Widowspeak - Jacket [LP]

Written in the months before and after the release of their criticallyacclaimed fifth album Plum, The Jacket feels like a full-circle momentfor the duo of singer-songwriter Molly Hamilton and guitarist RobertEarl Thomas. Thematically, it considers Plum's broader questionsabout the values ascribed to one's time and labor through the morerefined lens of performance and music-making. This is due in part tothe band's recent return to New York City, the site of their own originstory, where they recorded The Jacket at the Diamond Mine with coproducer and noted Daptone Records affiliate Homer Steinweiss.Reunions always breed reflection, and Hamilton admits that muchof the album's themes are tied to formative experiences in theband's own early years. Some songs speak to the process of movingon ("Unwind", "Salt"), while others muse about regret ("True Blue","Forget It"). The album's namesake track considers the literal andfigurative costumes we dress our personalities in: imbued withmeaning and sense of time and place, becoming so representativeof who we think we are before they're ultimately left behind. Thesymbolic spaces of work, music, nightlife are seen through the haze ofrecalling one's own unknown legends.Sonically, The Jacket finds the band at their usual and best: dynamicsshift seamlessly between gentle, drifting ballads and twangy jams,built up from layered guitars, dusty percussion and ambling bass lines.Elsewhere: whimsical flutes, choral textures, and basement organs.Thomas's guitar playing is as lyrical and emotive as it's ever been, andHamilton's voice: comfortable and effortless. This seamless dynamicis amplified perfectly in the mix by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs,Beach House). Widowspeak expertly pepper in slow-core, dream-pop,pacific northwest indie, and outlaw country, resulting in a 60s-meets90s aesthetic. This sense of sonic nostalgia adds another layer tolyrics that reflect on old selves, invented and true.The Jacket is a wizened meditation on performance and past livesfrom a band who've seen their fair share, hitting their stride now overa decade in.