In 2019, the New York folk singer Joanna Sternberg released their wonderful debut album Then I Try Some More. Sternberg landed on our list of the Best New Bands Of 2019 and the album’s affecting lead single “This Is Not Who I Want To Be” was among my favorite songs from that year.

Today, Sternberg is announcing a new album, I’ve Got Me, featuring songs written during the pandemic and recorded with producer Matt Sweeney at Strange Weather Studios in Brooklyn. Lead single and title track “I’ve Got Me” is a pinched, powerful reminder to self: “Why is it so hard to be kind and gentle to myself?/ Take the box of self deprecation/ Lock it and put it on the shelf/ Then wait five days, take that box/ And throw it in the fire,” Sternberg sings.

“I do not remember if I wrote this song before or after reading the poem ‘Oh Yes’ by Charles Bukowski, but the song is definitely meant to reflect the same sentiment,” Sternberg said in a statement. “I also have the poem tattooed on my right arm!”

Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “I’ve Got Me”
02 “I Will Be With You”
03 “People Are Toys To You”
04 “Drifting On A Cloud”
05 “Mountains High”
06 “I’ll Make You Mine”
07 “Stockholm Syndrome”
08 “Right Here”
09 “The Love I Give”
10 “She Dreams”
11 “The Human Magnet Song”
12 “The Song”

LIVE DATES:
03/08 New York, NY @ Union Pool
03/14-17 Austin, TX @ SXSW
03/22 New York, NY @ Union Pool
03/29 New York, NY @ Union Pool
04/21 Boston, MA @ Cafe 939
04/22 Northampton, MA @ Bishop’s Lounge
04/27 Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong

I’ve Got Me is out 6/30 via Fat Possum.