|
The Reds, Pinks & Purples – the acclaimed indie pop project spearheaded by prolific San Francisco-based singer-songwriter and musician Glenn Donaldson – have shared their latest single, the chiming and hopeful “Worthy of Love,” available now via Fire Records. The track, which sees Donaldson dispelling heavy memories and heading for a world that’s nostalgic, intimate, and quietly expansive, heralds The Reds, Pinks & Purples’ eagerly awaited new album, Acknowledge Kindness, arriving Friday, April 24. Pre-orders/pre-saves are now available, including limited-edition Subconscious Window Pane, Dark Cloud, and Glass Fog vinyl variants.
“This album is probably about learning to live with your ghosts and trying to be alive in the present,” says Glenn Donaldson. ”There’s a certain kind of big-sounding record I aspire to make, like California by American Music Club or 16 Lovers Lane by The Go-Betweens, works that steer into the pain but become a transportational device for the listener.”
LISTEN TO “WORTHY OF LOVE”
PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE ACKNOWLEDGE KINDNESS
An emotional amalgamation of past, present , and possible futures in which Donaldson allows himself to look back with intent, sift through old feelings, and revisit moments that once carried a sting, Acknowledge Kindness also includes such singles as the gloriously idealistic “Heaven of Love,” available everywhere now. The track “puts a positive spin on the kind of bummed-out earworm Donaldson does so well,” wrote Brooklyn Vegan, while The Fire Note raved, “If you’ve followed Donaldson’s work at all, you already know the move. Big feelings wrapped in deceptively simple melodies. Songs that feel handwritten but somehow widescreen. ‘Heaven of Love’ leans into that sweet spot, floating on chiming guitars and open-hearted momentum while quietly wrestling with memory, loss, and the tricky act of staying present. It’s hopeful without being glossy and reflective without sinking under its own weight.”
Acknowledge Kindness further includes the gorgeously bittersweet “New Leaf,” available everywhere now alongside an official music video, directed by filmmaker/musician Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) and streaming now at YouTube. With Donaldson’s musings cushioned by a perpetual guitar line that effortlessly plucks at the heartstrings, “New Leaf” was met by critical applause from such publications as God is in the TV, which named it among their “Tracks of the Week,” writing, “As their latest single affirms, the San Franciscan agonized pop project of Glenn Donaldson remains as one of the masters of melancholic modern music.” “New Leaf” “feels like a turning point for The Reds, Pinks & Purples,” declared Raven Sings the Blues. “The jangles fade into the background, replaced by clouded atmospheres, the pluck of strings, and a soft cascade of keys. The anchor of resignation remains, a melancholy that pools in puddles at the base of the speakers. Among the tender anguish of “New Leaf,” Donaldson’s vocals still coat the soul in overcast curls. Can’t wait to see how the rest of the album unfolds.”
LISTEN TO “HEAVEN OF LOVE”
LISTEN TO “NEW LEAF”
WATCH "NEW LEAF" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
With each release, the Reds, Pinks & Purples continue to expand their universe of beautifully bruised pop, leaving an indelible mark on hearts across the world. Having written more than 200 songs and released nine albums in just six years, Glenn Donaldson has shaped a distinctive brand of emotional pop music built for the quiet hours and the restless mind. Donaldson makes unabashedly melodic indie pop in the late ‘80s mold, sketching out the simplest and sweetest of pop songs from the barest of elements: strummed guitar chords accented with occasional synth or Casio keyboard line, undercut by the gentle patter of a drum machine with lyrics so bitterly melancholy and mildly misanthropic they would be heartbreaking if the music itself wasn’t so appealing. His songs crystallize the tragic, self-mythologizing kingdoms of fortunate failures, misfit heroes, and humanity in all its romanticized wonder and woe.
Acknowledge Kindness now expands the Reds, Pinks & Purples’ emotional and sonic panorama, evolving naturally from the heavier, melancholic tones of previous releases. Underpinned by chiming acoustic guitars and achingly beautiful piano that seem to echo the act of remembrance itself, the mood feels more exposed and reflective, blossoming into lush dreamscapes with Donaldson’s ongoing world-building in songs and images both warmly nostalgic and strikingly original.
“I worked on this record for eight months,” Donaldson says, “trying to get the arrangements just right while keeping the feelings at the core of it; it became a stream of consciousness, inspired by pulling out terrible old journals, reading poetry paperbacks, listening to devastating records, walking through the park getting stoned while staring at flowers, and just trying to take it over the top in general.”
From its humble beginnings as a home recording project, the Reds, Pinks & Purples has recently blossomed into a sporadic live unit with tours on both sides of the Atlantic and appearances at Pitchfork Music Festival London and Woodsist Festival as well as support slots alongside indie legends such as Destroyer, Guided By Voices, and The Feelies. Additional dates will be announced soon.
# # #
THE REDS, PINKS & PURPLES
ACKNOWLEDGE KINDNESS
(Fire Records)
Release Date: Friday, April 24, 2026
| 
