The Trouble With Love

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s The Trouble With Love was released October 23, 2026, through Journeyman Records. Produced by Kevin Shirley, its ten tracks broaden her blues-rock foundation with soul, Americana, gospel, and melodic pop, keeping her husky vocals and expressive guitar playing at the center. Its connecting theme is self-possession: romantic disappointment sits alongside friendship, independence, and the effort to maintain an identity beyond other people’s expectations. Guest appearances from Joe Bonamassa and Orianthi supply spirited guitar exchanges, but the emphasis remains on songwriting and arrangement rather than extended instrumental display. Shirley’s full-bodied production gives the stylistic shifts a consistent sound, allowing Taylor’s increasingly assured singing to carry as much emotional weight as her solos.

The opening title track pairs Taylor with Bonamassa for a driving blues-rock exchange, while “Hell or High Water” builds its determination around a stripped-down, gospel-inflected stomp. Her interpretation of Celeste’s “This Is Who I Am” expands from delicate piano into a cinematic ballad, contrasting with the organ-warmed Americana of “Tired of Being Right.” “What Good Is My Love?” features Orianthi and places the frustration of unreturned affection inside an upbeat pop-rock arrangement, while “Never Gonna Please ’Em All” turns a heavy riff into a rejection of contradictory expectations. “You and Me (Rachel’s Song),” written for Taylor’s best friend, offers a reassuring alternative to the record’s troubled romances before “Death Wish” closes with a gradual rise from melancholy atmosphere to pounding release. Those contrasts make love a broader subject than heartbreak alone: dependable friendship and self-respect become just as important as attraction and loss.