Passenger released Wild Love on November 6 and will play through the album from his studio on Thursday, November 12. The YouTube livestream starts at 8 p.m. GMT, or 11 p.m. in Turkey. Mike Rosenberg says he’ll talk about the songs as he goes. That puts the performance six days after release, well ahead of the tour carrying the album’s name in 2027.
The record grew out of changes in Rosenberg’s life, including marriage and becoming a father. He made it with longtime producer Chris Vallejo at their studio in the South Downs. The record opens with “Boomerang,” puts the title song in the middle and closes its ten-song sequence with “Ghosts,” which came out as a single in October. A cover of Taylor Swift’s “Willow” follows the title song.
Why does the digital album list 14 tracks?
Four songs have two versions. The main digital sequence has extended takes of “Boomerang,” “It Was Gonna Be You,” “Wild Love” and “Ghosts.” The shorter versions follow at the end, in a different order. There are ten distinct songs on the download. The store also offers the file in WAV or MP3.
“Boomerang” is where that difference adds up fastest. The extended opener runs 5:42, more than two minutes longer than the 3:33 version later on the download. The other three extended versions add less than a minute apiece. If you came to the album through the singles, try comparing the two versions of “Boomerang” first. It gives you the clearest sense of how much extra room a familiar song gets in the album sequence.
What comes with the vinyl and CD book?
Passenger’s UK store lists ten tracks on both. The natural vinyl comes in a gatefold sleeve with a 12-page booklet. Its first side ends with “Wild Love,” and the second picks up with “Willow.” The deluxe CD comes in a hardcover book with 16 pages. The physical listings give the running order without marking those four songs as extended, so the digital listing is the clearest guide if a particular version is what you’re after.
The in-person tour opens in Oslo on March 9 and reaches Berlin’s Tempodrom on April 17. Rosenberg hasn’t specified which arrangements he’ll use for the stream. Hearing him move through the songs and explain their place on the record is a different proposition from picking between the download and the LP. The player is on his official livestream page, and he’s offering a reminder through his mailing list.
