Keith Urban is heading for smoother waters than anyone might’ve expected. The four-time Grammy-winner has announced his 13th studio album, Flow State, due June 12 via MCA Records, and instead of doubling down on arena-ready country-pop, he’s diving headfirst into yacht rock. Yes, yacht rock.
The project finds Urban reworking a suite of breezy soft-rock staples (Ambrosia’s “How Much I Feel,” Player’s “Baby Come Back” and Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away”) alongside a lone original, “We Go Back,” featuring the genre’s patron saint, Michael McDonald. Additional guests include Little Big Town and John Mayer, both of whom slot neatly into the album’s laid-back aesthetic.
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Urban previewed the pivot today (April 29) with the release of the McDonald-assisted “We Go Back” and a featherlight take on Seals and Crofts’ “Summer Breeze.” The project was produced by Urban alongside longtime collaborator Dann Huff at his Nashville studio.
“The origins of this kind of music was, in certain ways, a reaction and an antidote to the stresses of the times,” says Urban, who also included fellow Australians the Little River Band on the album. “Its sole mission (and soul mission) is unchanged — to bring us together and remind us that life is happening NOW — the eternal now — and we have far more in common than not. I hope wherever you hear this album you can feel the exhale, comfort and optimism these songs were originally written by and for.”
Urban is slated to pop up tonight for a surprise show at The Mil at Cannery Hall in Nashville, with tickets only available at the box office. He’ll also headline the ACM Next Wave: Country’s Beach Bash during ACM Awards Week in Las Vegas on May 16, and will return to CMA Fest on June 5 at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
Here is the track list for Flow State:
1. Steal Away
2. Baby Come Back
3. Magnet and Steel (ft. Little Big Town)
4. Just the Two of Us
5. On and On
6. We Go Back (ft. Michael McDonald)
7. Help Is On Its Way
8. How Much I Feel
9. Summer Breeze
10. I Just Wanna Stop
11. Guitar Man (ft. John Mayer)
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
