Y’all probably know this by now, but not only do I enjoy writing about music, I also enjoy creating music! And lo! these past few months, Brother Clyde has been hard at work mixing and mastering my latest musical offerings, and the process is nearly complete!

Yeah, that’s right, it’s time for your annual Charlie Cottrell album release! Here’s the cover, followed by the track listing and some more rambling from me:

Anyway, the new album is called Beard Situation. Most of the songs on it are brand-spankin’ new!

1. Love in an Age of Disconnect
2. Somebody Talked
3. Bluffing
4. Dreams in Stereo
5. Boston Isn’t Ready for Me
6. Quicksand Hands
7. Sacre-Coeur
8. Sarifice
9. False Dmitry
10. When You’re Around
11. Turquoise Cuff
12. The Revengineers
13. The Ballad of Yes
14. Hidden Track – Weird Little Songs

I’m very excited about this album. It does include a few old tunes: “Dreams in Stereo” is the first song I ever wrote completely by myself, and I’ve been trying to get “Revengineers” onto an album for about a decade and a half. It also features two songs co-written with other people: Brother Clyde wrote the chorus for “Quicksand Hands,” while my friend Cristobel Opp wrote the lyrics for “Ballad of Yes.” The album also features an official Hidden Track, which is helpfully labeled as such because such things amuse me to no end.

So, when will it be available? Soonish! I have, like, two things to do on two songs, then Brother Clyde will finish mixing and begin the arduous mastering process (where he will listen to the songs more than any other person on earth, including me, trying to get the acoustic guitar to not drown out every other instrument). When that’s done, the album’s done, and we can send it out to all the streaming services. I’ll eventually get around to producing a physical version, too, for the three of you who still buy CDs.