Russ Tolman- 'My Way Back' : new single by Paisley Underground veteran and True West co-founder out 21st August 2026 | from the album 'STRAY' out 18th September 2026 (LP | CD) | out now (digital)

Russ Tolman is a singer-songwriter who has spent several decades proving that persistence is a musical genre. A veteran of the Los Angeles roots-rock scene and head wrangler of the Paisley Underground adjacent True West, Tolman writes songs for people who like their melodies strong, their lyrics literate and their coffee consumed, not curated.

His music lives somewhere between rock, folk and Americana - territory populated by flawed narrators, late-night realisations and the quiet suspicion that things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, but maybe better than expected.

Tolman’s new album, ‘STRAY’, sees him leaning into that perspective with conviction and a clear-eyed sense of purpose. It features Tom Heyman (Chuck Prophet, Hiss Golden Messenger, Alejandro Escovedo) on guitar and pedal steel, adding just the right measure of ache and atmosphere. Mike Coykendall (M. Ward, She & Him) handles drums, bonhomie and backing vocals, while San Francisco journeyman Rusty Miller fills out the picture on bass, piano and harmonies. Together with an extra backing voice or two, they help bring Tolman’s songs vividly to life without stepping on the furniture.

Tolman has released a new single from 'STRAY' today entitled ‘My Way Back’. "It’s a nod to Smoky Robinson, Detroit and Northern Soul about the determination to get back into someone’s heart,” he says of the song, adding that “sometimes the demo you make of a song and its finished recording are night and day. That’s the case with 'My Way Back’, but, despite the sonics, the emotion is still there.”

LP and CD formats of ‘STRAY’ will be released in the UK and mainland Europe on 18th September. It is available digitally HERE.

‘STRAY’ sees Tolman continuing to walk the line between country and folk, rock and soul on this collection of eight originals - including its first single 'Streets Of Denim’, a co-write with Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate, Baseball Project) - plus unexpected tunes from R&B songwriter Arthur Alexander and k.d. lang.

Tolman has written, recorded and released eight previous solo albums, each one capturing a slightly older, slightly wiser version of the same songwriter still chasing the perfect line. His voice carries the lived-in authority of someone who has paid attention, taken notes and survived the chorus.

Russ Tolman continues to make music for listeners who believe great songs don’t expire, trends are optional and honesty beats volume every time.

STRAY TRACKLIST

1 Streets Of Denim

2 My Way Back

3 Make It Fine

4 It’s Because

5 Why Do We Fight

6 If It’s Really Got To Be This Way

7 Stray

8 Our Love

9 Back To Yesterday

10 Hello Rising Sun

Russ Tolman is a singer-songwriter who came to international attention in the early 1980s as guitarist, songwriter and producer of True West, a band associated with Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles.

Prior to that he had met and befriended Steve Wynn (pre-Dream Syndicate) and Kendra Smith (pre-Rainy Day and Opal) while attending University and the trio formed Suspects in 1978 along with two other musicians. Tolman subsequently joined The Meantime in 1980, who morphed into True West and released two albums that were promoted on several US and European tours. These included opening for R.E.M. on their ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’ tour.

Tolman went solo in 1985 and issued 'Totem Poles And Glory Holes’ the following year on Zippo/Demon Records. Its 1988 follow-up, ‘Down In Earthquake Town’, was the first of four albums made at Westbeach Recorders studios with engineer and producer Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion/Epitaph Records) that also included ‘Goodbye Joe’ (1990), ‘Road Movie’ (1992) and ‘Sweet Spot’ (1994).

He relocated to San Francisco in 1998 to write and record ‘City Lights’, which was promoted with two European tours, while the year also saw him co-found the prolific label imprint Innerstate Records. In 2000, he not only released his own ’New Quadrophonic Highway’ album, but also added the role of Reissue Producer to his CV as he began overseeing re-releases by the biggest names in the country, blues and reggae genres. In 2006, True West reunited for a series of shows that included opening for old friends Violent Femmes.