Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts Release New Album ‘Second Song’

Neil Young and his backing band the Chrome Hearts released their new studio album, ‘Second Song,’ on September 18, 2026 through Reprise Records. The record marks the 80-year-old singer-songwriter’s second full-length collaboration with the Chrome Hearts, following 2025’s ‘Talkin to the Trees.’

‘Second Song’ pairs freshly written material about aging and Young’s marriage to actress Daryl Hannah with two songs he first attempted decades before either album existed. The seven-track set was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California, with production credited to Lou Adler alongside the Volume Dealers, the production name used by Young and longtime collaborator Niko Bolas.

• Backing band on the album: drummer Anthony LeGerfo, bassist Corey McCormick, guitarist Micah Nelson and keyboardist Spooner Oldham
• Recording location: Shangri-La Studios, Malibu, California
• Producers: Lou Adler and the Volume Dealers (Neil Young and Niko Bolas)
• The Chrome Hearts released a separate live double album, ‘As Time Explodes,’ in April 2026, roughly three months before ‘Second Song’

Neil Young ‘Second Song’ Track Listing

1. The Foggy Edge of Time
2. Day After Day
3. Earth Girl
4. Second Song
5. Casting Me Away From You
6. Soon I Might Be Going
7. I’ll Love You Forever

How Old Songs Ended Up on the New Album

Five of the album’s seven songs are entirely new, but two revive material Young wrote in the 1960s and never previously released in these forms. ‘Casting Me Away From You’ traces back to a version Young worked on in 1965, while ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ began as a recording with his early band the Squires in 1964 before surfacing later on the 2009 archival release ‘The Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972.’

On ‘Second Song,’ ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ has been reshaped into a love song addressed to Daryl Hannah, the actress Young has been married to since 2018. ‘Earth Girl’ likewise centers on his feelings for Hannah, continuing a romantic thread that runs through much of the record.

What ‘Soon I Might Be Going’ Is About

The album’s longest track, the more than nine-minute ‘Soon I Might Be Going,’ touches on Donald Trump’s renovations to the White House alongside more personal subject matter. A review in the Guardian describes the song as also addressing Young’s estrangement from his daughter, Amber Jean, noting that his tone there is more sorrowful and pleading than the more irritated approach he took to the same subject on ‘Talkin to the Trees.’

Writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, reviewing the album, quoted Young singing on the track: “If I’m not here to see it, doesn’t mean it’s gone away.”

Where ‘Second Song’ Fits in Neil Young’s Catalogue

Outlets covering the release don’t agree on exactly where ‘Second Song’ lands in Young’s overall body of work. Ultimate Classic Rock and DRG News each describe it as his 44th studio album, Exclaim! puts his total catalogue at 46 titles, and Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s review calls it “by some counts” his fiftieth solo studio album. What is consistent across the coverage is that ‘Second Song’ is specifically the second studio record Young has made with the Chrome Hearts as his backing band.

More Info

• neil young and the chrome hearts Get to the Core of the Man Himself on ‘Second Song’ | exclaim.ca
• Neil Young’s ‘Second Song’ Centers on Time and Reflection: Review | drgnews.com
• Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts, Second Song | sterlewine.substack.com
• Neil Young’s ‘Second Song’ Centers on Time and Reflection: Review | Ultimate Classic Rock
• Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts: Second Song review – shaky album occasionally strikes gold | theguardian.com
• Neil Young + The Chrome Hearts Preview ‘Second Song’ LP Sept. 18 | rockcellarmagazine.com