For nearly 15 years, since their earliest days as Boston's DIY indie troubadour, El Kempner has steadily grown their reputation for putting into words what audiences feel but struggle to say. Hailed as one of Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and renowned for their diaristic lyrical ability to spin universal yarns out of deeply personal moments, Kempner is operating at the peak of their talents on their fifth LP, You Sing Like You’re Joking, out February 5, 2027.

Showcasing their prowess for fretwork as it expands to include bass guitar, Kempner co-produced You Sing Like You’re Joking with Julian Fader (Ava Luna) + Katie Von Schleicher (Frankie Cosmos) which also features contributions from Nick Hakim. This new body of work finds Kempner surveying the tectonic shifts and successes in their life and career. And yet these achievements have been punctured by loss; much of the album grapples with fluctuating relationships.

The highly relatable lead single “Natural Disasters” is a stripped-down meditation on a grown-apart friendship amid climate catastrophes. “My basement is flooding, and your house is burning, and we're not talking,” Kempner sings. They further explain, “I was like, ‘Damn, the future is pretty doomy right now. Why can't we just get over it and get through this together?’”

The new song arrives alongside an official video directed by Rachel Brown (Water From Your Eyes) who shares, “I've been a huge fan of Palehound since the first record, so when El asked me to collaborate on a video, I was so honored. My main focus was to capture the idea of friendship and love as a memory. I think it's necessary to hold onto the joy you felt with someone, even if they are no longer in your present life, which I think the song paints so beautifully. I also wanted to present the concept of impending societal doom as something subtle and lonely. The gas mask was a direct reference to the nuclear war imagery of the 1960s. We planned the shoot before the forecast started talking about the nor'easter, but I figured that the weather was on theme, so we continued to shoot even with governmental warnings. Strangely enough, the weather was perfectly fine pretty much all day.”

Despite at times heavy subject matter, You Sing Like You’re Joking does not feel burdensome. In fact, quite the opposite: Kempner’s fifth album is a taut and jangly listening experience with a focus on the beauty of friendship and community. Over the last two years living in NYC, Kempner has formed bonds with fellow area musicians Cassandra Jenkins, Adrianne Lenker, Samia, and Annie DiRusso, most of whom appeared at Kempner’s completely sold out ‘You’re Joking!’ residency, which raised funds for the Immigrant Defense Project.

“In music, the relationships are so different,” Kempner observes. “Because we all have this major thing we connect on, and that is an amazing starting point of friendship.” They add, “I was so lucky to be raised in DIY. I feel like I've finally settled into something that feels stronger and fully formed.”