Carly Simon returns with a new collection of original songs—Comes in Waves—due August 14, ending a long stretch without fresh LP material. The project reunites her with longtime collaborators, features contributions from family, and includes one of the final recordings by the late John Forté, giving the release both personal and historical weight.
Simon has kept a relatively low profile musically in recent years, appearing occasionally onstage or as a guest but not issuing new original albums since 2008. Her most recent record activity was the 2009 set of reworked material, which revisited older songs in stripped-down arrangements. Comes in Waves marks a deliberate return to new songwriting.
The album was shaped alongside producer and co-writer David Spencer. Several guests appear across the songs, including Simon’s children Ben and Sally Taylor, and longtime studio allies Paul Samwell‑Smith and Frank Filipetti. The record also contains one of the last recorded contributions from producer and rapper John Forté, whose friendship with Simon included her involvement in helping secure his early release from prison in 2008.
Simon has described the lead single as a piece that channels raw feeling before it eases into resolution. The song opens in outrage over broken trust and then moves toward a place of release and reconciliation—a trajectory she says reflects moments when anger must be voiced in order to let go.
Why this matters now: the album offers listeners a new chapter from a major voice of singer‑songwriter folk-pop, and it arrives at a time when many legacy artists are reassessing their catalogs and creative priorities. For long-time fans, the record is a chance to hear Simon writing from a later-life perspective; for younger listeners, it’s an entry point to a distinctive catalog that has shaped decades of songwriting.
Comes in Waves — track list
- 01 Howl
- 02 Maybe I Never Loved You
- 03 Peaches
- 04 Love Has No Ending
- 05 Mother of Pearl
- 06 Slowly
- 07 Four in the Morning
- 08 The More I Look for You
- 09 Love the Way I Do
- 10 The Father Daughter Dance
- 11 Share the End
- 12 Do It Anyway
Contributors of note
- David Spencer — co-writer and producer
- John Forté — one of his final recorded appearances
- Ben Taylor and Sally Taylor — Simon’s children (guest performances)
- Paul Samwell‑Smith and Frank Filipetti — longtime collaborators
“Howl,” the album’s opening single, has been released ahead of the full record and previews the emotional tone Simon intends to explore throughout the collection. The full album arrives August 14 on streaming platforms and physical formats, offering both a reunion with an established artist and a small, pointed addition to her late-career legacy.
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