After four years away from solo work, 11-time GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is back with her eighth studio album, Returning To Myself, due October 24 via Interscope Records/Lost Highway. The album, her first solo project since collaborations with musical legends, sees Carlile looking inward, reflecting on her life, and embracing a deeply personal artistic vision.
The title track from Returning To Myself is out today, accompanied by an official music video directed by acclaimed filmmaker Floria Sigismondi. Fans can watch the video now here. The album is available for pre-order, featuring ten tracks that combine Carlile’s signature storytelling with contemporary sonic textures.
Produced by Carlile alongside Andrew Watt, Aaron Dessner, and Justin Vernon, the record also features longtime bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, SistaStrings (Monique and Chauntee Ross), and collaborators including Josh Klinghoffer, Chad Smith, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Mackay, Rob Moose, Blake Mills, Mark Isham, and Stewart Cole.
Reflecting on the process of creating the album, Carlile shares, “I’m not my favorite person to spend my time with. Returning to myself is not just a lonely, but a painfully boring thing to do… For me, the key to learning to ‘be alone’ is not being alone at all. It’s being alone in a crowded room… Togetherness has given me everything I love about being alive. Starting with my original family in a single-wide mobile home… to making music with my greatest hero, Elton John. Why is it heroic to untether, when the tense work of togetherness is so much more interesting? …because I don’t want to do it. Because I don’t want to return to myself. And that’s why I will.”
The album’s introspective themes are matched by Carlile’s deft musicianship, blending lush arrangements with her emotive vocals. Standout tracks include “Human,” “A
Woman Oversees,” and “Joni,” which nod to the influences of her musical heroes while charting a course that is unmistakably her own.
Carlile’s career has been defined by her ability to balance profound intimacy with broad collaboration. She has previously released eight studio albums, including Who Believes in Angels?, her critically acclaimed collaboration with Elton John that topped the U.K. charts and reached the U.S. top ten. Beyond her own recordings, Carlile is a respected producer, having worked on GRAMMY Award-winning projects for Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark, as well as contributing renditions of Indigo Girls’ “Closer To Fine” for Barbie The Album and her own recording of “Home” featured in the final season of Ted Lasso.
In January 2025, Carlile received her first Oscar nomination for Original Song for “Never Too Late,” co-written with Elton John, Bernie Taupin, and Andrew Watt, for the Disney+ documentary chronicling Elton’s life and career. She has also collaborated with The Highwomen, Soundgarden, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys, Hozier, Noah Kahan, Jacob Collier, P!nk, and Dolly Parton.
Carlile has consistently been recognized for her artistry and impact, earning accolades such as OUT Magazine’s 2023 “Icon of the Year,” Billboard’s Women In Music “Trailblazer Award,” CMT’s Next Women of Country “Impact Award,” and the NMPA 2023 Songwriter Icon Award, along with multiple honors from the Americana Music Association.
Beyond music, Carlile is a dedicated activist and founder of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised over $8 million to support grassroots causes. She resides in rural Washington State with her wife, Catherine, and their two daughters, Evangeline and Elijah.
As part of the album rollout, Carlile did a headline three sold-out shows at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, this weekend (September 5–7). Additional tour dates are expected to be announced soon.
Returning To Myself tracklist:
Returning To Myself
Human
A Woman Oversees
A War With Time
Anniversary
Church & State
Joni
You Without Me
No One Knows Us
A Long Goodbye
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