Charlotte Cornfield has shared “Lost Leader,” the track is off her forthcoming album Hurts Like Hell, out March 27th via Merge Records. Commenting on the track, Cornfield says: “This is a hard song. But I also think it’s a little bit funny. Tragicomic maybe? It’s about a tormented frontman character whose personal demons and poor behaviour are getting the best of him. The story is told in second person but there are two perspectives represented here: the struggling artist and the disappointed fan. Christian Lee Hutson sings the part of the ‘lost leader,’ and though he only has a few lines he delivers the hell out of them.”

Cornfield’s debut for Merge, Hurts Like Hell is the first she’s recorded since the birth of her daughter in 2023, an inflection point for her as a person and an artist. The album’s recurrent themes of personal growth and renewal, of love’s perseverance through difficulty and shame and awkwardness, are rooted there.

Hurts Like Hell is her most collaborative effort to date. Decamping to Philip Weinrobe’s (Adrianne Lenker, Lonnie Holley, Billie Marten) Sugar Mountain studio in January 2025, Cornfield was joined by a full backing band, including Palehound’s El Kempner (guitar/vocals), Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney (bass/vocals), Adam Brisbin (guitar/pedal steel), and Sean Mullins (drums), with key contributions by Núria Graham (piano), and Daniel Pencer (saxophone). Cornfield and Weinrobe then recruited Feist, Buck Meek, Hutson and Maia Friedman to sing on the album. “Every musician involved was a dream collaborator,” Cornfield says.

Kearney, Kempner, Evan Cartwright (Cola), and Nick Levine (Jodi, Great Grandpa) will join Cornfield on a Spring US tour.

Charlotte Cornfield 2026 Tour Dates

Tue. March 31 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records
Thu. April 2 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Sat. April 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble
Thu. April 9 – Toronto, CA @ Lula Lounge

Pre-order Hurts Like Hell by Charlotte Cornfield HERE