Phil Collins' Face Value to get deluxe LP box set

Released in 1981, FACE VALUE was Phil Collins' first solo album, which is perhaps most famous for its revolutionary production, specifically the "gated reverb" drum sound that went on to define the sonic aesthetic of the 1980s. This is best heard on the centerpiece, "In the Air Tonight," which remains the most celebrated drum fill in rock history.

Collins incorporated the Phenix Horns (of Earth, Wind & Fire) on tracks like "I Missed Again." He also did an experimental cover of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." 

The album will be next of Phil's solo records to be released as a deluxe vinyl boxed set, featuring:

- A brand-new interview with Phil talking about the album
- Rare, stripped back performances of "In The Air Tonight" and "The Roof Is Leaking" from The Other Secret Policeman's Ball featuring Phil and guitarist Daryl Stuermer
- Two previously unreleased live performances from Perkins Palace in 1982 and Irvine Meadows in 1985
- An unreleased outtake of Phil's experimental cover of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows"
- An previously unreleased full version of "Over The Rainbow," of which there is an excerpt at the end of the original album

LP1 - Original Album

Side A:
1) In The Air Tonight
2) This Must Be Love
3) Behind The Lines
4) The Roof Is Leaking
5) Droned
6) Hand In Hand

Side B:
1) I Missed Again
2) You Know What I Mean
3) Thunder And Lightning
4) I’m Not Moving
5) If Leaving Me Is Easy
6) Tomorrow Never Knows

LP2

Side A:
1) Misunderstanding (Live)
2) If Leaving Me Is Easy (Live)
3) In The Air Tonight (Live)
4) Behind The Lines (Live)

Side B:
1) Hand In Hand (Live)
2) I Missed Again (Live)
3) …And So To F… (Live)

LP3

Side A:
1) In The Air Tonight (Live at Other Secret Policeman’s Ball)
2) The Roof Is Leaking (Live at Other Secret Policeman’s Ball)
3) This Must Be Love (Live, Irvine Meadows 1985)*
4) You Know What I Mean (Live, Perkins Palace 1982)*

Side B:
1) In The Air Tonight (Ben Liebrand Extended Version)
2) The Roof Is Leaking (Nicka’s Stella Polaris Interpretation)
3) Tomorrow Never Knows (Outtake)*
4) Over The Rainbow (Full Version)*

LP4

Side A:
1) The Roof Is Leaking (Demo)
2) This Must Be Love (Demo)
3) Please Don’t Ask (Demo)
4) Misunderstanding (Demo)
5) Against All Odds (Demo)

Side B:
1) Please Don’t Break My Heart (Demo)
2) If Leaving Me Is Easy (Demo)
3) I Missed Again (Demo)
4) In The Air Tonight (Demo)
5) Hand In Hand (Demo)

Ben Folds Five debut album to get expanded reissue treatment

'Ben Folds Five (30th Anniversary)' is slated for Sept. 4 via Capitol/UMe. Technically speaking, it arrives 31 years after the original August 8, 1995 release. 

The original self-titled debut album has been newly remastered and joined by the long awaited, fan requested unvaulting of the band’s shelved first attempt, only recently rediscovered on digital audio tape by Folds in his own personal archives and specially remastered for this release.

This first try of the album, produced by Dave “Stiff” Johnson, includes early, alternate versions of seven tracks from the album, a performance of “Evaporated,” which would ultimately be re-recorded for the band’s 1997 sophomore album, Whatever And Ever Amen, plus three rare outtakes that didn’t make the eponymous debut (“Emaline,” “Dick Holster” and “Eddie Walker”). The Shelved First Attempt is being previewed with the fan favorite track “Underground (Shelved First Attempt).” 

Formats include 2CD and 2LP on 180-gram black vinyl, while the remaster of the original album as well as the Shelved First Attempt will both be available to stream and download. A limited amount of 1,000 copies of the vinyl signed by all three band members will be available exclusively at uDiscoverMusic.com

Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now: https://benfoldsfive.lnk.to/benfoldsfive30thPR

“Here’s my 59-year-old self’s take on the album we made when I was 28: Overall, it’s good!” writes Ben Folds in the anniversary edition’s liner notes. “It’s NOT the kind of record you’d hear produced these days. It’s pretty rough and tumble, mostly in a good way. And it’s emphatically unique. It’s from an era when you could still identify a band by the instrumentalists, before you’d even hear the vocalist. I don’t think that’s been a thing since computers allowed us to get things just right.” 

