Immediately after the release of this third studio LP, Strangers In The First Place, singer-songwriter Robert Francis shaved his head, got into drugs, moved to Michigan with a girl he barely knew, and almost quit the music biz for good. Somehow he avoided having a total nervous breakdown and is (thankfully) back with a new LP, Heaven. Out June 3, Heaven finds Francis newly invested in the process of writing and recording songs, thanks in part to some tracks that apparently kept showing up in his dreams. Below, A.V. Club readers can get a first look at the music video accompanying one of those tracks. “Love Is A Chemical” is a little bit Ryan Adams and a little bit Pete Yorn, and fans of both should definitely feel what Francis is laying down here.
Francis is touring North America this summer, and dates for that run are also below.
Robert Francis tour 2014
June 11—Hi Dive—Denver, Colorado
June 12—Record Bar—Kansas City, Missouri
June 13—7th Street Entry—Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 14—Vaudeville Mews—Des Moines, Iowa
June 15—Space—Evanston, Illinois
June 16—The Drake—Toronto, Ontario
June 17—Middle East—Cambridge, Massachusetts
June 18—Café Nine—New Haven, Connecticut
June 19—Rough Trade—Brooklyn, New York
June 20—Mercury Lounge—New York, New York
June 21—Boot & Saddle—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
June 22—DC9—Washington, D.C.
June 23—The Mothlight—Asheville, North Carolina
June 24—Vinyl—Atlanta, Georgia
June 25—High Watt—Nashville, Tennesee
June 27—Fitzgerald’s—Houston, Texas
June 28—Stubb’s Jr.—Austin, Texas
July 1—Urban Lounge—Salt Lake City, Utah
July 2—The Crux—Boise, Idaho
July 3—Tractor Tavern—Seattle, Washington
July 4—Mississippi Studios—Portland, Oregon
July 5—Cosmic Pizza—Eugene, Oregon
July 8—Constellation Room—Santa Ana, California
July 9—SoHo—Santa Barbara, California
July 10—Independent—San Francisco, California
July 11—Harlow’s—Sacramento, California
July 12—Slo Brew—San Luis Obispo, California
July 16—The Casbah—San Diego, California
July 17—The Troubadour—Los Angeles, California