The 'Hold Back The River' hitmaker recently released the track 'Up All Night' featuring Noah Kahan and the Lumineers, and has now confirmed that the follow-up to 2022's 'Leap' will be released on September 20th.
In a message sent to fans on his mailing list, James said: “I'm very happy to announce that my fourth album, Changes All The Time, will be released on September 20th!”
Making this album felt like I had my first taste of true musical freedom. With the help of Gabe (Simon, co-producer), I found the courage to create what I wanted to create in ways I'd never done before. It's a very hard thing to get there, but I'm really excited to release this music.”
In 2023, James released the songs “All My Broken Pieces” and “Goodbye Never Felt So Bad.”
James revealed early last year that he was in the early stages of writing his next album, which will feature more of his guitar playing.
The “Wild Love” hitmaker enjoyed playing acoustic guitar in a more raw way, like at open mic nights at the start of his career, but has since gone back to his roots.
He explained: “A lot of my heroes’ work was recorded in the first or second take, there was a carefree vibe. [nature]”'Let's just do it, express our emotions and move on to the next thing.' That's what I'm trying to do now.”
He continued in an interview with Guitar.com: “[Recording an album] A little at a time? I've done it a lot. I have a lot of respect for it, and it's worked for me in the past. But these days, I just stand in front of a microphone with an acoustic guitar, like I used to do at open mic nights. I'm just singing. No clicks or anything. It's just a performance. And it's fun! It's kind of liberating not to have to stress about the little things.”
James insisted that the lyrics and songs themselves are still important to him, but he is keen to improve his guitar skills.
He added: “I think I'm moving in a direction where I'm showcasing more guitar playing on my songs. So, [fans’ perceptions] It changes over time… but it depends on what the song means.
“For me, the song is still the most important thing: what the melody is doing, what the lyrics are saying, the performance and how I deliver the song. But I'm always on stage with a guitar, so in the studio, I'm trying to focus a little more on the guitar.”
The musician will also be embarking on the “Up All Night Tour.”
James will visit Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and London before performing his first UK arena headline show at the OVO Arena Wembley on February 13th.
Tickets will go on general sale from 10am on July 26th.
“Changes All The Time” tracklist:
“Up All Night” (with The Lumineers and Noah Kahan)
“Everburn”
'Hope'
“It's easy to get distracted”
'Speed Limit'
'talk'
“Heart of Despair”
'Some people'
'continue'
'Crystal Clear'
“Dogfight”