Willem James Cowan Rebuilds From the Ground Up on Reflective New Album, What Should Happen Next?

Folk artist Willem James Cowan unveils his new album, What Should Happen Next?, an intimate collection exploring heartbreak, loss, new beginnings, and the uncertain process of rebuilding. Pairing vulnerable songwriting with a carefully pared-down blend of acoustic and electronic textures, the record emerged from a period of profound personal change and ultimately helped Willem arrive at a sound that feels more distinctly his own.

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The majority of the album was written after Willem left Toronto at the beginning of 2023 and moved back in with his parents in his hometown. He spent the following months writing constantly, processing the end of one chapter while trying to understand what might come next.

"The whole album deals with themes of heartbreak, loss, new beginnings, and trying to rebuild yourself from the ground up," Willem shares.

Those ideas come into sharp focus on the somber and self-reflective "Choke." Written in the immediate aftermath of a breakup, the song chronicles the emotional confusion of the first few days that followed with striking specificity. "Pretty much every lyric in this song is specific to what I was going through and the feelings I was experiencing and dealing with during that time."

Musically, "Choke" is representative of What Should Happen Next? as a whole, living somewhere between acoustic singer-songwriter intimacy and understated electronic experimentation. Largely programmed drums sit beneath layers of guitar created by recording each note of a chord individually, multiple times, before stacking them into what Willem calls a "pseudo-orchestra of guitar strings."

That attention to detail reflects the more deliberate approach behind the entire album. After feeling as though he was constantly catching up with himself while making his 2022 debut, Willem took his time with What Should Happen Next? Most of the drums were recorded in June 2025 before he spent roughly six months building out the remaining production from his apartment, with friends and collaborators helping round out its sound.

"I wanted this album to really feel like me," he says. "I pared down the production to make it feel as close and personal as possible, which I think I achieved in the end."