Since a 2019 New York Times expose effectively “canceled” singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, his ambitious release plans were put on hold. Lately, he’s begun to slowly put those albums out on his own label PAX-AM. Big Colors was finally released in 2021, though it didn’t receive much fanfare – certainly not as much as past albums – and then earlier this year he released Chris, a double album. Today he has released a second album since the accusations were levied by artists like Karen Elson and his ex-wife Mandy Moore.
The new album is called Romeo & Juliet and like Big Colors, will be self-released on his PAX-AM label. The album won’t hit streaming services for another three weeks but it’s available today for early access through the PAX-AM website. You can head to the PAX-AM shop to download the album. The album clocks in at an impressive 19 tracks, which includes two bonus songs.
In an Instagram post he announces the new album’s release. He acknowledges having released a double album (Chris) but calls Romeo & Juliet a summer album so he’s releasing it because summer is on the way.
“I realize this is some pirate ship outlaw shit but these songs mean a lot to me – and the albums mean a lot to me,” said Adams in the Instagram post. “I realize not everybody will support me and PAXAM with the download, but if you want to – please know every download is a step towards the next album. We sail these high seas together.”
In another post he writes that Romeo & Juliet is probably the first summertime album he’s ever written on purpose. He adds that it’s like a “slightly mysterious” sister to his 2007 album Easy Tiger. The album is dedicated to his cat Theo, who died at some point following the writing and recording of the album. The post includes more notes about the album and Theo, which you can see below:
Romeo & Juliet track list
1. “Rollercoaster”
2. “In The Blue Of The Night”
3. “I Can’t Remember”
4. “Somethings Missing”
5. “Doylestown Girl”
6. “Romeo & Juliet”
7. “Anything”
8. “Rain In LA”
9. “Poor Connection”
10. “In the Meadow”
11. “Run”
12. “This Is Your House”
13. “At Home With The Animals”
14. “Earthquake”
15. “Hold Me Together”
16. “Losers”
17. “My Heaven”
18. “Theo is Dreaming”
19. “They Will Know Our Love”