Khruangbin will release their second album, Mordechai, in June.

Mordechai comes two years after the release of their breakthrough, 2018’s Con Todo El Mundo. As a first for the mostly instrumental band, the album features vocals prominently on nearly every song. It sees them pulling reference points from Pakistan, Korea, and West Africa, all the while incorporating strains of Indian chanting boxes and Congolese syncopated guitar.

Mordechai is the name of Laura Lee’s friend who had reached out when she was feeling unmoored, inviting her to come hiking with his family. That day, she jumped into a waterfall and her rejuvenation came out in hundreds of pages of words, which the band turned into lyrics. Chief among the themes is memory—holding onto it, letting it go, and naming it before it disappears.

“Time (You And I),” the lead single, evinces the feeling of a festival winding down to its final blowout hours. Its accompanying video features comedian Stephen K. Amos and Lunda Anele-Skosana. The duo wander around London, placing singular sandcastles throughout the city’s various scenery.

Tracklisting

01. First Class
02. Time (You and I)
03. Connaissais de Face
04. Father Bird, Mother Bird
05. If There is No Question
06. Pelota
07. One to Remember
08. Dearest Alfred
09. So We Won’t Forget
10. Shida

Mordechai LP is out on June 26 on Dead Oceans, in association with Night Time Stories. Meanwhile, you can stream “Time (You and I)” below and pre-order the record here.