Allison Russell doesn’t waste a single second on her sophomore solo album.
A follow-up to Allison Russell’s solo debut, Outside Child was never going to be an easy proposition. Critically acclaimed and widely recognized for its impactful and cathartic expression of her harrowing experiences of abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Outside Child is like putting lightning in a bottle. Still, you’d never guess it from Russell’s sophomore record, The Returner. Her latest builds upon the debut’s declaration of joy for all survivors who have made it to the other side, opening the mind, body, and soul.
“My goal with The Returner,” says Russell, “sonically, poetically, and spiritually – is a radical reclamation of the present tense, a real-time union of body, mind, and soul.” Keeping with that spirit of being in the moment, The Returner is overflowing with improvisational energy. Assisted by a stellar cast of supporting collaborators, including Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Wendy & Lisa, and Hozier and supported by her all-female Rainbow Coalition backing band, Russell doesn’t waste a single second on the album’s ten tracks.
From The Returner’s introspective title track to the electrically charged “All Without Within” and thought-provoking and hip-swinging “Demons,” Russell tackles emotions and themes connected to political activism and reclaiming one’s agency. “Shadowlands” beautifully highlights the power of her lyrics and delivery. “I woke up from a goddamn nightmare / Just to find the house was on fire,” she sings before asserting her power to change the narrative: “Maybe it was a dream within a dream / It doesn’t matter anyhow / I can bring the cool rain when I want to / I know how to gather the clouds.”
The closing song, “Requiem,” builds from a gentle country gospel rhythm into a heartswelling declaration of love’s undying power in the face of adversity and resistance. The opening verse kills me every time I hear her sing, “Oh, I know your way /Is hard to see today / Bullets, they fly faster than mother’s lullabies / And the sparrows cannot sing / For it is theirs to bring / The souls of those lost babies back to the sky.” Like the whole of The Returner, Russell intends to make her listeners stop in their tracks and take stock of this place in time and space we all occupy. She compels you to look around and put yourself in another’s shoes for a moment and open your heart to empathy and differing points of view. The Returner is a musical tapestry that reflects unity and intimacy and captures the essence of human existence through its rich lyrics and melodies.
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