Today Stereogum has premiered the Torey Hanson directed video for “Called You Queen” from Impossible Dream. Haley Bonar and Torey Hanson told Stereogum, “The video well describes the sentiment of the song in that the young girl cohabitates with the harsh realities of the world but never gives up her own “impossible dream.” In her world, she is free, she is loved by all, and most importantly, she loves herself. The excessive nature of the food and video game obsession also hints at the slightly grotesque anatomy of American culture, though the depiction of it in the video is lighthearted and cartoonish. The would-be alcoholics are as friendly and helpful as the characters Dorothy meets in the Wizard of Oz, which was a major inspiration behind the video, and we share her reality- whether she’s about to wake up or not.”
To say that Bonar’s career has been building towards that nod from a rock god, though, is to dismiss all the hard work she has done since she started releasing music in 2001. The 33-year-old singer/songwriter has been building a fanbase slowly and steadily, while remaining in complete control of her art. As with all of her prior albums, Bonar wrote and arranged all the songs on Impossible Dream. She also co-produced the record with Minneapolis mainstay Jacob Hanson. Chances are she’d be making this music even without the support of a label or her many fans around the world. But, just as the title of this new album suggests, she’s living out her wildest and most impossible dream right now.
“If somebody came to me as a teenager and said, ‘In 15 years, you’ll have made nine records and be touring the world,’ I would have been, like, ‘No way,’” she says, laughing. “It’s true that it might not look like a lot to some people, but it’s very special to me.”
Check out here tour dates below:
9.06 | Chicago, IL – Schubas
9.07 | Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
9.08 | Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
9.09 | Portsmouth, NH – Birdseye
9.10 | Portland, ME – SPACE
9.11 | Cambridge, MA – The Middle East
9.13 | Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
9.14 | Washington, DC – Black Cat
9.16 | Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
9.17 | Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
9.22 | Milwaukee, WI @ 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Presents at the Summerfest Grounds *
9.24 | Eau Claire, WI – The State Theater
10.13 | Hamburg, DE – Kleiner Donner
10.14 | Berlin, DE – Privatclub
10.15 | Munich, DE – Hauskonzerte.com
10.16 | Offenbach, DE – Hafen 2
10.17 | Amsterdam, DE – Paradiso
10.19 | Paris, FR – Espace B
10.21 | Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
10.22 | Gateshead, UK – The Sage ^
10.23 | Glasgow, UK – The Hug & Pint
10.24 | Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
10.27 | London, UK – Moth Club
10.28 | Bristol, UK – The Louisiana
10.29 | Manchester, UK – The Ritz ^
^ w/ Field Music
* w/ Big Thief