Eric Jerardi‘s eleventh studio album, The Game, arrives October 30, 2026, on Alternator Records and Niche Records, distributed through Sony’s The Orchard. It was produced by Michael James (Robben Ford, Edwin McCain, New Radicals), who also plays guitar and keys, with Eric Colvin on piano, bass, and drums, and featuring the Muscle Shoals backing vocals of Cindy and Marie.
The record grew out of a dare: a friend challenged Jerardi to write twelve songs in twelve weeks. Every Wednesday morning brought a text with a phrase that had to appear verbatim in that week’s song — miss the deadline, pay a fine. The result is raw, lean, and unfiltered, confronting real losses (his father, his brother, two close friends) with unflinching honesty. As Jerardi put it: “The point wasn’t to make everything perfect. The point was to tell the truth before I could talk myself out of it.”
It’s a successful project, and the process eliminated the possibility of overthinking any aspect of the songwriting, resulting in a vital exploration of emotional life. Plus, the guitar work is exceptional. Recommended.
Track by Track
I Don’t Belong with You — Wastes no time: the chorus lands early and hard, hooking the listener before they’ve even settled in.
Setting Sun — Opens stripped-back and spare, letting silence talk before building layer by layer into something fuller and more urgent. The guitar work throughout is particularly satisfying — tasteful, unhurried phrasing that serves the song.
A Man Ain’t a Man Until His Father Dies — Doesn’t just describe grief, it reaches a truth; if you’ve lived it, you recognize it instantly.
Unexpected Connections — A chorus vocal that captures your ear and pulls at your heart: warm, inviting, and impossible to shake.
Hard Being Here — Tells it like it is, no dressing it up. Helps develop a theme running through the whole record: a deep caring for relationships at its heart.
Thorns & Roses — All atmosphere; the mood does the heavy lifting before a single lyric registers.
Count on You — Carries its optimism right into the sound itself, a reassuring vibe matching the promise in the title.
Your Birthday — Introspective and confessional, with Jerardi’s lead vocals intertwining with the chorus vocals in real conversation.
Lies and Truth — Pulls the album back into rock territory: a collection of micro-explosions.
Dig Down Deep — Yet more proof Jerardi is the master of this form; the rhythm section carves a pathway the instrumentalists simply slide through.
Light Danced Through Your Window — The album going deeper still, like a therapy session cutting closer to the chase, yet always carrying a sense of impending healing.
When Nature Speaks — The closer: a celebration, a declaration of acceptance, with just a lovely feel to fade out on.
