Told Slant 'What's Up' Album Out September 4

Told Slant, the project of Felix Walworth, releases their fourth album What's Up as a full-length on September 4, 2026 via MTN Laurel Recording Co. It is their first album since Point the Flashlight and Walk in 2020 and the first new Told Slant record in six years.

Two singles are already out: "Manhattan" and "Draw Blood." The full album is available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.

What Is on the What's Up Album and Who Made It

What's Up is a ten-track record. The full track list is: "Real Love," "Manhattan," "What's Up," "Rain of God," "Sailor," "Draw Blood," "Three Anchovies," "I am a Singer," "Marcie Come Home," and "Hold You Down."

The album was recorded to an eight-track reel-to-reel machine in a makeshift studio the band built upstate for a month, making it the first mostly-analog Told Slant record. Drums, bass, and guitar were tracked by Walworth alongside Hannah Pruzinsky and Jonnie Baker, with all three sharing arrangement credits. Additional performances came from Ceci Sturman, Hellen Ballentine, Emily Sprague, Mari Rubio, and Elijah Wolf. The press release does not name a mixing or mastering engineer.

Thematically, the album centers on New York City: watching a hometown change, the cost of committing to an independent music life, and grief. Walworth frames it as the record that follows the survival mode documented on earlier albums. "What's up here is kind of just one inflection of many what's up's on the record," Walworth says in the release. "There's also what happened to my home, where is god, and why am I suffering."

"Manhattan" is the album's most immediate entry point, built around a single riff as a chorus, with Walworth asking what happened to the city they grew up in. The writing was partly shaped by pandemic-era photo walks Walworth took through Washington Square Park, Tompkins Square, and the blocks around Delancey Street, documenting what was gone. "Every single place was gone," Walworth recalled. "The diner where I would get a two dollar bagel on a plate or a 75 cent buttered roll. Even the park that I would go to and drink in was under construction."

"Draw Blood" opens with imagery of deli coffee cups and describes the city as "a casino" and "a mass grave." The eight-minute album track "Rain of God" is a trance-style meditation. "I am a Singer" is described in the release as "atonal dance music about the horrors of being an artist." The title track is the album's quietest moment: Walworth singing in a whisper about the moments after learning a close friend had died. "I texted her just this morning," they sing. "I texted her just to say what's up."

The band name Told Slant is a reference to an Emily Dickinson line about telling truth at an angle. Walworth has been recording under the name since 2012. The prior three albums are Still Water (2012), Going By (2016), and Point the Flashlight and Walk (2020). Walworth has also toured as a member of or alongside Florist, Bellows, and Gabby's World, and came up playing antifolk sets at venues including the old Shea Stadium and Silent Barn in New York. They play standing over a stripped-down drum kit, a setup that has been a signature of their live show throughout the project's run. The drum set itself was a gift from their father, who played it as a member of Thurston Moore's late 1970s band the Coachmen.

When Told Slant Tours the UK in November 2026

Told Slant has three tour dates confirmed for November 2026, all in the United Kingdom:, November 3: Brighton, UK at DUST, November 4: Bristol, UK at The Croft, November 5: London, UK at Pitchfork Music Festival at MOTH Club

No North American or Los Angeles dates are listed in the release. Check the [Something Dope events calendar](/events) for any updates if that changes.

What Independent Artists Can Take From This Campaign

The What's Up rollout is worth paying attention to if you are an independent artist navigating a long release gap. Walworth is six years out from their last album and is leading with a clear narrative hook, two singles, and a UK festival slot that broadens reach without requiring a full tour budget. The analog recording choice, the collaborator credits with named performers, and the specific biographical context in the press release all give music writers something to build a story around beyond the music itself. If you are working on your own press materials, the way this release anchors the album to a very specific place and emotional situation is a strong model. You do not need a major label story to have a real one. [Submit your own release to Something Dope](/submit) if you are putting out independent work this fall.