New Yorker’s latest finds empowerment through grief.
This album is an exploration of the Bowman sisters’ empowerment that came as a by-product of the grief of the loss of their mother which also contains examinations of a childhood that may not have been picture perfect.
This is a raw album but sonically it sits somewhere between The Staves and The Indigo Girls as the album unfolds in close harmony with strong production and a MOR folk-rock feel. ‘Digger’ opens the album with a spoken voice and unfolds into a strident lyric couched in a catchy melody. The following ‘The Crazing of Polymers’ is a little overpowered by the strident lead vocal drowning out the harmony but normal service is resumed on the following track ‘Mad at the World’ with its shimmering guitar solo although ‘Floodwaters’ falls into the trap again of favouring the stronger voice and consequently sounds hectoring rather than forceful. Much better is ‘Blue Light’ with its restrained delivery and beautiful balance between voice and arrangement. ‘My First Flight’ is also an affecting piece; all hushed vocals and subtle instrumentation that ebbs and flows beautifully.
There’s much to enjoy here but the album lacks a killer cut to set it apart from the crowd.
More please.
