To put it optimistically, the political climate of 2026 has given musicians plenty to write about. Yet Claud approached that idea from an even more optimistic place on a third album that seeks out the silver lining in an era of rampant anti-trans rhetoric, among plenty of other existential stressors. The title Me and the Music introduces an album made by a songwriter who’s clearly capable of shutting everything else out—if only for a moment—while the record’s first single “She Doesn’t Love Me” flipped the script on the doomy tenor of MAGA-era policy. “I love the community I have in America and find so much optimism in people being united in seeking progress,” Claud shared upon the track’s release, dedicating the song to that community. And while that title may seem like a downer, just know that the record opens with another pining cut titled “Gay Witchcraft.”
As Claud reveals below, that particular song title—named after a fairly self-explanatory book—was something of an inside joke among friends. Friendship continues to be a theme throughout the ensuing nine songs, with figures like Hank Heaven and Annie DiRusso joining the songwriter on certain tracks. Elsewhere, songs like “The Reach” and “I Owe You” approach romance from a much sweeter angle, and “I’m Too Sensitive” serves as something of a rallying cry for expressing big feelings rather than suppressing them. Claud also name drops Belle and Sebastian, Pavement, and their peer Hank Heaven as influences on a few of these songs, and credits reconnecting with producer Dan Nigro for helping to elevate a cut after the two teamed up on a couple of Super Monster era singles.
With the record out today, check out Claud’s full track-by-track breakdown of Me and the Music below. You can also purchase it here via Dead Oceans.
1. “Gay Witchcraft”
A desperate love song about turning to witchcraft and magic to make something work. The title comes from a book called Gay Witchcraft that my friends and I have repeatedly gifted to each other over the years.
2. “Just Kidding”
A love song about wanting to marry someone who gets all my jokes. My inspirations were Belle and Sebastian and Pavement.
3. “The Legend”
An angry ballad about something I should’ve known was never going to work. I wrote it with Dan Nigro, who I also made my songs “Soft Spot” and “Tommy” with.
4. “She Doesn’t Love Me”
A song I wrote with my friends Hank Heaven and Annie DiRusso about being trans and queer in the US and wishing it was a safer place, told from the POV of a toxic relationship.
5. “The Reach”
An epic synth-driven song about feeling like your relationship is just the greatest thing ever. It was really fun to play this song for my partner after I wrote it.
6. “Spells and Fortune Tellers”
One of my favorite songs on the album. My favorite songwriter is Hank Heaven, and we wrote this song together last fall. It’s the only song on the album I can listen to on repeat.
7. “I Owe You”
Aww. Kind of like “The Reach,” a profession of love.
8. “I’m Too Sensitive”
A song about people who make you feel embarrassed for having big feelings.
9. “Me and the Music”
Originally written as a ballad, it’s now a fun parade of instruments telling the story of always having music, even when I’m feeling down or blown off.
10. “Let’s End on a Good Note”
An attempt at closure. I wrote it in under an hour—it was by far the fastest I’ve ever written a song.
