On September 26th, 2025, two decades and seven albums into his career, American musician, composer, and academic John Maus will release his most transcendent work yet: Later Than You Think. Arriving via his new label YOUNG, the album explores themes of grief, justice, rebirth, transformation, and spiritual warfare – coalescing into a work of confession and confrontation: an aural metaphysics where affect, intellect, and spirit converge in search of the beautiful, the truth and the real.
Written, produced, and recorded in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri, Later Than You Think spans 16 tracks and contains multitudes – the lush and the bare, the sacred and the profane, minimalist discipline and maximalist indulgence, counterpoint and simple pop harmony. At its core, the album reaffirms John Maus’ commitment to radical sincerity and emotional truth in an age of alienation. Powered by confrontation, faith and transformation – driven by the urgent belief that meaning still matters, and time is of the essence.
Holding a degree in experimental music from CalArts and a PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii, Maus has been dubbed a “philosopher pop star” and “analog futurist” for the way he merges academic rigor with lo-fi synth-pop aesthetics. His influence spans genres and generations—from UK grime icon Skepta, who sampled his track “I’m Only Human,” and Gen-Z rapper nettspend, to filmmaker Josh Safdie, actor Natasha Lyonne, and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. His track “Cop Killer” features in the 2025 film Friendship, underscoring his continued relevance across high and low culture.
With five previous albums under his belt – Songs (2006), Love Is Real (2007), We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011), Screen Memories (2017) and Addendum (2018) – Maus has carved out a singular path where irony, grief, joy, and absurdity can coexist and gained a cult following along the way. On Later Than You Think Maus doesn’t just return—he confronts, confesses, and transforms. The result is not only a career-defining work, but a rare artistic offering: one that dares to believe in meaning, beauty, and the possibility of transcendence
