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Willem James Cowan Navigates Heartbreak, Loss, and Renewal on Sophomore Album ‘What Should Happen Next?’

September 29, 2026
William Brookson
Latest posts by William Brookson (see all)

London, ON-based 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.

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 of London, Ontario. 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.”

1. What did you enjoy most about the creation of this new release?
I was able to be really thoughtful and intentional with this record in a way that I didn’t have the chance to with the last one. When I made my first album  Mourning in the Morningtime, I felt like I was playing catch-up with myself throughout a lot of the process and I wanted to avoid that as much as possible this  time. I kind of let myself slow down and was able to make choices based on what I truly felt was right instead of just whatever was the easiest in that moment. I think this album really feels like me because of that.

2. Share a nugget of advice that has resonated with you most over the years.
I professor of mine used to say that if you’re trying to follow trends or capture what’s working for others right now, then you’re already too late. I think about  that a lot when making an album. It reminds me to just do my thing and not record or write something a certain way just because I might have heard someone  do it recently. It’s a reminder to not follow trends but also push past what might be my first instinct. Even if I sometimes return to it.

3. Who would be your dream artist/band to co-headline a tour with?
I mean, there are probably hundreds I could choose from. It seems a bit silly to choose someone who has achieved so much more success than I have, but I  guess that’s the point, eh? I’ve been a huge David Bazan fan for years. I think he’s one of the best working songwriters right now, and I’m a big fan of his  living room tours where he plays in fan’s homes as a solo or duo act. I’d love to do something like that. Also — Canadian.. Dan Mangan? Aidan Knight? Hit me up.

4. What sets your music apart from others in your genre?
I don’t really know! I like to think the album is pretty eclectic and I think people will like the variety of it. I’m a big believer that if you’re writing good songs, you  don’t always need to be doing something new or fresh. All I can hope is that people listen, relate to the music, the lyrics, etc. I focus a lot on the lyrics and so  maybe that sets me apart a little bit.

5. Tell us what your favourite song is at the moment and why.
There’s a song on the new Angela Autumn record called “I Don’t Think About You At All” which I’ve been replaying quite a bit. There’s something about the  banjo groove in that song, and the sonic vibe of it all that is really addictive to me. My friend Stephen Ingram also put out a record recently called Silly Things  and the last song on that, “The Steeltown Waltz” is really well written. I’ve come back to that one quite a few times. Go check that out if you haven’t yet!

 

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