Monica Richards announces fourth solo album ‘Hiraeth’
Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse will release her fourth solo album, “Hiraeth,” on 12 February 2027 via The Circle Music. Pre-orders are open.
Photo: Deverill Weekes
Monica Richards, the vocalist of gothic rock duo Faith and the Muse and the band Strange Boutique, will release her fourth solo studio album, “Hiraeth”, on 12 February 2027 through The Circle Music. The label describes it as her first new solo release in fourteen years. Pre-orders opened on 15 October 2026 alongside the announcement.
“Hiraeth” is a Welsh word with no direct English translation, describing a longing or homesickness for a place, time or person that may no longer be reachable. Richards has said the album is built around variations of a single melodic motif she has carried in her head since childhood. The motif runs through all nine tracks, from the opening vocals of “Horae: Thallo” to the closing title track.
The album’s tracklist: “Horae: Thallo”, “Sand and Line”, “Mimir”, “Connasci”, “Horae: Eirene”, “The Lotos-Eaters”, “Spirit Night”, “Akhlys” and “Hiraeth”.
Richards co-produced “Hiraeth” with Chad Blinman, who also mixed the album at The Eye Socket studio in Massachusetts and contributed drums and string arrangements to several tracks. Josh Sebek mastered the record. Guest performers include Richards’ Strange Boutique bandmates Dennis Kane and Steve Willett, along with Neil Mckay, Steve Niles, Cindy Coulter, Brandon Hayes and Greg Scott Cruz on guitar and bass, Paul Mercer on viola, Marzia Rangel on cello, and vocalists Patty Ashara Hele and Anthony Roumanis.
Richards said the album took years to write before recording began in earnest. “I began writing the songs for Hiraeth years ago, but wasn’t able to really begin recording until 2024,” she said. “I am so deeply grateful to Maria and The Circle Music for their support and belief in me as I took this journey. I’m excited for everyone to hear the album!”
“Hiraeth” is available for pre-order through The Circle Music as a magenta or turquoise gatefold vinyl LP, each limited to 250 copies and featuring cover art designed by Richards herself. A CD edition, limited to 1,000 copies and housed in a digipack with an eight-page booklet, adds four exclusive remix tracks. The CD will also be distributed in the United States through Richards’ own label.
About Monica Richards
Monica Richards fronted Hate From Ignorance in the Washington, D.C. hardcore scene from 1982 to 1983, then Madhouse from 1983 to 1986. In 1987 she formed Strange Boutique in Washington, D.C. with Daniel Ingram and Fred “Freak” Smith. Bassist Steve Willett joined in 1988. The band released its debut EP, “Easter Island”, in 1989 and broke up in late 1993.
In 1993, Richards co-founded the gothic rock duo Faith and the Muse with William Faith. The pair released five studio albums and a double live and remix collection, and toured across the US and Europe. Faith and the Muse’s 1994 debut album, “Elyria”, received a remastered CD edition through Metropolis Records on 9 October 2026.
Richards also built a parallel solo catalogue, releasing “InfraWarrior” in 2007, “Naiades” in 2012 and “Kindred” in 2013, followed by two collaborations with Anthony Jones, the EP “Syzygy” (2018) and the album “Aestuarium” (2019). Between 2017 and 2018 she performed with the UK act The Eden House in England, Germany and Poland, and in 2026 she featured on Seventh Harmonic’s EP “And The Light Shineth In Darkness” alongside Annmari Thim Hermansson.
Strange Boutique reunited for a one-off Washington, D.C. show in 2004 and again in 2019, with a lineup that added Dennis Kane on guitar and Gregg Hudson on drums. Founding member Fred Smith died in 2017. The band returned with its first album in 31 years, “Let the Lonely Heart Sing”, in 2025. “Hiraeth” now extends that renewed activity into Richards’ solo work, due through The Circle Music on 12 February 2027.
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