Pokey LaFarge doesn’t make music for algorithms — and on his new single “Rent Money,” he makes sure you know it. The iconoclastic American troubadour has returned with the tub-thumping title track from his eagerly awaited new LP, Rent Money, arriving September 11 via LaFarge’s own Boxer Boy Records. Pre-orders and pre-saves are live now.

Despite its buoyant bounce and exuberant spirit, “Rent Money” is a song with calloused hands. LaFarge digs into the bone-deep ache of working hard in hard times — the kind of hustle that doesn’t always pay the bills, practically or spiritually. “‘Rent Money’ is a little bit more of a tougher tune,” LaFarge says, “but it’s not going to totally bum you out. It’s just a classic country blues song. The good lord giveth and Uncle Sam taketh away.”

The accompanying official music video — directed by Jacob Butler (LA LOM, Paul Cauthen) — premieres today and is the perfect visual companion to the track’s swinging, twangy spirit.

Watch the official music video for “Rent Money” here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Pokey+LaFarge+Rent+Money+official+music+video

Produced by Elliot Bergman (Wild Belle, LA LOM, Natalie Bergman), Rent Money finds the Illinois native once again gleefully smashing genre fences — urban blues, primal rock ‘n’ roll, early jazz, ragtime, first wave reggae, boogie, gospel and electric country funk all get a seat at the table. Songs like “The Thing” and “My Baby Loves Me” swing and soar, their joyous refrains masking the kitchen-table worry of these troubled times. It might just be his finest collection to date.

“People are always going to tell you what they think you should play,” LaFarge says, “what you should sing about, how you should sound, how you should look, how you should act. And I’ve always just been like, nah. Nope. I’ve just completely gone my own way, and hopefully I’ve been honest and authentic in the process. I’m just trying to make music that AI can’t replicate. Things are so homogenized right now. That’s what I’m really, really, really resistant to, especially when it comes to music. I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to conform.”

RENT MONEY — TRACKLIST
1. The Thing
2. My Baby Loves Me
3. Hambone
4. Rent Money
5. Stick Together
6. Work
7. Stranger
8. Can’t Take it With You
9. Told You No
10. Big Boss Man
11. On and On

LaFarge will introduce fans old and new to Rent Money on an epic North American headline run featuring full-band performances and solo shows. The tour kicks off July 23 at Maquoketa, IA’s Codfish Hollow Barnstormers and rolls across the continent through a holiday-season finale December 19 at Los Angeles’ historic Lodge Room. Highlights include Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, New York’s Sony Hall, Toronto’s The Concert Hall, San Francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 Club, and Seattle’s Neptune Theatre. Full dates and tickets are available at pokeylafarge.net/tour.

Pre-order/pre-save Rent Money now, mark September 11 on the calendar, and grab a ticket before this one sells out near you. In a world racing toward homogenization, Pokey LaFarge remains gloriously, defiantly himself — and Rent Money sounds like the receipts.