Vanessa Carlton Previews “Die Dinosaur” From New Album

In just a few short days, Vanessa Carlton will release her new album, Love Is An Art. Fans have already heard her singles “Future Pain,” “The Only Way To Love,” and “Miner’s Canary,” plus live performances of “Love Is An Art,” “I Know You Don’t Mean It” and “Salesman” (the last one during a livestream on Monday). We’ve also heard previews of “Patience” as far back as 2012. Today, Vanessa Carlton continues the Love Is An Art excitement and teasing with an extended preview of “Die Dinosaur.”

She just “leaked” part of the song onto her Instagram and included its lyrics. The titular part seems directed at “Trump and his brood,” while the rest of it is “dedicated to the Parkland Students and Ronan Farrow.” Indeed, during an interview with Blueberry Hill a few months ago, Vanessa explained that “Die Dinosaur” was written after the shootings in Parkland, Florida and is about “the children who fill the world with love and grace while politicians fill their pockets.”

Winding keyboard and a marching drumbeat form the backdrop, while Vanessa’s vocals echo over the top. Later bass fills out the sound even more. It’s a textured song with pointed lyrics, and we can’t wait to hear the full recording.

Check out Vanessa’s “Die Dinosaur” preview below:

 

“Die Dinosaur” will appear on Vanessa’s upcoming album, Love Is An Art, out this Friday on March 27th. Pre-order the album here now.

Love Is An Art Tracklisting

In December, we reported on 12 new Vanessa Carlton songs that had registered online. It turns out, all 12 of those songs will appear on the new album. See the full tracklisting for Love Is An Art:

  1. I Can’t Stay The Same
  2. Companion Star
  3. I Know You Don’t Mean It
  4. Die Dinosaur
  5. Love Is An Art
  6. Future Pain
  7. Back To Life
  8. Patience
  9. The Only Way To Love
  10. Salesman
  11. Miner’s Canary
  12. Break To Save [Bonus Track]

In a recent interview with Blueberry Hill, we got to hear a bit more about some of the songs. Vanessa described “Miner’s Canary” as a confessional song about “reckoning with toxic relationships.” Meanwhile, “Companion Star” focuses on relationships that last forever. “I Can’t Stay the Same,” on the other hand, describes “the relationship with the person staring back at us in the mirror, each and every morning.”

The album’s songs were partially inspired by philosopher Erich Fromm’s 1956 book, The Art of Loving. Vanessa co-wrote all the songs with singer-songwriter Tristen. Dave Fridmann served as producer on the album.

Tour Postponed

Vanessa had a two-legged North American tour planned for this spring. Unfortunately, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Vanessa has postponed the dates. No new dates have been announced yet, but a rescheduled tour is in the works, so stay tuned.

It’ll be worth the wait, because this will be the first time in a decade that Vanessa tours and performs with a full band. Yes, we’ll finally get to hear the songs as big as ever again!

More Vanessa Carlton News

Revisiting Vanessa’s Work

Vanessa Carlton’s last album, Liberman, came out in fall 2015. It launched stunning singles like “Blue Pool,” “Operator,” “House Of Seven Swords,” and “Nothing Where Something Used To Be.” Since then, Vanessa also released a few special albums and EPs. We got Liberman Live in 2016, followed by the Earlier Things Live EP in 2017. Then in 2018, Vanessa released six covers; you can now get them all in one package on vinyl.

Last year, Vanessa Carlton also moved into exciting new territory: Broadway! From June 27th through September 1st, Vanessa played Carole King in the Broadway musicalBeautiful – The Carole King Musical. Will musical theater continue to play a role in Vanessa’s future or influence her own music?


Love Is An Art is due out later this week on March 27th. Enjoy the preview of “Die Dinosaur” – as well as the other singles and live performances – and get ready for the full album. As we count down the days, catch up on all we know about the album so far here. As always, keep checking back here for all the latest Vanessa Carlton music news.

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