It’s been 12 years since the great Bay Area band Girls broke up, and it’s been seven since former Girls frontman Christopher Owens and his post-Girls band Curls released their EP Vante. In the time since then, Owens has faced hard times, including a bad motorcycle accident, experiences with homelessness, and the 2020 death of his former Girls partner Chet “JR” White. Last month, Owens returned with “I Think About Heaven,” his first song in seven years. Now, he’s ready to announce a new solo album, his first since 2015’s Chrissybaby Forever.

Christopher Owens co-produced his new album I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair with Girls collaborator Doug Boehm, and fellow Girls collaborator Sandy Kim did all the album photography. The album marks Owens’ return to True Panther records, the label that released all of Girls’ music. Owens calls the album “a record about a journey back to the center of myself.” He continues:

In the second half of the Bible, Jesus asks “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” Lately, I’ve found it interesting to ask it in a different way. “What shall it profit a man, if he lose his whole world, and gain back his soul?” And I think the answer would have to be something like — The Kingdom Of Heaven.

“I Think About Heaven” is on I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair, and the album also includes the graceful, vulnerable opening track “No Good.” Along with the track, Owens has shared a solo-acoustic performance video of himself playing “No Good,” directed by indie filmmaker Rebekah Sherman-Myntti. Below, check out the song, the performance video, and the new LP’s tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 “No Good”
02 “Beautiful Horses”
03 “I Think About Heaven”
04 “White Flag”
05 “I Know”
06 “So”
07 “This Is My Guitar”
08 “Distant Drummer”
09 “Two Words”
10 “Do You Need A Friend”

I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair is out 10/18 on True Panther.