At a Glance
- Nat & Alex Wolff release their self-titled third album Friday, January 16
- The 13-track project confronts childhood stardom, breakups and long-buried trauma
- Billie Eilish co-wrote and produced lo-fi track “Soft Kissing Hour” in a single-night session
- Why it matters: The brothers call the record their most honest collaboration yet, merging two decades of life in the spotlight
Nearly twenty years after The Naked Brothers Band made them Nickelodeon fixtures, Nat and Alex Wolff have turned their hardest memories into their most personal collection of songs. The siblings’ new album, Nat & Alex Wolff, arrives Friday and revisits everything from playground bullies to adult heartbreak.
From Child Stars to Confessional Songwriters
Growing up on camera gave the New York-raised brothers an early taste of fame-and its costs. Nat, 31, remembers fans crowding outside his middle school and the discomfort of being recognized before he understood his own identity. Those experiences, once buried, now fuel the album’s lyrics.
The project follows 2023’s Table for Two, a release that left the duo feeling they still had “a lot of things left unsaid.” Months of touring, including opening slots on Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft North American run, gave them space to reflect. When they reconvened, they scrapped old rules and wrote everything together, erasing the “Nat song vs. Alex song” divide that shaped earlier work.
Inside the 13 Tracks
Producer Tone Def oversaw the bulk of recording, with additional touches from Sachi DiSerafino, Dirty Dave and Danes Blood. Songs were written over several years, then revisited and reshaped until the final track list clicked.
- “Jack” became a single in September 2025 after dozens of mixes; Alex still teases Nat about the endless email chain.
- “Soft Kissing Hour” was born at 2 a.m. in Eilish’s living room with one mic, one guitar and her dog Shark snoring in the background.
- “I Can’t Hurt You Anymore” was so painful for Nat that he avoided listening to the demo until the day he cut vocals.
- “Horse” confronts a childhood trauma Nat had never shared; his hands shook when he first played it for Alex.
Musical Homages and Happy Accidents
Folk giants Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen loom large over the record. Alex, who portrayed Cohen in the 2024 miniseries So Long, Marianne, borrowed chord progressions from Cher’s “Believe” for the chorus of “Tough.” Other moments emerged from pure experimentation; Nat ditched music theory and placed his hands on the piano until unfamiliar shapes sparked new melodies.
The lo-fi intimacy of “Soft Kissing Hour” was never planned. After a night of hanging out, Eilish suggested they “record something.” Alex sat at the piano while Nat positioned a single microphone across the room. Background noises-creaking chairs, distant traffic, the dog’s breathing-stayed in the final mix, amplifying the feeling that listeners are eavesdropping on a private moment.
Sibling Rules in the Studio
Working together since childhood has produced an unspoken code:
- No talk-back button: giving notes through headphones while the other is tracking is grounds for a fight.
- Brutal honesty encouraged: both brothers agree they must be free to say, “I don’t like that lyric” without softening the blow.
- Shared ownership: every song is credited to both, no matter who brought the first idea.
Those guidelines led to their biggest studio argument during this album, yet they maintain the tension sharpens the music.
Love, Loss and Healing
Personal relationships seep into multiple tracks. Alex’s longtime girlfriend, singer-songwriter Rozzi Crane, sings on “If You Never Left Me,” blurring the line between home and work. Nat wrote “I Can’t Hurt You Anymore” immediately after a breakup, then shelved it for months. Re-opening the wound in the vocal booth felt like “therapy,” he says.
The act of sharing these stories has become part of the healing process. On “Horse,” Nat repeatedly claims blame for a traumatic childhood incident, a lyrical choice that left him feeling exposed. Alex’s instant reaction-“this is special, let’s cut it tomorrow”-convinced him to keep the take.
Looking Ahead
With Hollywood projects always on the horizon, the brothers consider Nat & Alex Wolff a turning point. They’ve stopped separating their acting and music identities, allowing each world to inform the other. The album, they say, finally captures the sound they’ve always heard in their heads, free from gimmicks or nostalgia.
Fans can stream or purchase Nat & Alex Wolff starting Friday, January 16.
Key Takeaways
- The Wolff brothers’ new 13-song album confronts the aftermath of early fame, romantic collapse and childhood trauma.
- Co-writing everything together produced their most unified work, breaking the pattern of solo compositions that marked earlier releases.
- A surprise overnight session with Billie Eilish yielded the lo-fi single “Soft Kissing Hour,” recorded with one microphone and no studio polish.
- By enforcing a “no bull– policy,” the siblings trade painful honesty for songs they describe as stronger and more authentic.
