Singer-songwriter Jeff Slate has released “Heartbreak,” the first single from his upcoming studio album due in 2021.

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The song rides along a soulful groove, its feeling highlighting the tune’s nostalgic tones. “You gotta live life, like you’re gonna die / You gotta make choices, that will change your life,” Slate sings at one point, looking back at a romance that’s been let go. From there, he launches into the song’s chorus: “I took your love, I took everything / And in return I gave you nothing, but heartbreak.”

Written and recorded during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown - with virtual sessions held with musicians across the globe - the track sees Slate (a UCR contributor) collaborating with many recognizable rock veterans. Chief among them is Duff McKagan, the bassist for Guns N’ Roses. Other musicians on the track include guitarists Earl Slick (John Lennon, David Bowie) and Lee Harris (Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets), keyboardist Jordan Summers (The Wallflowers) and Paul Weller’s longtime drummer Ben Gordelier.

You can hear "Heartbreak" below.

“I’m incredibly proud of ‘Heartbreak,’” Slate said in a press release. “Everybody brought their absolute A-game to the sessions, and that was inspiring and humbling, considering the players involved. I dug deeper and reached higher on the song and in all the writing I’m doing now. It all feels like an exciting new direction.”

“I’ve worked with Jeff Slate for a long time, and when I heard the song, it was definitely all him,” added Slick. “As soon as I heard the track – and I only listened to it once or twice – I knew instinctively what to do. The song and the vibe were great, so it wasn’t me trying to fit myself into somebody else’s vision. And it sounds like a band, which is cool considering we were all over the world when we did our parts.”

 

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