Rayland Baxter details first album in 4 years, True Violet

Indie singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter is returning with his first album in four years. True Violet arrives October 23 via ATO Records, previewed by lead single "Better Man," which features backing vocals from Tyler Ballgame.

The years since Baxter's 2022 album If I Were A Butterfly were marked by heavy touring, difficult relationships, and the death of his father, Bucky Baxter, a multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Bob Dylan and as a member of Steve Earle and The Dukes. After returning to his quiet Tennessee hometown, Baxter found the stillness to confront emotions he says he had spent years avoiding.

Baxter said he spent a year writing alone before the songs took shape, crediting his sister for pushing him to write honestly about what he was feeling rather than avoid it. "It's very personal and bloody," he said of the results. "There are bruises and bite marks in these songs."

The album's title, True Violet, comes from blending "the reds of anger and the blues of sadness," and the record was co-produced by Nick Waterhouse and Paul Butler. Baxter described lead single "Better Man" as a song about "making it through the hard times and coming out the other side better than before."

True Violet's 11-track sequence, which includes songs like "Haymaker," "The Fool" and closer "Oh My Love," positions the album as Baxter's most emotionally direct work to date. The announcement lands in a busy stretch for rock and indie songwriters detailing new fall records, following The Wldlfe's Revolver and Neil Young's Second Song. Baxter has select tour dates booked through September ahead of the album's release, and fans can track its arrival alongside other fall releases in the release calendar.