Della Mae – Magic Accident (Compass Records, 2026)
Della Mae returns with Magic Accident, the band’s first full-length album since 2021’s Family Reunion. The release highlights the group’s alluring and masterfully crafted vocals, tight ensemble work, and songwriting focus with a set of mostly original material.
Stylistically, the band amalgamates Americana-rooted songs, hard-driving bluegrass pieces, and more atmospheric indie-folk-leaning songs.
“Family Tree,” a leading new single, features band founder and fiddler Kimber Ludiker drawing on modal Appalachian fiddle tune ideas in a co-written effort with Della Mae guitarist Avril Smith and singer-songwriter Becky Warren. The song presents one of the album’s most bluegrass-forward moments, with Ludiker’s fiddle pushed along by producer Alison Brown on banjo. The lyrics explore generational trauma, with an emphasis on recognizing harmful patterns, living with their effect, and working to end them.
Formed in Boston in 2010, Della Mae has become a leading all-women ensemble in the American roots and bluegrass world. Their 2013 Rounder Records album This World Oft Can Be earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Bluegrass Album, and that same year the International Bluegrass Music Association named them Emerging Artist of the Year. The band has since performed in more than 30 countries, including appearances for the U.S. State Department, and has appeared at many of the major festivals on the U.S. roots music circuit.
About the new project, Della Mae says, “We are incredibly proud to share this album, produced by our hero Alison Brown. Magic Accident explores the complexity of being human and the drive to seize joy and possibility amid the sheer improbability of being here at all. Each of us contributed songs to this project — making it our most collaborative record to date — and it features co-writes with artists we’ve long admired.”
Magic Accident Track List:
- Magic Accident
- My Own Highway
- Family Tree
- I Compare Everyone To You
- Nothing At All
- Out Run ‘Em
- Lifeline
- Little Bird
- What You’re Looking For
- Takes All Kinds
Buy Magic Accident.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.