War on Drugs keyboardist Robbie Bennett sets two solo double albums for December
Robbie Bennett, keyboardist for The War on Drugs, will release two solo double albums, Steloken and Circulation, on 11 December via American Dreams. The two records hold 29 new tracks in total. Bennett has shared “Sister” from Steloken and “The Light on Your Face” from Circulation as early previews, Pitchfork reported.
The announcement arrived on 6 October 2026. A double album, a release spread across two records’ worth of material, is already a weighty commitment. Two at once is a lot of music. Both albums are scheduled to arrive together through American Dreams in December.
Bennett built the new material with a linked piano and synthesiser set-up. MIDI, the digital control signal that lets one instrument trigger another, ran from an acoustic player piano into an Oberheim OB-X8 synthesiser. The acoustic player piano, a piano that can play programmed notes by itself, therefore drove the electronic instrument as well. That allowed both instruments to sound at the same time.
The two doubles are characterised as companions with different temperaments. Steloken stays close to the warm, soft edge of Bennett’s piano and synthesiser writing. Circulation leans further into improvisation, with longer, more open performances. Those descriptions were reported by The Line of Best Fit alongside the announcement.
Steloken and Circulation follow Bennett’s 2020 solo debut Permanent World. His day job remains with The War on Drugs, the American rock band where he plays keyboards. That band released the studio album I Don’t Live Here Anymore in 2021 and the live album Live Drugs Again in 2024. Bennett also appeared on “Who’s That,” described as the band’s first new song since 2022.
What makes this stand out is the method behind the volume. The player-piano system gives Bennett a way to perform and programme at once, part human touch and part machine control. For listeners, this means two separate entry points now, one song from each album, before the full 29-track set arrives in December.
