Album of the Month - February 2026

February 2026 has been rich in acoustic releases. New records from Mumford & Sons, Garrett Kato, Dave Thomas Junior, Iron & Wine and Tom Harrington made the choice anything but easy. Yet the album that stayed with me the most is Trouble Times by my favourite Netherlands-based artist, Will Knox.

I already said this in other occasions, but there’s also a personal reason. His concert in September 2022 at Cinetol was the first live show I attended after moving to the Netherlands; the beginning of a concert experience that continues to shape my life here. For that, I’m genuinely grateful.

Trouble Times is a fully analogue project recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by Will Knox himself in Haarlem. It was tracked to reel-to-reel tape and mastered directly to vinyl, embracing a deliberate hands-on process that mirrors the album’s human and urgent message. You can find more insights about this process on his website, it’s really interesting!

That said, the record contains eight tracks, presented with a sonic philosophy that values warmth, imperfection and intention over digital precision. As Knox himself describes it, it’s a protest album both in its lyrical content and in the way it was created. It’s a plea for humanity.

Instrumentally, the album is remarkably cohesive. Most songs are built on interlocking fingerpicked guitar patterns supported by a gentle pulse that quietly drives the rhythm. Some tracks feature distinctive riffs and moments where the guitar breathes more freely, but the overall aesthetic remains intimate and restrained.
The main exception is “Portugal”, the only track built around a clear strumming pattern. Another standout moment is “Wedding Song”, where an additional instrument, difficult to identify at first listen, frames the beginning and end of the piece.

Beyond Knox’s unmistakable voice, in my opinion, the album’s true signature element is his humming, present in every track except the title song. It becomes a second voice: wordless, reflective, and deeply human.

Me Without You

Built on a series of images that feel both mundane and devastating, the song portrays absence through everyday details: unfinished tasks, small domestic failures, quiet disorientation. The repeated metaphor of a house without a roof and a garden without roots captures emotional disconnection with striking simplicity. It’s a portrait of loss that never dramatizes itself; it just exists, quietly.

Making It Up As We Go

One of the album’s philosophical centres. The song reflects on uncertainty, mortality and the illusion of control. Its message is simple: nobody really knows what they’re doing, and life unfolds regardless of our readiness. There’s a calm acceptance in the writing, not resignation, but humility in the face of time.

Ashes

A meditation on unresolved goodbye and emotional aftermath. The lyrics move between memory and imagination, grief and avoidance. What resonates most is the tension between acceptance and resistance, wanting closure while refusing to confront the full weight of what happened.

Chess Club

A reflection on aging, fatherhood, drinking, and the strategies we invent to cope with life’s inevitabilities, like starting a chess club with some friends. The metaphor of chess suggests planning, control and foresight, yet the song ultimately acknowledges how little control we truly have, especially when thinking about the future of our children.

Trouble Times

The title track is also the emotional and thematic core of the album. I had the pleasure of hearing it live as a preview at Patronaat, and its impact remains powerful. I love the contrast between the warm, almost serene guitar mood and the gravity of the lyrics. The verses feel nearly spoken rather than sung, reinforcing the sense of urgency. The instrumental section is my second favourite moment of the album.
The song confronts modern anxiety directly: media distortion, division, environmental fear, responsibility toward future generations, all filtered through the intimate perspective of parenthood.

Wedding Song

A quiet reflection on commitment, time and shared growth. The lyrics focus not on celebration but on patience and on  the idea that love is something that unfolds slowly, something you grow into together. The mysterious additional instrument framing the track gives it a ceremonial atmosphere.

Portugal

Fourth single off the album and already featured among my favourite acoustic songs of January 2026, I’ll just share again the reel in which Will himself talks about the song!

Taxi

Musically, this song strongly recalls the atmosphere of Iron & Wine, not only in the guitar approach but also in the vocal harmonies. Yet Knox’s lyrical perspective gives it its own identity. The recurring motif of effort versus entitlement runs throughout the text. It’s a sharp commentary on value, responsibility and reciprocity.
The instrumental section here is definitely my favourite moment of the entire album.

With Trouble Times, Will Knox delivers an album that is cohesive not only in sound but in purpose. Its analogue production, intimate arrangements and human themes form a unified artistic statement. The songs do not aim to overwhelm, they invite reflection.

In a musical landscape often dominated by speed and polish, this album chooses presence and intention. And that choice, more than anything else, is what makes it resonate.