The Weight of the Woods
About this Album
Dermot Kennedy’s third studio album, released April 3, 2026, on Interscope Records. Produced by Gabe Simon (known for his work with Noah Kahan and Lana Del Rey), the record was built across two locations: Nashville, where Kennedy and Simon first collaborated, and Ireland, where Simon subsequently spent six weeks embedded in Kennedy’s home environment near the Dublin-Kildare border.[5]
The album draws its central imagery from the forest behind Kennedy’s house, reflected in song titles such as “Sycamore” and in the album’s cover art, which shows Kennedy framed against a brooding treeline.[3] Kennedy has described feeling liberated by this project, freed from commercial pressures: “This album is so exciting to me, because I feel quite liberated from like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll do this, and maybe I’ll get this number one.’”[2]
Critical reception was mixed but respectful. Hot Press awarded it eight out of ten, calling it a “magnificent third album” and praising Kennedy’s return to a more folk-rooted sound after his stadium-oriented earlier records.[4] The Irish Times offered a more skeptical three-star review, describing it as “creakingly portentous” while nonetheless singling out individual tracks for genuine praise.[3] Darkus Magazine called it “a triumphant return to form.”[5]