He continues, “this first Ben Folds Five record doesn’t even TRY to do the things most might aspire to, with or without the technology, and that’s one of the first things I hear while listening. Many indie rockers of the 90s claimed to be raw and not care. We actually lived that, though it’s just not obvious because it’s based around piano and complex songs, which was an odd combo,” adding “for better or worse – wow. I’m hearing a record that really just puts it out there, and I’m glad we did all of that. It also probably stunted the potential for the record in terms of commercial appeal. Who knows? But I’m all for it, at least for this first album… The “and all” that, along with the warts, means it’s a real snapshot of a time period. That’s rare, so I give this album a thumbs up, and now I’ll go back to not listening to my own music.”

About the Shelved First Attempt, Folds writes: “The budget from Caroline Records, as I recall, was about $14k, all-in. We spent all of that in a proper three-week session in Philadelphia with a proper producer who had a few hits under his belt, and who gave us a great deal. This version of the album was shelved and never saw the light of day. We had taken the time we needed, and the advice of the very competent producer, but it resulted in an album that didn’t feel like us. I only recently happened to have found a cassette of this shelved album. It’s not bad, though I recall it being hideous… It’s just not crazy like the album we all know.”

The original lineup of Ben Folds Five – that is, Ben Folds (piano, vocals), Robert Sledge (bass), and Darren Jessee (drums) – will further commemorate the milestone anniversary of Ben Folds Five with a hugely anticipated series of live performances, their first run of shows together in more than 13 long years.

Track listing (CD): 

DISC 1 – BEN FOLDS FIVE (REMASTERED)

1. Jackson Cannery
2. Philosophy
3. Julianne
4. Where’s Summer B.?
5. Alice Childress
6. Underground
7. Sports & Wine
8. Uncle Walter
9. Best Imitation of Myself
10. Video
11. The Last Polka
12. Boxing

DISC 2 – BEN FOLDS FIVE (SHELVED FIRST ATTEMPT)

1. Underground
2. Julianne
3. Uncle Walter
4. Alice Childress
5. Evaporated
6. Dick Holster
7. Philosophy
8. Boxing
9. Emaline
10. The Last Polka
11. Eddie Walker

Thomas Dolby reforms The Lost Toy People to headline Totally Tubular Festival with a reunited The Producers, Escape Club, A Flock of Seagulls, more

photo: Hired Gun Media 

The 2026 TOTALLY TUBULAR FESTIVAL launches July 17 in Phoenix. The tour’s lineup features Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People, A Flock Of Seagulls, The Producers, Animotion, The Escape Club, and Tommy Tutone, plus Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow and Men Without Hats on select dates. 

This year’s festival will mark the first time Thomas Dolby & The Lost Toy People have performed together since 1988; their last show was at the Rose Bowl supporting Depeche Mode. This will also be the first time in over 25 years that The Producers (original lineup) will tour the US nationally coast to coast.

A newly reformed Lost Toy People, Dolby's backing band from 1986-89, joined the influential British singer/songwriter/keyboardist to record the multiple Grammy-nominated ALIENS ATE MY BUICK (his third album), which spawned such alternative radio hits as “Airhead,” “The Ability To Swing,” and “The Key To Her Ferrari.” Their Totally Tubular headlining set will feature most of the tracks from the album as well as Dolby’s greatest hits such as "She Blinded Me With Science," all played completely live with the full band.

The Lost Toy People lineup includes original guitarist Larry Treadwell and singer/percussionist Laura Creamer, plus Divinity Roxx on bass, Mat Hector on drums, and trombonist Ethan Santos. Other past LTP members make surprise cameos.

Tour dates:

7/17 - PHOENIX - CELEBRITY THEATRE*
7/19 - DENVER - MISSION BALLROOM*
7/22 - SAN FRANCISCO - THE CASTRO THEATRE*
7/23 - ANAHEIM - HOUSE OF BLUES*
7/24 – LOS ANGELES - HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM*
7/25 - LAS VEGAS - THE SAHARA LAS VEGAS @ THE POOL*
7/26 - SALT LAKE CITY - RED BUTTE GARDEN AMPHITHEATRE*
* = Anabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow

8/7 - WASHINGTON, DC - WARNER THEATRE^
8/8 - ATLANTIC CITY - ETESS ARENA @ HARD ROCK LIVE^
8/9 - NEW YORK - THE ROOFTOP @ PIER 17^
8/12 - ST PETERSBURG, FL - FERG'S CONCERT PAVILION^
8/14 - LOUISVILLE - IROQUOIS AMPHITHEATRE^
8/15 - HUBER HEIGHTS, OH - ROSE MUSIC CENTER AT THE HEIGHTS^
8/16 - AURORA, IL - RIVEREDGE PARK^

