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Happiness Bastards, released March 15, 2024, was The Black Crowes’ tenth studio album and their first album of original music in 15 years. The band’s next studio album, A Pound of Feathers, arrived on March 13, 2026, so the 15-year description applies to the gap before Happiness Bastards, not to the band’s entire period since.
What was The Black Crowes’ first album in 15 years?
The album was Happiness Bastards. The Black Crowes announced it on January 11, 2024, as their tenth studio album and a return to original music after a 15-year gap. It was released March 15, 2024. The band’s announcement described the gap as the time since its previous album of original music; the figure is the band’s own framing. The Black Crowes’ announcement also places the album after the brothers’ 2019 reunion. Read the album announcement.
The 15 years refer to the wait for new original material before Happiness Bastards, not an absence of all band activity or releases. In 2026, the band released A Pound of Feathers, its next studio album.
How did the brothers describe their break?
In a March 2024 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Chris and Rich Robinson reflected on their time apart. Rich said that distance helped them see their relationship and the band’s history from a broader perspective: “And then you get away, and you can have more of a 10,000-foot view of what just happened.” Chris put it more simply: “We needed that break.” These are the brothers’ own retrospective explanations, not an exhaustive account of why the band split. The Howard Stern Show’s interview coverage has their comments.
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Who made Happiness Bastards?
Chris and Rich Robinson recorded with longtime bassist Sven Pipien and producer Jay Joyce in early 2023. The band said the album followed its 2019 reunion and extensive touring—more than 150 shows across 20 countries, according to its announcement. The band presented the record as a return to its roots; that is its own description rather than an independent critical assessment. The official announcement provides the lineup, timing and touring context.
What followed Happiness Bastards?
A Pound of Feathers is The Black Crowes’ follow-up studio album. Released March 13, 2026, through Silver Arrow Records, it was produced by Jay Joyce, recorded in Nashville, and contains 11 tracks. The band says Chris and Rich Robinson wrote the album together. Its official announcement also says Happiness Bastards received a nomination for the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album; it does not claim a win.
The two albums mark different stages in the reunited band’s work:
| Album | Release and context | Recording or creative approach |
|---|---|---|
| Happiness Bastards | March 15, 2024; a return to original music after the 15-year gap described by the band. | Recorded in early 2023 with Jay Joyce, Chris and Rich Robinson, and Sven Pipien. The band connected it to the 2019 reunion and subsequent touring. |
| A Pound of Feathers | March 13, 2026; the next studio album after Happiness Bastards. | Recorded in Nashville with Jay Joyce. The brothers described a quicker, more exploratory process that used the studio as a writing tool. |
The dates, personnel and process descriptions come from the band’s 2024 announcement, its 2026 announcement and Loudwire’s interview coverage. The table distinguishes the records’ context and stated methods; it does not rank their quality.
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- Guitar Recorded Versions
- Pages: 136
- Instrumentation: Guitar
A faster, more exploratory follow-up
Chris Robinson said the band made A Pound of Feathers “in eight to ten days.” Rich described beginning with basic ideas and developing them in the room rather than arriving with every arrangement fully planned: “We kind of went in with these basic things, but used the studio more as a writing tool instead of having everything more pre-planned.” Chris characterized the process as instinctive, while Rich called it transformative. Those terms reflect the musicians’ own accounts. The Rich Robinson quote appears in Loudwire’s interview; Chris’s recording-time comment is in the official album announcement.
The band describes A Pound of Feathers as a continuation of Happiness Bastards, but the recording approach changed: the brothers used the studio to develop material as they went. Louder identified “Profane Prophecy” and “Pharmacy Chronicles” as the first two songs released alongside the 2026 album announcement, describing the former as a strutting rocker and the latter as a more relaxed country-gospel song. Those sonic descriptions are the publication’s characterization. Louder’s coverage gives its account of the early singles.
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- Band Merchandise design. Authentic Licensed Bravado The Black Crowes Merchandise
- Legal and Official The Black Crowes Merchandise in partnership with Bravado International Group, a Universal Music Group Company; 2022
- Lightweight, Classic fit, Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
Rank #4
- Black Crowes merchandise design. Authentic Licensed Bravado Black Crowes Merchandise
- Legal and Official The Black Crowes Merchandise in partnership with Bravado International Group, a Universal Music Group Company; 2021
- Lightweight, Classic fit, Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
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