Catching up with Marcus King before Beaver Creek performance

At a time when wellness has become a more talked-about topic in the public sphere, Marcus King has made his own musical statement via the release of “Mood Swings,” his third solo outing.

The Rick Rubin-produced effort is full of songs drawing from a particularly dark time in King’s life. “This album really started before ‘Young Blood’ (2022), and when everything opened back up, it felt like there was some pressure to get back out and get to work,” King recalled in a late-April interview.

“‘Mood Swings’ was definitely not anywhere close to being done. The album is a journey and an experience for me and I hadn’t completed it. During that whole process of doing ‘Young Blood,’ I was really coming through a lot of substance abuse. I wasn’t entirely present when I was doing that record. When I look at that record retrospectively, I feel really detached from it. ‘Mood Swings’ is very much the truest representation of me being as honest as possible.”

Songs like the title cut, “Bipolar Love” and “Save Me,” find King delving deep into his psyche and past mental health wounds and Rubin played a key role in helping King navigate and complete the album.

“A big part of the record was trying to sample ourselves in a way,” King said. “Once we had all the basic tracks done, me and Rick could sit down with them. We went through everything and tried to strip it down to its truest, most vulnerable and most honest depictions of the songs.”

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With all the recording under his belt, King started the tour cycle with a run of shows with his eight-piece band. He’s currently doing a different sort of tour, playing acoustic with guitarist Drew Smithers in intimate club settings, bringing the duo to the intimate Vilar Performing Arts Center Jan. 24 in Beaver Creek.