Carving Canyons

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Then, having proven herself, her second album Back to Forever was heavier and Lissie, having always seemed to carry an innate and unbreakable confidence, appeared more comfortable and carefree than ever, singing “I don’t know what this game is / Cause I’m not even playing it / You don’t know what my name is / So what, so what? Some of Carving Canyons will remind you of other artists like The Chicks, Stevie Nicks, and Jenny Lewis. Throughout it all, Lissie pushes her personal musical boundaries, whether it be through the funkiness of Chasing The Sun, the dreamy rock of Lonesome Wines, the wistful nostalgia of I Hate This, the pacey passion of Hearts On Fire, the empowerment of Yellow Roses, or the bombast of title track Carving Canyons.

On “Flowers,” a song where Lissie gives herself permission to be hurt but to also heal, she sings, “I’m okay.The singer is finally able to look at herself with affection: she looks at her struggles, at her strengths, at the lost battles and the challenges she overcame. L: When the pandemic started, I was actually living with my ex-partner, who was a farmer, like an actual organic farmer. This song seems weaker than the previous one: the lyrics are very clear and easy to understand, but they don’t seem to offer a particularly original perspective; they fail in the attempt to replicate that comforting familiar feeling and rather come off as basic and a little boring. My body doesn’t put up with the things it did when I was 25, and I started doing all this stuff, so I’m a little nervous! But of course there’s just so much great new music, and I should be better at – do you ever feel just the sheer volume of what’s happening on the internet is overwhelming?

I think by the time you get to the end of the song…a lot of this album was me just sticking up for myself and saying, ‘I’m allowed to hurt.Unravel” picks at the frayed edges of what’s left – “The last time we spoke/I was halfway to California/I was still wearing all of your clothes” – with sorrow welling up in soaring vocals and discordant notes.