Remi Wolf’s Mud Album: A Gritty, Emotional Sonic Sidestep

Remi Wolf’s Mud album trades party-ready funk for raw guitars, recovery, heartbreak, and songs that hit with surprising emotional force.

A New Chapter With Mud Under Its Fingernails

Remi Wolf has never been afraid of color, chaos, or a chorus that makes you want to dance in your kitchen. With her third album, though, she is stepping somewhere heavier: into heartbreak, sobriety, self-reckoning, and the wonderfully messy space between feeling lost and finding your way home.

After the funk-powered alt-pop of Juno and Big Ideas, the Mud album takes a more stripped-back, guitar-led route. Wolf wanted the songs to work without a mountain of studio polish—to land just as powerfully around a campfire as they do through headphones at midnight.

“My first goal was that I wanted to be able to play every song on an acoustic guitar around a campfire, and it still hit you in the gut. And because of that, the songs just ended up feeling more confident.”

That shift came after years spent touring through most of her 20s. By the end of that stretch, Wolf said she felt a disconnect between the music she performed onstage and what was really happening inside her. The bright, high-energy songs still worked in a room full of people, but she was feeling tired, untethered, and emotionally stuck.

A painful breakup added another layer. So did the feelings she had not yet processed. Rather than dodge them, Wolf decided to write directly from that uncomfortable place.

Friends, Guitars, and a Record That Felt Like Home

The emotional nature of the album also shaped the way it was made. Wolf surrounded herself with people she trusted, including longtime collaborator Jared Solomon, close friend Jack DeMeo, and her friend and sister-in-law Gigi Grombacher.

Making the record with friends mattered. Wolf has described Mud as a “very cleansing record,” and the process seems to have been as important as the finished songs. She wanted to heal, but she did not want to do it in isolation.

“I wanted to write songs about the way I was feeling, and I needed to heal. I wanted to do that surrounded by people that felt like home to me, because I’m happiest when I’m with my friends, playing guitar and singing together.”

There is a lovely full-circle feeling in that idea. The album deals with loneliness and disconnection, yet it was built through community—people gathered around instruments, voices, and the kind of creative trust that lets an artist be unguarded.

“Because I made this album surrounded by people that made me feel really comfortable, it never felt difficult. It only felt natural. Now that people are starting to hear the songs though, I’m realising that I have put some big feelings out there.”

The Roots Behind the Sound

Before entering the studio, Wolf looked toward artists whose music carries a sense of earth, grain, and emotional weight. Her inspirations included Lucinda Williams, Kurt Vile, America, Paul McCartney, Wings, and Neil Young.

Once she began recording at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, that instinct became even clearer. The songs moved toward acoustic guitar, gritty electric guitar, and arrangements that feel grounded rather than glossy.

“There’s a lot of acoustic guitar on the record, and a lot of gritty electric guitar.”

The music may be less overtly party-driven than her earlier work, but this is not a total reinvention. Wolf’s personality still runs through the material. She is simply turning the volume down on the distractions so the emotional details can come forward.

And she wrote—a lot. Around 130 songs were created during the process, partly because Wolf wanted every track to have its own identity.

“I have ADHD so I never want any song to feel too similar to another, and I hate redundancy.”

The final selections had to meet two very specific emotional standards. They needed to feel “emotionally muddy,” while also delivering what Wolf and her collaborators call “SpongeBob Ascendance”—a playful reference to the internet image of SpongeBob floating toward heaven because a song sounds so good.

“If a song didn’t have both of those feelings attached to it, we didn’t put it on the album. It’s the muddy SpongeBob record.”

That might be the most Remi Wolf description imaginable: sad, funny, oddly spiritual, and slightly surreal all at once.

What “Mud” Really Represents

The album’s title became clear when Wolf wrote “Covered In Mud,” a song she considers the thesis for the entire project. The metaphor is straightforward at first: mud is sticky, dirty, awkward, and difficult to move through. But it also carries a sense of freedom.

Think of getting caught in the rain at a festival. Shoes ruined, clothes splattered, and social rules temporarily abandoned. At a certain point, there is nothing left to protect. You simply laugh, get messy, and keep moving.

“About halfway through the album process, I wrote the song ‘Covered In Mud’, which felt like the thesis of everything I wanted this album to be. It did feel like I was working through this emotional sludge.”

For her, mud also has a cleansing quality. It comes from the earth, contains minerals, and is associated with baths and exfoliation. You get dirty before you feel refreshed.

That became a powerful image for the writing process. Wolf was purging feelings that had been sitting quietly inside her for a long time. By the time the album was finished, she felt changed.

“This album really healed me in a lot of ways.”

Heartbreak, Addiction, and Finding Home in Yourself

Lyrically, Mud grows from a breakup, but the story reaches beyond romantic loss. Wolf also writes about being on the road, feeling detached from her body, and struggling to feel at home in her own life after spending so much time away.

“I was processing a break-up, so there’s a lot of yearning and longing. I was also feeling kind of down on myself.”

The album also addresses addiction and the shame surrounding it. Wolf has been on a long sobriety journey since she was 23, and she described touring as a particularly difficult environment. Performing every night, being constantly observed, and having to project confidence in front of crowds became overwhelming.

