Self turns to fan input for their upcoming album You’ve Been Tricked

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With many popular artists now taking a decade between album releases—Bruno Mars being a recent example—Self is joining that trend. After releasing Ornament & Crime in 2017, the band is preparing to launch their sixth studio album, You’ve Been Tricked.

Interestingly, the album’s sound will be shaped by what fans have ranked as their favorite things – essentially, based on lists they’ve created and submitted.

This unusual choice might give the impression that the album is just starting, but it’s actually been in development for several years.

You’ve Been Tricked is yet another return for Self

Self is known for the long gaps between their albums. After releasing their fourth album in 2000, they didn’t put out new material until the 2014 EP Super Fake Nice. In fact, their fifth album, released in 2017, had been completed years earlier. So, it’s not surprising that their next album also took a significant amount of time to create.

Matt Mahaffey announced on Instagram in May 2022 that he was starting to record music again after an eight-year break, dating back to 2014. Over the next couple of years, he shared pictures from the studio, showcasing new equipment. By 2024, these updates began to include actual snippets of music.

On October 19th, a clip surfaced showing Mahaffey using virtual reality and Pro Tools to create a studio setup. In the video, he plays the piano part of a new, unreleased song with vocals. The filename visible on his screen reads “She Went to Pa-“, leaving fans to wonder if the song is about paradise or Paris. We’ll likely learn more details soon.

Self has always kept the fans in mind

Throughout the month, the album artwork was hinted at on Instagram. From the 10th to the 14th, the title “Love You Less” and a broken 3D heart were gradually revealed through pieces of a larger image. However, after five parts were shown, the reveal stopped due to backlash over the artwork appearing to be created using artificial intelligence.

He took down the initial posts and started over on the 27th, this time using artwork created by his daughter. This new approach was much better received. Then, on November 6th, it was revealed that the artwork would be the cover for a new Self single, which was released alongside the song “Love You Less.”

I was so excited to discover there was even more new music from John Self! He actually played a character called “Elfs” on a really cool holiday song, “Merry Christmas, Santa.” It was part of an album called Christmas in Space by Cake in Space – that’s John Mahaffey’s band – and it came out on November 29th, 2024. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan!

The buildup of a new era for the band

A new channel called “#youve-been-tricked” appeared on the Self Discord server on the night of March 4th, 2026, leading people to wonder if it was an early April Fools’ Day prank. The mystery was solved on the morning of the 9th when Matt made an announcement.

Hey, it’s Matt Mahaffey! I’m working on a new sElf album currently titled ‘You’ve Been Tricked.’ It’s tough to figure out what fans want because everyone likes different sElf songs and albums. So, I’m asking if you could each make a 12-song playlist of your favorite tracks from any time in our history.

The announcement ended with an invitation to share thoughts and ideas on their Discord server. They’ll be actively monitoring the channel and are interested in hearing what people think of their music. They encouraged everyone to connect and explore possibilities together, signing off with a cheerful ‘Cheers!’

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2026-03-10 15:00