A Triumphant Return: Block’s “I Thought I Won The War” Marks a Powerful New Chapter

With “I Thought I Won The War, ” Block, the legendary NYC anti-folk innovator, comes back with a stunning and profoundly moving single that is as emotionally raw as it is artistically brilliant. The song, which will be part of his upcoming 2026 album Love Crash, can be seen as a career-defining moment following the artist’s broad revival last year, which was largely inspired by the 2025 deluxe reissue campaign of his seminal recordings. As a musician who was at the forefront of the anti-folk scene in the late ’90s, Block should not only be commended for the fact that he is not rehashing old material, but rather that he is venturing into new creative areas with an amazing variety of his work.

“I Thought I Won The War” metaphorically relates the idea of a fight to the inner demons, drawing specifically from the dissolution of a relationship, which, figuratively speaking, became a war that Block was caught off guard by. The song’s exhilarating rhythm is a perfect reflection of the volatility within. The record, which was produced by Chris Kuffner and mixed and mastered by Blake Morgan, captures the artist’s lyrical urgency whilst at the same time displaying his frailty, and this is complemented by the use of the latest, crisp production techniques. The songwriting of Block, whose characteristics include being sharp, introspective, and appearing deceptively simple, becomes the spotlight here as he in fact addresses the false triumph of a won, over relationship that was previously filled with loss.

Moreover, this single is a conceptual transition that leads into the album Love Crash which, according to Block, was like an ascent of a ladder from a fathomless pit, a "very dark place, " In this situation, the track "I Thought I Won The War" goes beyond being a mere song; it represents the moment when the album's emotional storyline gets fuelled. The track’s feeling of conflict, confusion, and grudging insight leaves an impression of a bigger voyage of heartbreak, finding oneself again, and the concept of return.

One cannot help but acknowledge the historical moment that surrounds Block's career. The Greene Street Sessions, The Last Single Guy, Whitecaps On The Hudson, and Lead Me Not Into Penn Station, all four reissue projects by Meridian, have not only brought the artist back into the limelight but also expanded his fanbase worldwide, as evidenced by the nearly half a million new streams that these works have garnered thus paving the way for massive NYC shows and certainly a return to form at KGB's Red Room. Indeed, Block is making a comeback, but more importantly, he is making a step upward as well.

“I Thought I Won The War” is probably one of his most powerful pieces ever to surface. It shows the struggle between the need to protect oneself and the need to bare oneself with the growth and understanding that only an artist like Block would have available to him. In case this single is representative of what to expect from Love Crash, then the album will be among the must-hear indie 2026 releases: sincere in its emotions, beautifully sounding, and undoubtedly Block.