Today marks the release of Hurts Like Hell, the highly anticipated new album by Toronto’s Charlotte Cornfield. Arriving in the wake of notice from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Uncut, The Toronto Star, Exclaim!, and elsewhere, Hurts Like Hell can be heard wherever you stream music and is now shipping on CD, LP, and limited “lighting swirl” Peak Vinyl from Merge Records in the US and UK, as well as CD and Canada-exclusive “ocean wave” blue vinyl from Next Door Records.

Cornfield’s sixth album and her Merge debut, Hurts Like Hell is the first she’s recorded since the birth of her daughter in 2023, an inflection point for her as a person and an artist. The album’s recurrent themes of personal growth and renewal, of love’s perseverance through difficulty and shame and awkwardness, are rooted there.

Cornfield’s change in perspective is evident not only in her approach to the lyric, but in how she approached recording, with Hurts Like Hell representing her most collaborative effort to date. Beyond vocal features by Feist, Buck Meek, Christian Lee Hutson, and Maia Friedman, the Philip Weinrobe-produced sessions represented the first time Cornfield recorded with a full backing band, an all-star assemblage featuring Palehound’s El Kempner (guitar/vocals), Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney (bass/vocals), Adam Brisbin (guitar/pedal steel), and Sean Mullins (drums), expanding Cornfield’s sound by further embellishing the intricately detailed universes contained in her songs. 

What critics are saying about Hurts Like Hell:

“Cornfield’s best work to date.” —Toronto Star

“As a songwriter, as a singer, in every way possible, Cornfield levels up on Hurts Like Hell.” —Uncut

“Hauntingly beautiful.” —KLOF Mag

“The Record features not only some of Charlotte’s best, and most cutting creations, but banner drop-ins from Feist, Buck Meek, Christian Lee Hutson, and Maia Friedman.” —Raven Sings the Blues

“[Cornfield’s] songs always feel like a journey, like a road trip with an old friend telling stories you’re not sure are new or old so they feel fresh again. She finds simple and incisive ways to help you feel everything all at once, and we are better for it.” —Anxiety Shark

Next week, Cornfield will embark on a short tour in celebration of the album’s release. US dates will feature Hurts Like Hell collaborators Kearney and Kempner, as well as Evan Cartwright (Cola) and Nick Levine (Jodi, Great Grandpa). Tickets are on sale now — for more information, visit Charlotte Cornfield’s webpage or follow her on Instagram.

Charlotte Cornfield on tour: 

Mar 31 Brooklyn, NY – Public Records
Apr 02 Chicago, IL – Schubas
Apr 04 Los Angeles, CA – Scribble
Apr 09 Toronto, ON – Lula Lounge [SOLD OUT]
Jul 17 Guelph, ON – Hillside Festival 2026