Wrabel - up up above (2026)

up up above is the expanded edition of Wrabel's third studio album, originally released on February 13, 2026 as up above via Big Gay Records and Nettwerk Music Group. The June 2026 version adds four tracks to the initial twelve and carries a new title, bringing the total to 16 songs in approximately 30 minutes.
The album's creative spark came from Annie Jacobsen's documentary reconstruction Nuclear War: A Scenario, which confronted Wrabel with the profound fragility of human existence in the face of global catastrophe. Shaken by the image of civilization reduced to dust at the push of a button, he composed the title track "up above" — originally called "Meteor Shower" — alongside longtime collaborator Drew Pearson. That song set the existential tone for the entire record, steering it toward a more abstract, dreamlike, and cinematic register than his previous album based on a true story (2023).
up above marks Wrabel's debut as co-producer: the project grew from pandemic-era experiments at his coffee table, where he began building rough demos independently for the first time. Austin Ward served as co-producer, while Damian Taylor — known for his work with Björk, Arcade Fire, and Frou Frou — handled mixing and challenged the team to find meaning in every note, synth layer, and vocal inflection. The sonic palette consciously references the lo-fi bedroom production aesthetic of the late 1990s, with Aqualung, Dan Black, Mr. Hudson, and Apparat cited as key touchstones.
Lyrically, Wrabel deliberately stepped away from the confessional narrative style of his earlier work, replacing autobiographical storytelling with fragmented imagery and philosophical inquiry. The album's emotional core is captured in a David Shrigley print hanging in his living room: "Flowers still bloom in spite of everything." Visual direction by photographer Dana Trippe (Janelle Monáe, Weyes Blood) translates this tension into post-apocalyptic dreamscapes — mushroom clouds, decaying landscapes, and Magritte-influenced surrealism — developed in close collaboration with the artist.
A series of pre-release singles — "future," "up above," "greener / garden," "surrender," "shape of my heart / sugar," "best thing," "keep your head up kid," and "move" — built anticipation throughout 2025 and early 2026, each mapping themes of love, hope, and the quiet intensity of fleeting moments.

Tracklist:
1. Wrabel - if all is lost
2. Wrabel - up above
3. Wrabel - greener
4. Wrabel - future
5. Wrabel - garden
6. Wrabel - best thing
7. Wrabel - birds & the bees
8. Wrabel - lights
9. Wrabel - keep your head up kid
10. Wrabel - surrender
11. Wrabel - sugar
12. Wrabel - and so it goes
13. Wrabel - shape of my heart
14. Wrabel - just like the sky
15. Wrabel - lack of you
16. Wrabel - move