The Bravest Man in the Universe

The Bravest Man in the Universe was Womack's twenty-seventh and last studio album and his first of original material since Resurrection. It was recorded between 3 October and 2 December 2011 in London and New York, with a further session in London on 7 March 2012. Albarn had first contacted Womack in 2009 during the Gorillaz sessions for Plastic Beach, where Womack sang on "Stylo" and "Cloud of Unknowing". "Please Forgive My Heart" was offered as a free download on 8 March 2012. Womack said the title track dated back over forty years.

It entered the charts at number 49 in the UK and number 181 in the US. Rolling Stone placed it at number 36 on its 2012 year-end list, the Guardian at number 10, and it won the Q Award for Best Album of 2012. Metacritic averaged 80 from 34 reviews. Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal praised Womack's voice as a wonderfully gnarled instrument. Petridis wrote that Womack told him it was the best thing he had made.