^ = Men Without Hats

The Stray Cats add a November-December leg to 2026 U.S. tour

The Stray Cats - all three original members Brian Setzer (guitar, vocals), Lee Rocker (upright bass, vocals), and Slim Jim Phantom (drums, vocals) - will follow their summer 2026 tour with a month of fall dates kicking off in November in Texas before wrapping in December in Connecticut. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 17 at 10:00 AM (local time).

BRIAN SETZER: "It's good to be healthy and strong again. There’s something about the unique sound of The Stray Cats that keeps drawing me in. The Gretsch guitar, the acoustic bass, and the stand-up drums still sound pure and fresh today. Come on out and have some fun with us this summer.”

LEE ROCKER: “The Stray Cats are back and ready to blast off! It’s an amazing feeling to join up with Brian and Slim, hit the stage and Rock across America. No one can do it like us Cats, …….nobody comes close.”

SLIM JIM PHANTOM: “With The Stray Cats, there’s always some extra magic around the summertime shows. It’s the perfect time for the Cats & Kittens to get dolled up, put the top down & cruise to the greatest Rockabilly show on earth!"

Last year, the multi-million selling band released two new tracks via Surfdog Records: “Stampede” and a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Teenage Heaven.” These songs mark the first new music in six years, listen HERE and pre-order 7-inch “old school” 45 RPM vinyl record, available July 24.

Both “Stampede” and “Teenage Heaven” were produced by The Stray Cats, mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, and recorded at The Terrarium in Minneapolis, MN & Laguna Sound in Laguna Beach, CA. “Stampede” was written by Brian Setzer, Peter B. Antonio, Wally Zober, Bert Salmirs, and Mike Himelstein, while “Teenage Heaven” was penned by Jerry Capehart and Eddie Cochran.

“Jim and I cut both songs in Minneapolis at Terrarium Studios,” Brian Setzer says. “‘Stampede’ was an instrumental that I wrote lyrics for. I basically copied the guitar part, which was pretty ahead of its time to begin with, and ‘Teenage Heaven’ is one of the few Eddie Cochran songs that has not been covered to death.”

“The recording of “Stampede” was a gas!” Slim Jim Phantom says. “We went to a studio in Minneapolis and I stayed with Brian—I had my own room this time, not three to a bed! The playing came very easy and I tried to come up with a drum part that conjured up the idea of a jailbreak. We’re doing a Bo Diddley Tom Tom beat that switches into a swing rhythm with a little punk rock for good luck.” He adds: “‘Teenage Heaven’ is a natural for The Stray Cats—it has always been one we wanted to do but hadn’t. Sir Mick Jagger suggested we do that one in 1980. It took a little while, but we listened to Mick! Eddie Cochran was the best rock star ever and has always been a big influence. He looked great, he played great, he sang great. He was way ahead of the curve with studio technique and left behind an unbelievably big catalog.”

“’Stampede’ has the drive and intensity that brings me back to our first album,” Lee Rocker says. “It’s got a direct line to ‘Runaway Boys’ and ‘Rumble in Brighton.’ ‘Teenage Heaven’ is a classic Eddie Cochran song that we put our Stay Cats magic on. The Cats are back and better than ever.”

Tour Dates:

Friday, July 24
Las Vegas, NV
The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan

Saturday, July 25
Phoenix, AZ
Celebrity Theatre

Sunday, July 26
Del Mar, CA
The Sound

Tuesday, July 28
Highland, CA
Yaamava'

Wednesday, July 29
Highland, CA
Yaamava'

Friday, July 31
Santa Rosa, CA
Luther Burbank Center

Saturday, August 1
Saratoga, CA
The Mountain Winery

Sunday, August 2
Wheatland, CA
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Tuesday, August 4
Sandy, UT
Sandy Amphitheatre

Wednesday, August 5
Colorado Springs, CO
Pike's Peak

Friday, August 7
Tulsa, OK
River Spirit Casino Resort

Saturday, August 8
Kansas City, MO
Uptown Theater

Monday, August 10
Huber Heights, OH
Rose Music Center

Tuesday, August 11
Interlochen, MI
Interlochen Center for the Arts

Wednesday, August 12
Northfield, OH
MGM Northfield Park

Friday, August 14
Westbury, NY
Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair

