The Lemonheads, Erin Rae

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Gareth Jones

The three members of The Lemonheads.

The Lemonheads

Evan Dando and The Lemonheads were one of the “it” bands of the early ‘90s, releasing a series of nonchalant, jangly college radio hits like “It’s a Shame About Ray,” “Down About It” and “Alison’s Starting to Happen” that resonated with a pre-grunge Gen X audience. But unlike some of his contemporaries, he never stopped with the excesses that often accompany rock stardom and disappeared into addiction for a couple of decades. He has emerged with a memoir titled Rumors of My Demise, and a new Lemonheads album, Love Chant. With Erin Rae.

media release: The Lemonheads have officially announced their first album of all-new original material in almost two decades, Love Chant, arriving via Fire Records on Friday, October 24. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now.

Recorded at São Paulo’s A9 Áudio with producer Apollo Nove (Rita Lee, Bebel Gilberto, Seu Jorge), Love Chant marks the welcome return of a justifiably legendary rock ‘n’ roll band, with founding singer-songwriter-guitarist Evan Dando joined by a bevy of dear friends and collaborators including J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Juliana Hatfield, Tom Morgan (as co-writer for “Deep End”), producer Bryce Goggin (Pavement, Antony and the Johnsons), Nashville’s Erin Rae, John Strohm of the Blake Babies co-wrote and played guitar on “Togetherness,” and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond (a songwriter and performer on the swirling psych-folk gem “Roky”). Adam Green of cult New York favorites The Moldy Peaches also contributes as co-writer on the loose-limbed country detour “Wild Thing.”

​​The album is heralded by today’s premiere of the hard-hitting new single, “In The Margin,” available everywhere alongside an official lyric video streaming now on YouTube. “In The Margin” is a classic Dando composition: half-broken, half-beautiful, wrapped around a melody that disarms before it detonates.

“I wanted to have a riffy song, so I wrote riffs all over it,” says Dando. “The body of the song was Marciana’s (Marciana Jones). It’s like a full-on 8th-grade girl revenge song: ‘Stupidly I left the escape plans out so they could find my way.’”

Love Chant also includes the recently released “Deep End,” available everywhere now. Co-written by Dando with longtime collaborator Tom Morgan of Smudge, the churning, riff-powered track – which features an instantly identifiable guitar solo from J Mascis and backing vocals from dear friend and frequent Lemonheads guest Juliana Hatfield – was met by worldwide attention upon its premiere last month by such high-profile publications as Rolling Stone, Billboard, Uncut, Stereogum, and Consequence, the latter of which praised its long-awaited reprise of the Lemonheads’ “scrappy, guitar-forward rock sound.” An official music video, filmed on location in São Paulo, Brazil by directors Carlão Busato and Luigi Parisi, is streaming now on YouTube.

Over the past few years, The Lemonheads’ influence has only deepened. Artists like MJ Lenderman, Courtney Barnett and Waxahatchee have all covered Dando’s songs, praising the emotional clarity, melodic instinct, and wry intimacy that define his writing. That resonance across generations makes Love Chant feel like more than a return — it’s a reminder of what made this band matter in the first place.

The Lemonheads with celebrate Love Chant with a marathon world tour, beginning this summer with a series of headline shows and top-billed festival appearances across the UK and Europe. North American dates get underway November 11 at Birmingham, AL’s WORKPLAY and then continue through a December 20 tour finale at Nashville, TN’s famed Basement East. For complete details, please visit www.thelemonheads.net/tour.

Dando will be releasing his memoir, Rumors of My Demise, via Gallery Books, on October 7.

“Few bands have been able to walk the line between the angst of grunge and the warmth of folk quite as elegantly as The Lemonheads.” -ROLLING STONE

“The Lemonheads’ ability to merge punk rock’s energetic simplicity with lush, melodic hooks is both timeless and influential.” -PITCHFORK

“One of the most influential bands of the last few decades.” -BANDCAMP