Willie J Healey sets sights on groovy return with new EP, ‘143’
Willie J Healey has announced a new EP, 143, with the groovy, heartfelt first single, ‘Ditch’.
143 is set for a September 4th release via V2, and will come alongside a short run of intimate October UK headline tour dates.
The EP, Healey explained, is a “collection of recordings pulled from different recording sessions. Some were made entirely on my 4 track at home and others were made with Loren Humphrey in New York.”
The singer-songwriter added, “It feels good to me to make my own kind of mixtape. A compilation of my favourites!”
The EP’s first single, Ditch, is a laid-back, groovy country-tinged track, fiddling through a twangy guitar reminiscent of slow, sun-soaked summer days in the wilderness.
The EP’s name, Healey explained, was inspired by his friend, who “sent me a message using that code and it took me a while to figure out that it means ‘I love you.’ I thought hey that’s a nice way of not being too soppy.”
Saying it straight is central to the EP’s premise. Healey added, “The songs and recordings really don’t have many bells and whistles, they’re all pretty straight up – we wanted to get the message across as directly as possible. It’s my most Neil yet.“
Healey will also make a swift appearance on the festival circuit this year at Steventon’s Truck Festival.
Far Out gave Healey’s last album, Bunny, four stars, observing, “A buoyant effort, Bunny embraces counterpoint throughout, harbouring a retro soul in a fresh wallop of layered studio sounds, with a voice that says ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’ and beautifully contoured grooves that follow that with the affirmation that ‘it’s all small stuff’.”
See the official tracklist, as well as all the confirmed live dates for 2026, below.
Willie J Healy – ‘143’ tracklist:
- ‘Ditch’
- ‘S’all Good’
- ‘143’
- ‘True Misery’
- ‘Bottle Rocket’
Willie J Healey – 2026 UK tour dates:
July:
- 25 – Truck Festival, Oxford, UK
October:
- 8 – Just Dropped In, Coventry, UK
- 9 – Bootleg Social, Blackpool, UK
- 10 – Tenement Trail, Glasgow, UK
- 22 – Chalk, Brighton, UK (Supporting Sea Power)
- 23 – Boia Festival, St Davids, UK
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.