Αναλυτική Περιγραφή
On Labyrinth, Heather Woods Broderick serves as our reflective host, subverting
expectations of conventional songcraft with impressionistic language and quietly
relentless explorations of the human experience that’s at once light and dark,
more circular and less linear. “Many of us yearn for stillness and peace, as an
escape from the movement all around us,” she explains when asked about the
themes of the album. “Yet movement is perpetual, happening all the time on
some level. It’s as wild as the wind, yet eternally predictable in its inevitability. It is
linear in part, but infinite in its circuitry. Our lives just punctuate it.”
Broderick began crafting Labyrinth in March 2020, when most forms of movement were brought to a screeching halt. The Maine-born, Los Angeles-based
songwriter — who, in addition to her work as a solo musician, built a life playing
and touring with acts such as Sharon Van Etten, Beth Orton, Damien Jurado, and
Efterklang — was suddenly forced off the road for the first time in her career. She
used this disruption as an opportunity to pare down her creation process and
construct the scaffolding for Labyrinth in her apartment. Employing only the most
crucial tools at her disposal, Broderick found herself opening different artistic
doors as she focused on sharpening her recording skills, capturing the majority
of the album on her own before finishing the remainder with co-producer D.
James Goodwin.
For all of Broderick’s sage lyricism and vocal authority, Labyrinth never provides
the listener with any easy answers. If the image of the labyrinth represents the
enormity of modern life and the difficulty of navigating it, Heather Woods Broderick provides a guide to its endless kinetic wonders — of being present, aware, and
connected despite its disconnects. She describes the texture of its walls, its
indifferent rhythms, and the inherent poeticism of feeling lost amid the
dead-ends and unexpected turns. At this point in our history, perhaps that’s all
we need to keep moving.“It is ethereal and perfect. I just madly love this
record.”
– Bob Boilen, NPR MUSIC
"...exquisitely beautiful."
– MOJO
"…walls of sound that still maintain an intimate,
bedroom-folk feel."
– PITCHFORK
“…this could be our record of the year.”
– DROWNED IN SOUND
"...a swooning, whispering delight, impressive..."
– THE LINE OF BEST FIT
