Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, co-vocalist and guitarist with breakthrough alt-country band Divorce, has announced his first solo project under the moniker Book of Churches. His self-titled debut album arrives March 6 via Gravity/Capitol, with lead single “Song By A Stranger” available now. The album represents a creative pivot for Mackenzie-Barrow, who describes the writing process as incredibly DIY and kind of naive, with each song written in one day, recorded the next, and left largely untouched until handed over to Richie Kennedy of Interpol and The Last Dinner Party fame for mixing. The timeless minimalism evokes the tradition of folk singer-songwriters like Nick Drake, Fionn Regan, and Leonard Cohen.
Mackenzie-Barrow snatched moments away in isolation throughout 2025, a year that saw Divorce win rave reviews, earn awards nominations, tour extensively across the UK, debut in Europe and North America, and land on major festival mainstages. The album charts lost love, dread, grief, and anger through songs that break his own creative rules while trusting his singular voice and committing to the raw contents of his brain. He describes “Song by a Stranger” as the blueprint for the album’s approach, written the night he arrived home from touring after noting a shaft of light falling like an arm across van seats in his phone, then recorded the following day and left untouched until Kennedy’s late 2025 mixing sessions. The record functions as a travelogue, with Mackenzie-Barrow speaking to a former partner, attempting to find a North Star across vast spaces and times, using the metaphor of churches to describe the precious connections people share.
Tour Dates:
April 23 – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton, UK April 25 – The Castle, Manchester, UK April 26 – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, UK April 28 – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, UK April 29 – The Cube, Bristol, UK April 30 – St Pancras Old Church, London, UK May 1 – Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK