Loyle Carner shines with ‘hopefully !’
The album comes ahead of his headline set at Glastonbury and his KOKO warm-up show this October.
Photo: Press
Three years on from the release of hugo — which explored the estranged relationship with his father — Loyle Carner returns with a beautiful masterpiece that pays tribute to the relationship he has with his children. hopefully ! is influenced by Carner’s experiences of fatherhood and his desire to be more present.
The album opens with feel at home, a reflective track that explores how accidents can be beautiful, and how we hold onto the small things — like receipts — to maintain emotional ties. He talks about the quiet ache of feeling alone without the heart of his son being at home. Through soft instrumentation and conversational lyricism, Carner captures the push-pull of longing and love that comes with navigating absence and presence in fatherhood.
lyin gives us a rare glimpse of Loyle singing: “Just like the sun you know that I’ve been patient, hoping.” You can hear the vulnerability flickering through the track, his thoughts spiralling as he reflects on the moment his daughter was born, unsure whether she would make it.
A relatable theme running through the album is change and growth. On time to go, he reflects on evolving as an artist and the pain of outgrowing your old circle:
“I lost friends that were jealous of the limelight.” It’s about personal transformation, becoming a parent, and navigating the societal pressures placed on men: “Who am I supposed to be today? I don’t know… they didn’t know I’m breaking.”
Loyle talks about slowing down and how, sometimes, that’s all you can do.
The title track, hopefully, is a stunning reflection on the things that give you hope in life: “You give me hope in humankind,” Loyle says, referencing his son. The song opens with touching audio of him and his son riding bikes under a bridge, his son’s voice echoing the word “echo”, which ripples hauntingly through the intro. The track also pays tribute to the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah, with a verse that brings together social observation and self-reflection: “People that sleep in homes, ah, to each his own / Leave message that beeps and tones, I’m here, I’m grown.”
It’s a song full of warmth, but one that doesn’t shy away from the difficult truths of the world.
about time closes the album — a deliberate choice. Loyle told Apple Music: “It had to be at the end of the album because of my son, ‘cause it sounds like he’s telling me to stop making music and focus on being a dad. I wanted it to be quite close to the beginning so it didn’t get lost, but then it couldn’t be anywhere else. It was made to be there.” He sings: “It’s about time that I learnt my lesson… it’s about time that I learnt some patience, just to give it to him.”
hopefully ! is an album that gently compels your attention — not by force, but through open vulnerability. It’s poetic: a quiet hymn to presence, parenthood, and subtle wonder, where each line feels like a soft confession. Across bleary guitar lines and hushed vocals, Loyle Carner offers his most intimate portrait yet, balancing fragility and strength with exquisite care.
hopefully ! is out now via AMF Records.