New Video: Black Marble Returns with Bouncy, New Order-like “It Always Comes To Me”

Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Black Marble creative mastermind Chris Stewart will be releasing his fifth Black Marble album, Life in Small Spaces through Sacred Bones Records on Friday. The album, which is Stewart’s first full-length album since 2021’s Fast Idol, is an album of clear-eyed commentary and analysis of the music industry as a whole, a discussion of authenticity and a heartfelt letter to all the independent creatives out in the world.

“I always knew a lot of people in music struggled to make ends meet, but it surprised me to learn that the people you thought would be doing well often weren’t. For me, seeing the business from the inside like that changed how I looked at things,” Stewart says. “When I looked up to see a new artist on a billboard, I started to wonder, ‘will I one day have to pretend to be something I’m not, in order to succeed?’ The life of an artist goes on after your moment ends, you know? So who do you want to be in the end and how do you want to be seen by the people that know you? I made Life In Small Spaces while thinking about that, and for me, it serves as my own ideal for living an artistic life. I’m doing it as a vocation, not some last-ditch effort to escape to some other world. I made this record not only as a way of saying that, but as a way of saying it’s ok to feel that way. It’s ok for people to sacrifice some degree of creature comfort in order to live a life you believe in. And it doesn’t have to be an endless search for something just out of reach, it can be a permanent way of being and something that sustains you.”

Drawing from early American left-of-the-dial “college radio” staccato guitar lines and live drum samples, the album’s material sees Stewart eschewing his usual wall of synths-driven sound for a more live sound. 

The album will include the previously released “Jim Carol New Year,” and “Anything,” and its last pre-album release single “It Always Comes To Me,” “It Always Comes To Me” continues a run of decidedly upbeat, hook-driven tunes while arguably being the most New Order-like songs I’ve heard so far. The song’s narrator is a roguish sort. who seemingly can get away with things others can’t through a mix of charm and deceit. But whether or not, the narrator is having fun with it all or is complaining about how easy it all is or has even acknowledged that at some point everyone’s luck runs out is ultimately up to the listener. And on some level, the song asks the listener, “if you can get away with it, would you?”

Directed by Claes Nordwall, the accompanying video for “It Always Comes To Me” follows Black Marble’s creative mastermind Chris Stewart as he roams around New York, riding the subway, over and under bridges, hanging out at various bars, playing impromptu games of basketball and pool. And throughout Stewart seems rather unconcerned about time — a rarity among New Yorkers.

Claes Nordwall says: “I was drawn to the idea of a character moving through the modern world on his own timeline. While everything around him races forward, he remains quietly rooted in who he is. I was inspired by Chris’s ideas behind the album which made me think of the dry stoicism of Aki Kaurismäki’s films. I wanted to make something that celebrates resilience, character and the beauty of refusing to chase the next thing.”

Stewart will be embarking on a tour to support the new album throughout August and September. The Serfs will be opening for the West Coast leg of the tour. The fantastic Public Circuit will be opening for the East Coast leg. Jimmy Cicero will also be an opener for a select number of shows. The tour includes a September 10, 2026 stop at Webster Hall. Check out the rest of the your dates below. 

Black Marble – TOUR DATES

* w/ The Serfs

# w/ Public Circuit

(and Jimmy Cicero for select shows)

Aug 22 Constellation Room at the Observatory Santa Ana, CA *

Aug 23 1720 Los Angeles (LA), CA *

Aug 25 Rickshaw Stop San Francisco, CA *

Aug 26 Harlow’s Sacramento, CA *

Aug 28 The Crocodile Seattle WA *

Aug 29 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR *

Aug 30 Shrine Social Club Boise, ID *

Aug 31 Urban Lounge Salt Lake City UT *

Sep 1 The Federal Theatre Denver CO #

Sep 3 Slowdown Omaha, NE #

Sep 4 Fine Line Minneapolis, MN #

Sep 5 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL #

Sep 6 El Club Detroit Detroit, MI #

Sep 7 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ON #

Sep 8 La Sala Rosa Montreal QC #

Sep 10 Webster Hall New York (NYC), NY #

Sep 11 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA #

Sep 12 Ottobar Baltimore, MD #

Sep 14 Kings Raleigh, NC #

Sep 15 The Earl Atlanta GA #

Sep 17 White Oak Music Hall – Upstairs Houston, TX #

Sep 18 Club Dada Dallas TX #

Sep 19 29th Street Ballroom Austin, TX #

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