Charlotte Wessels and her band The Obsession have announced their second full-band studio album, Mute Swan Empire, set for release on 5 February 2027 through Napalm Records. The 15-track concept record arrives as the former Delain vocalist prepares for her first headline tour across the UK and Europe, with Melissa Bonny providing support.
The follow-up to 2024’s The Obsession explores the different ways people respond to a world facing climate breakdown, social injustice and an uncertain future. Each track takes on a different character or archetype, moving between denial, anger, withdrawal, hope and connection.
Charlotte Wessels On Mute Swan Empire
Wessels explains that the record’s concept emerged as the songs began to take shape rather than being planned from the outset. “I didn’t set out to write a concept record from the start, but somewhere along the way, I began to realise that all the latest songs I’d written were connected. Each of them seemed to embody a different response to the world we’re living in: denial, complicity, withdrawal, blind obedience, selective empathy, but also hope and connection, and so on.”
She adds: “What fascinates me is how easy it is to recognise these responses in others, and how much harder it can be to recognise them in ourselves. I didn’t want an album that simply points fingers or offers easy answers. I wanted to explore the contradictions, the uncomfortable grey areas, and the possibility that we can change.”
On the band’s musical direction, Wessels says: “Musically, the same freedom to follow wherever a song leads has resulted in a record that moves between some of the heaviest music we’ve made and moments of vulnerability. Despite how varied the record is, I think we’ve never sounded more together like a band.”
The Album’s Influences And Recording
Alongside contemporary themes, Mute Swan Empire draws on poetry, literature and historical writing. In Leta Via includes words by Hildegard von Bingen, while The Hermit Song references Julian of Norwich. Emergency Kit incorporates text from the Dutch Denk Vooruit campaign, and One Day They Will Come For You takes inspiration from Martin Niemöller’s post-war writing. Bells Of Lynn draws on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Work on the record began before the completion of The Obsession. Wessels has been sharing new music monthly through Patreon since 2020, and an earlier version of “Incantations” first appeared there in March 2024.
Wessels co-produced the album with Joost van den Broek at Sandlane Recording Facilities, where it was also mixed. Elianne Anemaat contributes cello to several songs, while Vikram Shankar provides orchestral and additional keyboard arrangements. The record places a stronger emphasis on the band’s collective sound.
Mute Swan Empire Track Listing
- Incubus
- In Leta Via
- Tempest
- After Us The Flood
- Good Girl (If You’re Ready To Die)
- The Hermit Song
- Emergency Kit
- One Day They Will Come For You
- Weeping Madonna
- This Is Not An Opinion
- The Villain
- Let The Music Decide
- Incantations
- Starling
- Bells Of Lynn
Charlotte Wessels UK Headline Tour Dates 2027
The European headline tour begins in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, on 4 February 2027, one day before the album’s release, and concludes in Utrecht on 27 February. Melissa Bonny, vocalist with AD INFINITUM, joins as support. The band will also visit Brazil and Argentina in December 2026.
- Tickets and VIP upgrades are available through Charlotte Wessels’ official tour page. Mute Swan Empire can be pre-ordered here.
The Obsession Line-Up
- Charlotte Wessels – vocals, keys
- Timo Somers – guitars, backing vocals
- Joey Marin de Boer – drums
- Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije – bass guitar
- Nina Van Beelen – keys, backing vocals
Timo Somers performed the bass guitar parts on Mute Swan Empire.
