A few years back the Spotify executive Daniel Ek stated, “You can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realise that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans.” While that might be true for newer pop artists, classic singer songwriters like Patty Griffin aren’t afraid of defying the attention economy. The six year gap between her last release and this new one ‘Crown of Roses’ just shows us this is a quietly thoughtful and considerate artist who comes from another, better, era of music listening.
The album cover also evokes the past with its slightly eeriely picture of Griffin’s mother on her wedding day. The image is layered with flowers, birds, butterflies and an image of a lake, creating a beautiful but somewhat haunting effect. After her mother’s death earlier this year Griffin finally felt free to write the truth about the bittersweet nature of their relationship. The layers within that image suggest secrets, memories, hidden moments of beauty that make up a life, reflected in the quiet words and music of these songs.
Opening track ‘Back at the Start’ is a reset for her life and her career. Beginning again holds no fear for her. She sounds freed from expectations and the past. ‘It isn’t the end,’ she sings, reminding women that age isn’t a barrier to renewal, growth and change.
In ‘Born in a Cage’ there’s a foreboding darkness to the music, lyrically she searches for answers to how to cope with the pain and horror of fate. She uses birds here as a metaphor but you know she’s empathetic towards all beings.
The heart of this album is ‘The End’ with the truthful honesty of the line: ‘there’s more scars on me now / That you can’t get around / They’re harder to hide’. Post-cancer her voice can sometimes sound like that scarred and fragile vessel. What’s so admirable is how she is unafraid of hiding that, her vulnerability becoming part of what makes her such a compelling singer.
That alteration to singing in a more understated, quiet way is done beautifully on ‘Long Time’ where Robert Plant joins her in a stirring call to arms and optimism.
The tribute to her mother ‘Way Up to the Sky’ takes on the ghost of her complex relationship, looking back with compassion, forgiveness and understanding. She acknowledges the sacrifices, the pain and challenge of mother’s life with a powerful sense of empathy.
After that moment ‘I Know A Way’ sounds like freedom, she rocks out and lets her voice stretch to surprisingly confident and powerful places. She acknowledges that old roads are blocked now – the future is in a new direction.
Final song ‘Word’ encapsulates the beauty and tenderness of her approach on this album. Her voice, a quiet strum of a guitar is all that she needs, singing softly: ‘The love you leave on earth goes round forever.’
In a recent interview Griffin spoke of the album, saying: ‘I wanted to try to make smaller songs…I like singing small.’
On “Crown of Roses’ she proves that even the smallest of flames can still light up a room.
BUY: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/patty-griffin/crown-of-roses
NY Times Interview: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/arts/music/patty-griffin-crown-of-roses.html
American Songwriter Interview: https://americansongwriter.com/patty-griffin-finds-peace-with-life-changes-on-crown-of-roses/
Highway Queens 
Leave a comment