Saturday, August 15
Atlantic City, NJ
Ocean Casino Resort

Sunday, August 16
Morristown, NJ
Mayo Performing Arts Center

**Monday, November 9
Grand Prairie, TX
Texas Trust CU Theatre

**Tuesday, November 10
San Antonio, TX
Majestic Theatre

**Thursday, November 12
Sugar Land, TX
Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land

**Friday, November 13
Biloxi, MS
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino

**Sunday, November 15
Memphis, TN
Orpheum Theatre

**Tuesday, November 17
Louisville, KY
The Louisville Palace

**Wednesday, November 18
Nashville, TN
Ryman Auditorium

**Friday, November 20
Charlotte, NC
Ovens Auditorium

**Saturday, November 21
Danville, VA
Caesars Virginia

**Monday, November 23
Orlando, FL
Hard Rock Live Orlando

**Tuesday, November 24
Clearwater, FL
Ruth Eckerd Hall

**Wednesday, November 25
Jacksonville, FL
Florida Theatre

**Friday, November 27
Atlanta, GA
Fox Theatre

**Saturday, November 28
Cherokee, NC
Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort

**Sunday, November 29
Virginia Beach, VA
The Dome by Rutter Mills

**Tuesday, December 1
Red Bank, NJ
Count Basie Center for the Arts

**Wednesday, December 2
Greensburg, PA
The Palace Theatre

**Friday, December 4
Bethlehem, PA
The Wind Creek Event Center

**Sunday, December 6
Mashantucket, CT
Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino

**On Sale Friday, July 17 @ 10am local

The Jayhawks visit 'Sanctuary Park' in August

Slated for Aug. 28 via Thirty Tigers, The Jayhawks' new album, Sanctuary Park, is prefaced by the lead single, “Keeping Our Heads Above Water.” A fall North American tour is confirmed.

For Sanctuary Park, The Jayhawks reunited with the legendary Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed), who helmed 2000 album Smile. When he heard frontman Gary Louris was seeking a producer, Ezrin immediately signed on and invited the band to his hometown of Toronto to record. “I love their music,” says Ezrin. “There is gentleness and a sweetness to their sound, and I found myself craving a little bit more of that.“

A conscious decision was made to highlight Louris’s songwriting, the band’s three-part harmonies, and the interplay between Louris, keyboard player Karen Grotberg, drummer Tim O’Reagan and bassist Marc Perlman. 

“Get us in a room together and there’s no one better; we have a certain musical magic that happens without even a word or a discussion.” Playing live in the studio made this record what it is... a time, a place, music of the moment.

Listen to “Keeping Our Heads Above Water”

While the album title references an actual location in Dundas, Ontario, Sanctuary Park is also a fictional place where distant memories re-emerge, childhood friends from years prior start speaking again, and teenage lovers start lives that their older selves are determined to renew. In these songs the hands of time tick past regrets and move toward greater possibilities.

The album was recorded in Canada with a Canadian producer and Canadian engineers in a Canadian studio. Lyrically, there are numerous references specific to Canada. After marrying his wife Stephanie, a born and bred proud Canadian, Louris became a permanent resident, giving him a somewhat unique view and perspective that has contributed to the content of these songs. 

Sanctuary Park arrives as the Minneapolis band marks their 40th year - the self-titled first album was released in 1986 and helped shape today’s Americana movement. 

 

The Jayhawks will be touring throughout the world in the fall of 2026 and spring of 2027.

Pre-Order Sanctuary Park

Track list:

1. Keeping Our Heads Above Water
2. Kingston Girl
3. Mr. Lincoln
4. Hands Upon The Wheel
5. Leap Of Faith
6. American Midnight
7. Always And A Day
8. Sanctuary Park
9. Familiar Strangers
10. It'll Be All Right Tonight
11. Rowing The Boat

Tour Dates:

