Style: Genre bending singer-songwriter; compare to Feist, Bon Iver, Shawn Colvin
Top tracks: “Soft Place to Land,” “Chameleon/Comedian,” “Change the Sheets”
Edwards takes us on a gorgeous voyage through intricate relational geography on her fourth album. She trades the Americana twang of early work for broader indie-pop atmospherics and strong hooks, built on smart, vulnerable lyrics. The Midas fingerprints of Justin Vernon—Bon Iver mastermind, Edwards’ boyfriend and coproducer—abound. But Edwards’ heart guides this journey through loss and possibility. Post-divorce themes are confessional yet universal, moving but not maudlin. Subtle spiritual questioning flows through the upheaval that leaves Edwards “going to hell / in a basket I made / Woven from the letters / And it spells your name” (“Going to Hell”). Ultimately, the fragile-yet-bold Voyageur seeks grace in life’s scars and finds hope on the horizon.
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