Paul McCartney – Egypt Station

Amagansett rock legend Paul McCartney is releasing a new album, Egypt Station, this fall. Sharing a title with one of his paintings, the record is McCartney’s first full album of all new music since his 2013 hit NEW.

While Egypt Station won’t drop until September 7, 2018, two of its 14 tracks were just released as double A-sides: a ballad, “I Don’t Know,” and the foot-stomping, hand-clapping “Come On To Me.” Both songs are available for download and can be heard via lyric videos on McCartney’s YouTube channel (watch “Come to Me” above and “I Don’t Know” below).

Egypt Station was recorded between Los Angeles, and London and Sussex in England. Greg Kurstin—who famously worked with Adele, Beck and the Foo Fighters—produced 13 tracks, and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder produced one.

Explaining his album’s title in his PaulMcCartney.com newsletter, the former Beatle says, “I liked the words ‘Egypt Station.’ It reminded me of the ‘album’ albums we used to make,” adding, “‘Egypt Station’ starts off at the station on the first song and then each song is like a different station. So it gave us some idea to base all the songs around that. I think of it as a dream location that the music emanates from.”

True to his description, McCartney’s record delivers a “travelogue vibe,” sending listeners from one song to the next—all between the opening and closing instrumentals, “Station I” and “Station II.” Other tunes on this ride include an “acoustic meditation on present day contentedness” called “Happy With You,” the anthemic “People Want Peace,” and the seven-minute closer “Despite Repeated Warnings.”