Book of Churches announces self-titled debut album

Book of Churches follows Felix Mackenzie-Barrow‘s first album as co-vocalist and guitarist of Divorce, Drive to Goldenhammer, which dropped back in March. Mackenzie-Barrow’s solo endeavour as Book of Churches sees him “trusting his own singular voice” and “committing to the raw contents of his brain”. This also arrives with the announcement of a UK headline tour in the spring, with shows across Brighton, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, London, and Nottingham.

Commenting on the album, Felix Mackenzie-Barrow explains: “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.”

Speaking of the lead single, he continues: "’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."

Tracklist:

​​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