Alcohol, she said, became a way to push through those intense experiences. Before writing much of the album, she got sober again. Songs including “Bottle,” “Champagne,” and “Wine Drunk” explore the realization that she was finished drinking.

Learning to Be Present

Wolf said she is now in a strong place with her recovery and devoted serious attention to her mental health while making the record. That work did not weaken her creativity. Instead, she believes it helped her make the album more honestly.

“I went crazy on my mental health self-care [while making this album], which is so necessary. There are artists who get scared about taking care of their mental health because they think it will impact their music in a negative way. But it has only impacted me in the most positive way possible.”

Her description of living sober is characteristically blunt and vivid:

“Raw dogging the hell out of life can be tough at times, but it’s also beautiful to be present.”

That presence comes through in the songs. There is less emotional camouflage, especially on “I Won’t Cry” and “Guess,” two tracks Wolf identifies as especially vulnerable.

“I don’t know if I feel brave, but I feel proud of myself for going there. In all of my music, I’ve always tried to be the most honest I could be at the time, and this time around, there was a lot to be honest about.”

Fans Are Hearing Something Deeper

Wolf had already released “Twiggy,” “Bottle,” and “I Won’t Cry,” and the response surprised her. In the past, she felt people often connected with her music as the soundtrack to getting ready for a night out with friends.

This time, listeners seem to be meeting the songs somewhere more personal.

“It seems like people are really resonating with these songs in a way that maybe I haven’t experienced before. These new songs are really resonating on a deep, emotional level.”

That reaction brought relief, because changing direction always carries risk. Wolf described the record as a “sonic sidestep,” acknowledging that there is fear in asking listeners to grow with you.

“I felt like I was growing up when making this record, and the hope is that people will grow with you. So far, so good.”

The album’s emotional center is ultimately generous. Wolf hopes listeners will use these songs during their highs, lows, breakups, and triumphs—the full untidy playlist of being alive.

From the Studio to the Screen

Wolf also stepped into acting with a cameo in the romantic drama Off Campus. She had not known the book series before receiving the offer, so she asked her younger sister for advice. Her sister, who had read the entire series, encouraged her to take the opportunity.

A month later, Wolf was filming in Vancouver with the cast. It was her first television set, but the experience reminded her of touring because everyone had to move together with precision.

“I’d never been on a television set before, but it reminded me of touring because everyone moves like one organism.”

The cast made the experience welcoming, and the response after the show’s release was much bigger than she expected. Since she played herself, Wolf described the part as relatively easy, but the experience opened her up to doing more television work.

Her dream, however, is a little more animated: she would love to voice a character in a Pixar movie. Still, if another real-life camera opportunity comes along, she is ready.

Could Hayley Williams Appear on a Future Song?

Wolf premiered “Twiggy” by performing it live with Hayley Williams, and the experience clearly left her wanting more. A studio collaboration is not confirmed, but Wolf would be thrilled if it happened.

“I’d fucking love to. She is just an absolute beast and a queen. She’s so talented and the literal nicest person ever.”

The two singers also share a taste for big, full-throated performances. Wolf loves singing with Williams because both are comfortable belting hard and loud—something she describes as a rare bond among performers who are “screaming our fucking heads off every night.”

For now, both artists remain busy touring. Wolf believes a collaboration could come together once they are spending more time in Nashville or Los Angeles rather than living out of suitcases.

A Record Made for the Messy Middle

The Mud album sounds like a turning point for Wolf—not because she has abandoned her playful instincts, but because she is letting the heavier parts of life stand beside them. The result promises acoustic warmth, rough-edged guitars, emotional honesty, and a little bit of surreal SpongeBob energy for good measure.

Remi Wolf’s new album Mud is scheduled for release on Friday, October 9.

The beauty of Mud is that it does not pretend healing is tidy. Sometimes you have to walk through the sludge, make something loud and honest from it, and trust that someone else will recognize themselves in the mess. Which Remi Wolf song would you want soundtracking your next emotional reset?

FAQ

• What is Remi Wolf’s Mud album about? Mud explores heartbreak, sobriety, addiction, touring, mental health, and the process of finding a sense of home within yourself.
• Why is the album called Mud? The title reflects Wolf’s idea of moving through emotional sludge while also finding freedom and renewal in getting messy. She compares the process to getting dirty before becoming clean and refreshed.
• How is Mud different from Remi Wolf’s earlier albums? The album takes a more guitar-led and emotionally raw direction. Wolf wanted every song to work on acoustic guitar while still making a powerful impact.
• Which songs from Mud address sobriety? “Bottle,” “Champagne,” and “Wine Drunk” deal with Wolf’s experience of coming to terms with alcohol use and deciding to stop drinking.
• Will Remi Wolf collaborate with Hayley Williams? Wolf said she would love to record with Williams. Nothing is confirmed, but both artists have discussed the possibility while balancing their touring schedules.

If Mud speaks to your love of honest, guitar-driven music, you can bring that feeling home with a favorite album cover poster from Architeg Prints. It is a warm way to keep a little sonic inspiration on your wall.