American singer-songwriter Delaney Bailey will release her long-anticipated debut album Concave through AWAL on 21 January 2026, unveiling a deeply personal world where emotion, introspection, and cinematic soundscapes collide.
Bailey has built a fast-rising career on vulnerability, documenting heartbreak, confusion, and the darker corners of self-reflection with a voice that drifts between delicate ethereal falsetto and grounded emotional weight. Now 24, she arrives at her debut album already a streaming phenomenon, armed with hundreds of millions of plays and a growing reputation for turning intimate pain into immersive art.
Where painters carve emotional terrain with brushstrokes, Bailey does so with vocal layers, atmospheric production, and lyrical candour. She sees music and visual art as entwined, and Concave channels the romanticism era – a movement defined by nature’s power, raw sentiment, and rebellion against tradition.
“Paintings look like they have sound, and music sounds like it could be a painting,” Bailey has said, describing the album’s mission to build a world for listeners rather than just songs.
She leans into big emotional themes – grief, love, doubt, identity, and the question of motherhood – placing the human experience small against the vast storm inside. “I want the album to feel like the landscapes are the main character,” she explains.
Raised in Indiana as one of eight siblings, Bailey developed empathy early by observing emotions around her. Named after Jimmy Buffett’s daughter, she discovered music young, gravitating from the smooth tones of Norah Jones and Adele to the emotional intensity of My Chemical Romance and Pierce The Veil, and the indie textures of Nick Drake, Lorde, and Grizzly Bear.
In high school she trained in choir and theatre, sharpening the vocal control and harmonic sensibility that now define her layered style.
Her breakthrough came during university after a painful breakup pushed her into songwriting. Early demos caught fire online, and fan donations helped her buy her first proper recording setup. Her debut single Loving & Losing gained traction, followed by Coffee Stained Smile and her first EP This Is About You.
But it was j’s lullaby (darlin’ i’d wait for you) that made Bailey a viral name, crossing 128 million Spotify streams and landing among New York Times’ Best Songs of 2022. EPs in 2022, 2023 and 2024 further cemented her emotional lyricism and atmospheric style, culminating in the Chiaroscuro EP – named for the dramatic contrast between light and dark.
Following a period of personal loss, Bailey began writing Concave. The passing of her grandmother reignited her artistic drive, prompting her to explore grief, growth, and perspective through sonic depth and emotional clarity.
The album brings darker edge and experimental vocal production, echoing influences from Imogen Heap to 80s fantasy cinema, with nods to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.
Lead single Lion introduces a fiercer Bailey, built on pulsing electronic beats as she confronts expectations around womanhood and motherhood with raw honesty. “It’s one of my first angry songs,” she says.
Other key tracks include Wake Up, a stark look at depression and self-rescue, and Retainer, a moment of emotional clarity where anxiety meets healing.
Bailey describes Concave as a release, both literally and emotionally: “I’m moving forward. Letting this go is relief. I hope listeners feel seen.”
Delaney Bailey ‘Concave’ Tracklisting
How To
Nightshade
Wake Up
Far Away
Wound
Wither
Know
Retainer
Baby Dream
Concave
Lion
Concave is released 21 January 2026 via AWAL.
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