Early last year, Outlander star Andrew Gower’s band Gustaffson debuted their first album, Black & White Movie, to critical acclaim. Now, nearly eighteen months later, they’re back on the tour circuit as they gear up for the launch of their yet-to-be-announced second album in 2027. In preparation for its release, Gower and Gustaffson are looking back at a trio of tracks from the elbow-produced album with brand-new acoustic versions.
For these stripped-down tracks, Gustaffson headed back to where it all began: the iconic Blueprint Studios in Manchester. The first to be released is “Closer,” which arrives ahead of their Manchester gig at YES’ The Pink Room on the 7th. After that, "Paris in Summer" and "Go Easy” will be the next acoustic versions to be released, as the band plays London and Liverpool.
"Closer" first arrived as a music video last March, that paid homage to an iconic Sir Ben Kingsley interview that struck a creative chord for Gower. The music video featured self-tapes from a real who's who of talent, including Daredevil: Born Again's Arty Froushan to Shadow & Bones' Freddy Carter. The new bare-bones version of the track features Gower and the band in the studio making magic happen.
"I like to think that most Gustaffson tracks can be performed with just me, Webbo, and a guitar,” Gower shared in a conversation with Collider ahead of the video’s release. “It is a home from home. We made the first album there. We made the first EP there. We made the second album there, which is on its way in 2027. We just knew after [playing] some stripped-back shows during the summer, the only place we wanted to record music right now is with Gary and Craig and the team at Blueprint.” He went on to say:
“I think when you have artistic or career ambitions, those risks you take — if you can find the building, or the company, or the business where you can take those risks, especially within the arts — we've definitely found that in Blueprint. It feels strange when we're not there to be honest, as opposed to there."
Gustaffson’s Second Album Is Their “Finest Work Yet”
Gower credits the aesthetics of the live acoustic version of “Closer” to the video’s director, Steffany Collette, who the band affectionately calls “Freda” after Freda Kelly, The Beatles’ friend who, as Gower put it, “joined them on a journey and started out doing their fan mail and then became an exec.” Collette was given free rein with the trio of acoustic videos, and she chose the first to harken back to where it began with Black & White Movie, giving the video a real old-school black-and-white look. “The saturated style lends itself to the acts we've spoken about — The Beatles, The Doors — and all of that old footage."
As he noted during our chat, a band only gets the opportunity to release their second album once, so Gustaffson is smartly taking advantage of the time between the two albums to keep interest high. “We're sitting on the second album. We want to keep the appetite for our music up. I think that's why we went straight back in, because we knew that this year we wanted to give people something alongside the tour, and we thought these acoustic versions would be perfect." He went on to explain the method behind this new release:
“There's a beauty in a world where things happen so quickly. I always say the world should learn to wait. What they're waiting for, I think, is our finest work yet. But in the meantime, that doesn't mean we can't reimagine versions of songs that people think they know everything about and give them a new take on it."
Andrew Gower Is Teaming Up With Andy Goddard on a New Movie
Gower brings a natural intuitiveness for immersive storytelling to Gustaffson. From the release of their debut album Black & White Movie to timely, tech-challenging tracks like "Dance to the Algorithm," the band's identity is rooted in finding the profound in the mundane — and connecting Gower’s two great loves: film and music. By consistently recruiting brilliant collaborators from his acting career, such as Bear McCreary, Sharon D. Clarke, and soon, Andy Goddard, Gower is pioneering a space where music and cinema don't just coexist, but actively elevate one another.
“I've spent most of my career as Andrew Gower the actor, and to go and be in a band, to be a part of a collective, and also I include the audience into that, as I always say, the Gustaffson tribe, that whole collective experience has kind of really blown me away."
Looking ahead to 2027, Gustaffson is set to release their second album, kick off a tour (with international plans), and work with record stores across the UK. “High-scale videos have been recorded for the new album,” Gower teased, before hinting at even bigger plans on the horizon for the band. “As I have alluded to in the past, a Gustaffson-scored film is in development as well right now. 2027 is going to be a busy year and a year that breaks the mold of what we've done before."
While details about the project are being largely kept under wraps, Gower did confirm that it’s a “family story” connected to a relative of his. He is working on the film alongside Andy Goddard, who is currently working on Apple TV’s new Monarch spin-off in Prague. Goddard will write and direct the film, with Gower set to star in it, as well as composing the score. “When Andy's all finished over in Prague, we will be getting some development in order for that. The songs are written, and the story's there."
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Gustaffson.