After years of moving between film sets and songwriting, Jena Malone is stepping forward with a new musical chapter. Her first full-length project released solely under her own name, Flowers for Men, is scheduled for release on May 8 via her imprint There Was an Old Woman Records. The record’s lead single, “Barstow”, arrives accompanied by a moody, neon-tinged video directed by filmmaker Jennifer Reeder and featuring actress Robin Tunney.
Malone’s background as a performer is familiar to many who know her screen work, but the new material is meant to introduce listeners to her longstanding musical voice. Built from intimate moments—composed on an iPhone between parenting responsibilities—the songs aim to capture a personal transformation and a renewed approach to songwriting.
The single: atmosphere and storytelling
The opening look at the album, “Barstow”, evokes a desert town’s neon glow as a backdrop for introspective longing. The track sits within the record’s broader sonic palette, which Malone has described with the term “sci-folk”—a blend of earthy songwriting and ethereal, synth-forward production. On this song, producer and co-writer Jamie Jackson helped translate Malone’s initial draft into a fully realized arrangement that the artist calls the record’s most haunting piece.
Music video collaboration with Jennifer Reeder
The accompanying video, written and directed by Jennifer Reeder, presents a road-trip narrative in which Malone encounters a kindred presence played by Robin Tunney. The visuals lean into neon-lit motel imagery and mirrored selves, suggesting themes of memory, iteration, and longing. It is Malone’s first time working with Reeder, a director whose films Malone discovered in 2026 and whose world-building she admired enough to invite into this project.
Album context and creative process
Flowers for Men marks Malone’s return to releasing records under her own name after nearly a decade. The album grew out of a period of personal reassessment; moving into parenthood prompted Malone to revisit assumptions about relationships and identity. Negotiating time, motherhood, and creative practice shaped how songs were written—often in short, private moments such as closet hideaways and school drop-off lines.
Musically, the album combines the intimacy of folk songwriting with textured electronic elements. Malone characterizes the project as emotionally candid, documenting experiments with love, attachment, and the unmaking of conventional hierarchies in relationships. Tracks like “Barstow” act as narrative anchors, embodying the record’s central motifs.
Key contributors and artistic team
Beyond Malone and producer Jamie Jackson, the visual team added notable collaborators to the single’s presentation. Malone praised Reeder’s director of photography, Sevdije Kastrati-Dill, for striking imagery and highlighted long-time editor and colorist Mike Olenick for shaping the video’s final look. Malone also emphasized the chemistry she felt with Tunney on set, calling the collaboration a lift for both the performance and the piece as a whole.
Live dates and what to expect on stage
To support the album, Malone has scheduled a slate of North American shows kicking off in late June. The run begins at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco and travels through key cities where Malone plans to bring the album’s intimate textures into a live setting. These shows will likely blend stripped-down arrangements with the record’s atmospheric production values.
Confirmed dates include:
06.23.2026 Tue – San Francisco, California – Cafe Du Nord
06.25.2026 Thu – Portland, Oregon – Polaris Hall
06.27.2026 Sat – Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Cabaret
07.02.2026 Thu – Los Angeles, California – Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
07.08.2026 Wed – Chicago, Illinois – Schubas Tavern
07.10.2026 Fri – Toronto, Ontario – The Baby G
07.12.2026 Sun – Somerville, Massachusetts – Warehouse XI
07.14.2026 Tue – Queens, New York – Stone Circle Theatre
07.15.2026 Wed – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – PhilaMOCA
07.16.2026 Thu – Washington, District of Columbia – DC9
Why this release matters
For listeners discovering Malone primarily through film, Flowers for Men offers a new way to experience her artistic voice. The record is framed as a reemergence—less a celebrity side project and more a sustained creative statement made on her own terms. The lead single’s cinematic video reinforces that crossover ambition, pairing songcraft with visual storytelling from a director Malone respects.
Ultimately, the project is presented as both a continuation of Malone’s lifelong relationship with songwriting and as a fresh invitation to audiences to hear her work in a new register. With the album release set for May 8 and an immediate tour to follow, listeners can expect to encounter Malone’s evolving sound in both recorded and live forms.