Rough Trade Records is thrilled to announce Tyler Ballgame’s stunning debut album For the First Time, Again, out January 30th, 2026. A bracing reminder of how great songs delivered by a gifted vocalist can move, captivate and inspire, it boasts 12 finely crafted tunes rooted in classic rock, indie and Americana. Ballgame’s infectious melodies draw the listener into a story, and his message of belief in one’s true self resonates deep and wide.
The album’s lead single, the rhapsodic Lennon-meets-Orbison ‘I Believe In Love’ is out today with a video by Ballgame’s friends and roommates Joey Casale and Victoria Gagnaire Stein. Recorded live, the song is the first one that Ballgame wrote explicitly knowing there would be a record and that it would change his life. “I had met [producer Jonathan] Rado and he told me to write the biggest song in the world, so I sat down at my kitchen table for two days and put the puzzle of the composition together. It’s turned into an anthem about love of love and the fools it makes,” he explains.
For the First Time, Again was recorded with acclaimed indie producer-multi-instrumentalists Jonathan Rado and Ryan Pollie. Known as unapologetic “analog fetishists,” Rado and Pollie shape the sonics of Ballgame’s work with propulsive acoustic guitar, soulful rhythms, colourful keyboards, occasional horns, and lush harmonies, all rendered with the same recording technology as in classic albums of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Drummer Amy Aileen Wood and bassist Wayne Whitaker contribute mightily to the pulse and character of the album.
Tyler Ballgame and his talented circle of fellow music-makers enthusiastically offer listeners songs to fill them with hope, acceptance, delirious happiness, and support for rough roads ahead. For healing to occur, Ballgame offers, “We need to dissolve into experience.” With its gorgeous melodies, wise invocations, irrepressible – and sometimes mischievous – generosity of spirit, and THAT VOICE, For the First Time Again is in itself an amazing experience.
Pre-order / pre-save For the First Time, Again here.
Stream / purchase ‘I Believe In Love’ here.