Sat. July 18 - Aitkin, MN @ Aitkin County Fairgrounds
Sat. Aug. 1 - Boone, NC @ Appalachian State University: Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
Thu. Aug. 6 - Fort Collins, CO @ Washington's
Fri. Aug. 7 - Steamboat Springs, CO @ Strings Music Pavilion
Sat. Aug. 8 - Boulder, CO @ Chautauqua Auditorium
Fri. Oct. 16 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sat. Oct. 17 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
Sun. Oct. 18 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall
Wed. Oct. 21 - Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
Thu. Oct. 22 - Glenside, PA @ Keswick Theatre
Fri. Oct. 23 - New York, NY @ The Town Hall
Sat. Oct. 24 - Boston, MA @ Boch Center - Shubert Theatre
Wed. Nov. 11 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
Thu. Nov. 12 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. Nov. 13 - Nashville, TN @ CMA Theater
Sat. Nov. 14 - St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
Tue. Nov. 17 - Lexington, KY @ Kentucky Theatre
Wed. Nov. 18 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
Thu. Nov. 19 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
Fri. Nov. 20 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Sat. Nov. 21 - Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre: Minneapolis
Wed. Dec. 2 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre
Fri. Dec. 4 - Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Sat. Dec. 5 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Tue. Dec. 8 - Grass Valley, CA @ The Center for the Arts
Wed. Dec. 9 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Fri. Dec. 11 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Sat. Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether

David Bowie reissue news

David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings, due Sept. 18 through Rhino/Parlophone, is a collection of tracks recorded by a nascent David Bowie, then Davie Jones, with legendary ‘60s producer Shel Talmy, best known for his groundbreaking hits with The Who and The Kinks.

The album features 10 previously unheard tracks on CD and digital, and six songs on LP, with contributions from legendary Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, then a guitar slinger for hire, and Nicky Hopkins, celebrated piano player for The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and Jeff Beck.

“I thought he absolutely was going to make it. The only unfortunate thing is that he and I were about six years ahead of the market” Shel Talmy, 2017

AVAILABLE ON CD, LP, & DIGITAL

1LP RED VINYL AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT DAVIDBOWIE.COM

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

LISTEN TO THE PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD I WANT YOUR LOVE NOW

As the musician and music historian Alec Palao writes in the sleeve notes that accompany the album, “David Bowie the artist is a book of chapters, the turn of each page delivering something completely different and unexpected from the last. And in perusal, a cardinal error would be to pit any of these episodes against the others, when in fact each fascinating phase in his career should be considered complementary. This collection, a primary chapter if not the very earliest instalment in David’s musical journey, deserves legitimate consideration. It is invariably tempting to search for clues in an artist’s tentative beginnings, and Bowie’s juvenilia has been dissected more than most, but this has rarely been done within the proper context. The sounds here should not be judged by the standards of his later career, but by the standards of what was happening in Britain at that precise point in time. In which case, they speak as loudly of the excitement of London and its music scene in that pivotal year of 1965 as they do for the launch of its brightest future star.”

Talmy signed David and the Manish Boys in December 1964 and set about recording them, but Bowie was already moving on, forming Davie Jones & The Lower Third. The majority of the recordings Bowie made with Talmy featured The Lower Third or were solo demos. Talmy’s studio of choice was invariably IBC in Portland Place, also a favourite of The Who, who later recorded Tommy there, and which he considered to have the best outboard gear in London. The up-and-coming Glyn Johns, later to work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and many more, was the engineer, and the producer had enough confidence in The Manish Boys to bring in just the one outside player. Jimmy Page was the precocious guitar-slinger Talmy used to supercharge the more anaemic of his acts, and in this period, the future Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin eminence would frequently bring along his new toy, a custom-built fuzz pedal, to add extra bite. For The Lower Third’s IBC session, Nicky Hopkins was featured on keyboards.

This year in Bowie’s career clearly held great importance to him; in 1973, when he recorded the ‘Pin-Ups’ album, it was very much a love letter to that time in his life and to the sound of the bands that had inspired him. No fewer than four titles on ‘Pin-Ups’ (by The Kinks, The Who and The Easybeats) were originally produced by Shel Talmy. Featured on this new collection are tracks such as ‘You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving’ and ‘Baby Loves That Way’, originally released as singles on Parlophone, that Bowie would return to later in his career, re-recording them with his Glastonbury band for the album ‘TOY’, which would finally be released in 2021.

By the end of September 1965, Davie Jones was now David Bowie, and he was once more writing another musical chapter, but the twenty-two songs featured here capture a very special time just before the ‘birth’ of David Bowie.

