Laura Veirs’s new album is the first she’s entirely recorded and produced herself and the first in four years since Found Light. Her garden studio is called ‘Temple of Bloom’ and this was where ‘Temple Songs’ was born, after living through a songwriting drought she has reframed as a ‘gathering phase’. The seeds of that work have grown into songs whose roots feel surprisingly strong.
The opening song on the album manages to be both heartbreaking, and hilarious, asking the desperate question ‘the arc still bends towards justice right?’ Before wryly wondering ‘then why am I still holding this fucking sign?’ As a song reflecting the state of things in the world it sums up that confusion so many of us feel. Musically the intimate, direct style feels revolutionary in itself.
The lack of any musical ornamentation feels almost like being whispered to, hypnotised even at times. ‘Golden Seams’ echoes with the statement ‘hear me sing my song’ as though in the past she’s been somewhat silenced through working with others.
There’s hope and optimism on ‘The Pulse’ where she sings ‘Something’s coming I need it…it’s good’ She’s listening to the beat of her own body and believing in a better future. This song brings some of those jazz influences that we heard on her last album.
‘Feeling Returns’ is about recovery and falling in love again, finding herself moving through fear and pain through a ‘portal to another world’ where love songs live again.
These personal moments continue on ‘Flying Into Darkness’ which wonders ‘is there a place I can go where I can be myself?’ Within these sparse songs feels like the answer to her search for self.
And from there she offers anyone who has been hiding away from the world an invitation to come ‘Out from Undercover’. This song offers a more layered sound, showing that the recording restraints she used for this album hasn’t limited her vision.
The feminist ‘No Masters’ encourages everyone to step away from being controlled, hoping others can look to the future with a freedom from the shackles of the past.
The personal ‘River’s Song’ seems to be a song dedicated to a young man (her own child, perhaps) encouraging him to have an emotional outlet through music, ‘cry a River cry if you’re wanting to’. There’s no avoidance of feelings, only understating and empathy for others feeling down.
She concludes the album with an acceptance that life is just ‘Sunlight and Doom’ two sides that we cannot escape. She offers us her companionship through the darkness, an invitation to try and learn to live with the ‘solstice sun coming for you’.
The minimalism of the work, which may seem like a barrier to some, actually gives these songs their strength, a strength that also feels distinctly feminine. Laura Veirs has built her own temple and it’s an honour to sit inside and hear these songs.
Highway Queens 
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