Though it's been over half a decade since Lior's last studio album, the indie-folk singer-songwriter has not let the intervening years go idly by – even the ones derailed by COVID.
He formed a new band, Air Land Sea, who released their self-titled debut album in 2019. He created a collaborative symphonic work with composer Nigel Westlake entitled 'Ngapa William Cooper', which premiered at Adelaide Festival in the latter stages of post-lockdown live activity (March, 2023).There was also Animal In Hiding, a new collaboration with singer Domini Forster, which spawned both an album and a stage show that was toured nationally.
When it clocked over to 2024, and with all of his other projects returning to the back-burner, Lior resumed work on what has become album number six, 'The Blue Parade'. "All these little things took up different bits of my focus over the years," he says.
"Doing things like writing an orchestral work is a big undertaking, and I've been operating with these mix of things going simultaneously. My new year's resolution was to finish the album.
"Something I've learned from all of these projects is a discipline – to not get sucked into the details, and to focus more on the emotive response you're looking for."
Not shying away from his fruitful collaborative nature, Lior worked on a lot of 'The Blue Parade' with guitarist Cameron Deyell. You might know the chameleonic guitarist from his long-serving time as part of Missy Higgins' backing band, or if you're a bit more alternative leaning you may have seen him as part of New York-based experimental band Liars.
The fact Deyell blended seamlessly into these two wildly-different musical scenarios should give you a clear idea just how multifaceted and talented the guy is, something Lior was drawn to. "He has an expertise in building these incredible sonic landscapes," Lior says.
"He comes at playing from a really different point to the way that I do, and he has such an individual voice to his playing – you're talking about one of those artists that really wants to push themselves to create things that are challenging.
"That really encouraged me to create something a bit more expansive. There's a lot of interplay between two guitars on 'The Blue Parade', which makes this probably the most cinematic record that I've ever made."
As if to prove his point, the album opens with Lior and Deyell taking listeners on a seven-minute journey with the odyssey-like 'Compulsion'. The singer-songwriter sees the track as a logical conclusion to a sound he's been quietly pursuing for a decade.
"There was an opener of mine called 'Soon' from the album 'Scattered Reflections' from 2014," he explains. "I think that track hinted at that cinematic, expansive thing I've been angling for, and on 'Compulsion' it's fully developed. There's some proper overtones to that one, and I'm really proud of it."
Lior has assembled quite the ensemble to help him launch 'The Blue Parade' with a show at Melbourne Recital Centre. Along with Deyell, Lior will be reunited with Forster and longtime bassist Brett Hirst, as well as drummer Miles Thomas and keyboardist Ben Grayson.
"We played our first show together a few months ago, in the small room of the Recital Centre," Lior explains. "I wanted to test the album out, because a lot of it hadn't been played live yet.
"It completely exceeded my expectations, and I couldn't believe how well they translated. That gave me a real sense of validation and affirmation – let's do this up big! Let's do this in the big room and rock it!"
Lior plays Recital Centre (Melbourne) 2 November.
