Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, known for his role as co-vocalist and guitarist in the alt-country band Divorce, is embarking on a solo project under the name Book of Churches.
His debut album, also titled ‘Book of Churches’, is set for release on 6th March via Gravity / Capitol. The album’s lead single, ‘Song By A Stranger’, is available now.
Felix describes the creation process as “incredibly DIY” and “kind of naive.” Each track was written in a single day, recorded the next, before Richie Kennedy mixed the album.
Felix says of the new single, “Song by a Stranger is the first song on the record because in some ways it felt like the blueprint for how I wanted to make the album. I wrote a note in my phone whilst in the back of the van about a shaft of light falling like an arm across the seats in front of me. I got home for a couple of days off and wrote the song the night I arrived. The next day I recorded it and I didn’t touch it again until Richie Kennedy mixed it in late 2025.”
Discussing the album, he adds, “It feels a bit like a travelogue. In some ways, when I wrote these songs, I was talking to the person I was no longer in a relationship with – just saying hello. Sometimes, the songs were attempts at looking for a North Star that I could speak to. It’s this idea of how big the world is, and how precious those few connections that you have with people are, and how you can feel those so acutely across vast spaces and times. Book of Churches is basically a metaphor for how I felt making these songs. These songs are like my version of whatever church is.”
The tracklisting for ‘Book of Churches’ reads:
‘Song By A Stranger’
‘All The Good Things’
‘There You Go I Love You’
‘North Atlantic Ocean’
‘The Quiet Was A Heron’
‘I Lean’
‘Big Love’
‘Hard Dride’
‘Catalpa In The Sky’
‘Stones In Your Bag’
His dates read:
APRIL
23 The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, UK
25 The Castle, Manchester, UK
26 The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, UK
28 Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, UK
29 The Cube, Bristol, UK
30 St Pancras Old Church, London, UK
MAY
1 Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday 9th January.
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