Ben Harper explores the space between love, dependence and self-reliance on his moving new song, “Uneven Days.” The spare ballad finds Harper singing over heavy piano chords as strings swell up alongside, leading the track to an apex where distant percussion echoes across the negative space. “Love is pain in reverse,” Harper sings, “Uneven days pin me to the floor/Uneven days I try to find the door/Uneven days.”
“The song ‘Uneven Days’ attempts to explore the depths of how dependent we can become on other people for our own sense of wholeness and stability,” Harper said in a statement. “The only thing more hazardous than oversimplifying relationships is over complicating them. Love and surrender are synonyms. Even if I remove love from the equation, mental health and day-to-day perspective, maintenance is a razors edge. Maybe acknowledging the unavoidable uneven day, or uneven days, helps avoid uneven months or even years.”
“Uneven Days” also arrives with a Scot Keenan-directed music video in which a trio of dancers deftly translate the tensions in the song into movement. Kristin Sudekis choreographed the video, which stars Jacob “Seven Feet” Melvin, Rachel Warren and Nicole Morris.
“Uneven Days” marks Harper’s first song as a solo artist since his 2016 album with the Innocent Criminals, Call It What It Is. Last year, he partnered with harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite for a new album, No Mercy In This Land, while this year he produced Mavis Staples’ latest LP, We Get By.
Harper and the Innocent Criminals are in the midst of a European tour and they’ll kick off a North American run with Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue August 11th in Park City, Utah.