Flatland Cavalry expand their album Work Of Heart with five more songs

Flatland Cavalry recorded more than they released, and the rest is now getting its own edition. Work Of Heart - Heartstrings, a deluxe version of the band's fifth studio album, arrives on October 2 through Lost Highway with five extra songs.

The reason there was a surplus is straightforward. "We recorded 17 songs when we went into the studio to record Work Of Heart," frontman Cleto Cordero said, adding that splitting them between a standard record and a deluxe one was not easy and came down to instinct.

The title track of the expansion came from within the band rather than from a writing room. Pianist and multi-instrumentalist Adam Gallegos brought in the musical idea, and Cordero chased it down on a day off alongside Reid Dillon and Jason Albers. He described the result as a classic love song about following your heart through a relationship without worrying about anyone calling you foolish for it.

Strangers & Angels, one of the five additions, comes out on Friday, September 4 as the first taste of the deluxe. The full 17 song running order pulls in outside co-writers including Ryan Beaver, Aaron Eshuis, Luke Laird, Aaron Raitiere, Dwight Baker and Rodney Clawson, with Cordero on every track.

The timing sits inside a heavy touring stretch. The band open their run supporting Kacey Musgraves on the Middle of Nowhere Tour with two nights at Madison Square Garden, while their own Work of Heart Tour continues through the end of 2026 with five dates left on it.

Deluxe editions are frequently a way to restart a promotional cycle without new work, but the arithmetic here is different: the songs already existed, and the split was editorial rather than commercial. Flatland Cavalry have had a good year elsewhere too, joining the ACM Honors lineup alongside Sheryl Crow, while the tour they are supporting has had some dates pulled without explanation. More country releases are listed on the release calendar.