Margaret Glaspy is leaning into contradiction on her new album, “I Am Both,” a record shaped in part by her decision to step away from social media and return to a more deliberate songwriting practice.

Released through ATO Records, the 11-track album was produced by three-time Grammy winner Joe Henry and recorded live over three days at Reservoir Studios in New York City.

For Glaspy, disconnecting from social media became a turning point in how she approached the record.

“When I started writing for this record, I had a goal of getting my practice back – to walk the walk in terms of how I envision myself as a songwriter,” Glaspy said. “At first, it was really hard to break that addiction to social media. After a while, something shifted. It felt like I’d gotten back to original thought instead of being under the influence of so many outside opinions. It was life-changing.”

That shift informs much of “I Am Both,” which focuses on identity, relationships, self-acceptance and the difficulty of reducing people to simple categories.

The title track grew from a character Glaspy admired for her ability to hold conflicting qualities at once.

“I wrote ‘I Am Both’ a while ago; the story is based on a female character that I look up to deeply – a woman who contains multitudes while seeing reality very clearly,” Glaspy said. “It can feel safer to try to fit myself into a category, but I find that embracing my own complexity is much healthier for me.”

The album marks Glaspy’s fourth full-length release and follows 2023’s “Echo the Diamond.”

Henry, whose credits include work with Aimee Mann and Joan Baez, produced the record with an approach that favored capturing performances in the moment rather than building songs through extensive layering.

Glaspy recorded with drummer and percussionist Jay Bellerose, keyboardist Patrick Warren and bassist Ross Gallagher.

“I always think of myself as more of a photographer than a sculptor in the studio – it’s about capturing the moment rather than layering and building things up over time, and Joe has a similar mentality when it comes to recording,” Glaspy said. “There was an incredible chemistry with the band and the whole process felt electric, so a lot of what you hear on the album is the first take.”

The album opens with “Michigan,” a song built around a fictional post-breakup escape from New York City to the Midwest.

“I was in Michigan a couple years back and had a really beautiful time, and thought about how New Yorkers sometimes fantasize about the countryside as a retreat from the intensity of the city,” Glaspy said. “It turned into a song about someone going through a bad breakup, and then deciding to just leave the city behind.”

Other tracks expand beyond romantic relationships and look outward at broader social and personal questions.

“Common Ground” addresses the tendency to either idealize or dismiss people rather than deal with their complexity.

“That song feels relevant to the culture these days. There’s a tendency to either put people on a pedestal or dismiss them entirely, instead of perceiving them as human beings or using our own reasoning,” Glaspy said.

Another track, “Martin Luther King Jr.,” draws from a 1957 sermon by the civil rights leader and places some of its ideas alongside present-day concerns, including housing.

“I’ve been listening to Martin Luther King’s speeches for a long time, and I find so much inspiration in how transcendent his public speaking is,” Glaspy said. “His work is obviously very pertinent to what we’re going through right now in America and the world over.”

“I Am Both” also includes “Reminder,” a song centered on persistence and the idea of continuing to contribute even when individual efforts can feel small.

“That song’s a message to myself for when it feels like I’m doing nothing of value, reminding me that it’s important to keep showing up in lots of little ways instead of giving up altogether,” Glaspy said. “It’s an example of something I never would’ve written if I were still praying to the gods who told me everything needs to be neat and tidy and symmetrical.”

The album’s track list also includes “That Rose,” “I Thought She Was A Song,” “Petty,” “James and Marie,” “Sharp Knife,” “Wildest Dreams” and the title track.

Glaspy, who grew up in Northern California, released her debut album, “Emotions and Math,” in 2016. Her work has since moved across folk, indie rock and guitar-driven singer-songwriter music.

She will support “I Am Both” with an extensive tour beginning Sept. 11 in Minneapolis.

The run includes stops in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Ireland before returning to the United States in November. Dates include Brooklyn on Sept. 26, London on Oct. 16, San Francisco on Nov. 16 and Los Angeles on Nov. 17.

The tour is scheduled to conclude Dec. 12 in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

For Glaspy, the album also reflects a changing view of what success in music should mean.

“In any industry, success is measured by climbing as high as you possibly can, but these days I think of music as something more like a public service,” she said. “You show up in city after city and you bring the music with you, and hopefully it reaches whoever needs to hear it. I feel really honored to be of service in that way.”