Track listing (CD)

You've Got A Habit Of Leaving (2026 Remaster)^
I Want Your Love *^
Cupid *^
I Pity The Fool (2026 Remaster)+
Baby Loves That Way (2026 Remaster)^
Keep Up With The Jones (Instrumental) *^
Leave Her To Me *^
I’ll Follow You^
You Gotta Tell Her (2026 Remaster)*^
Take My Tip (2026 Remaster)+
Certain Woman *^
Today (Demo) *-
I Want My Baby Back (Demo) (2026 Remaster)-
I Live In Dreams (Demo) *-
Bars Of The County Jail (Demo)-
That’s Where My Heart Is (Demo) (2026 Remaster)-
I Do Believe I Love You (Demo) *-
You’ve Got A Habit Of Leaving (Alternative overdub/vocal) (2026 Remaster)^
I Pity The Fool (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster)+
Baby Loves That Way (Alternative vocal take) *^
Take My Tip (Alternative vocal take) (2026 Remaster)+

*Previously Unreleased
^ Davie Jones & The Lower Third
+ The Manish Boys
- Davie Jones

All tracks produced by Shel Talmy
Mastered & Remastered in 2026 by John Webber

Davie Jones & The Lower Third
Phil Lancaster - Drums
Graham Rivens - Bass
Denis Taylor - Guitar
Les Mighall - Drums
David Bowie - Vocals & Harmonica

The Manish Boys

Mick White - Drums
John Watson - Bass
Johnny Flux - Guitar
Bob Solly - Organ
David Bowie - Vocals

Next month sees a new solo album by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James

Jim James' new solo album, Wowed Out, arrives via ATO Records on August 28. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now. The singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of My Morning Jacket’s first solo recording in eight years finds him transforming a vast archive of music originally composed for two major film-scoring projects in the early 2010s into a new work. 

The first single “Come Again” first surfaced from a cue James composed for a scene set in a teddy bear factory. An official music video, conceived and edited with analog videographic illusions by W.G. Rickel, is now streaming on YouTube.

“‘Come Again’ came from feeling discouraged by how much things are changing in directions I don’t agree with, but trying to remember that there’s still so much beauty to be experienced,” says Jim James. “You’ve got to just keep going and keep trying again and again and again to find joy.”

LISTEN TO “COME AGAIN”

WATCH “COME AGAIN” (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE WOWED OUT

The fifth solo LP from the Kentucky-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist was self-produced. It took shape in the fall of 2025 as he began sorting through a stash of recordings he’d created with his longtime friend, award-winning composer Brian Reitzell (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides).

"For years I kept returning to all this music we’d made and couldn’t figure out what to do with it,” James says. “But for some reason, last year everything started flowing in a really beautiful way.”

Mixed by James in collaboration with award winning engineer Emily Lazar (David Bowie, David Byrne, Beck), songs like “Lost Child” and “Hands On,” offer a statement against disillusionment, one that argues for tenderness as resistance, nature as refuge, and awe as a counterforce to dread and despair. 

“There’ve been times in my life where I’ve felt lost or depressed, but music has always been the thing that pulls me back,” Jim James says. “When I think about making this album, it almost feels like I was in some kind of dream and now I’m trying to remember what the dream was about. The whole thing brought me a lot of joy and comfort while I was making it, and I hope it brings everyone else a little joy and comfort too.”

Outside the acclaim, accolades and impressive album sales for My Morning Jacket, James has put out such solo efforts as 2013’s Regions Of Light And Sound Of God, 2016’s Eternally Even, 2017’s Tribute To 2, 2018’s Uniform Distortion (and its companion Uniform Clarity), and his 2019 collaboration with Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra, The Order Of Nature.

James has further established himself as a producer, helming records by Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dean Wareham, Basia Bulat, Eggy, and Ray Lamontagne’s Ouroboros. The artist has also found time to join forces with fellow artists on 2009’s Monsters of Folk, 2012’s New Multitudes, and 2014’s Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes. 

James’ ever-evolving list of credits also includes lending his voice to albums by The Roots, David Lynch Foundation, Brandi Carlile, M. Ward, Dr. Dog, and John Fogerty; appearing in director Todd Haynes’s 2007 Bob Dylan-inspired film, I’m Not There; and a 2016 alliance with NASA for the launch of their Mission Juno exploring the planet Jupiter. 

“We’re surrounded by all this technology that’s supposed to be so world-changing and amazing, but a lot of the time it just leaves people feeling disconnected,” Jim James says. “I really believe there’s another path through all this insanity, and it starts with putting down our phones, taking care of ourselves, being kind to other people. We need to be wowed by what’s actually real, like nature and love and music – these things that almost everyone has access to, and that still have the power to truly move us.”

Track listing:

Baby Dear
Hands On
Come Again
Lost Child
Home (Green)
We Love Our Life
Wowed Out
Whole Heart (Into It)
Rewind It
Your Door