s love, locations, cosmic bad luck, or that feeling of doom that I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember. I think that it’s easier to navigate the horrors and strangeness of life once you realize that everyone around you feels the same. This album is just me trying to connect. I’m trying to shrink the size of the world. I’m trying to feel close — so I’m less afraid.”

Listen to “Backseat Banton” above.

Horror is out 2/14 via 4AD. Find more information here.