Good Woman, the Staves, 4th album, was released last Friday. The Staves are three sisters, much like a softer, folkier, Haim, but from our own home soil, Watford to be specific. Getting their rise to fame through supporting The Civil Wars and Florence and the Machine, their soft indie folk music is the perfect background to a lockdown walk or stroll in the woods.
Indie folk, soft, ‘witchy’ music is having its time in the sun. After the huge success of Taylor Swift’s albums Folklore and Evermore, both released in 2020, folk music has taken a sharp rise in popularity. The Staves, however, are not newcomers to folk music, reminiscent of First Aid Kit or Maggie Rogers, The Staves have been honing their folk sound since 2012.
Although The Staves music has a consistency, a reliability, and a sound fans have come to expect, this album pushes their sound in a different direction. For this album they worked with John Congleton, who has worked with such artists as St. Vincent and Sharon Van Etten, and who brings more rock and electronic sounds to the group. Their ballads are heavier and louder than on previous albums and his influence leads this album closer to pop-folk than some of their previous albums.
Good Woman also feels more mature than previous albums. It mediates on the sister’s growth, exploring womanhood and reflecting on personal experiences, the music maturing along with the women. The lyrics reflect on failed relationships, motherhood and the difficulty of losing their mother. The music may be soft, but it is not neutral or easy. The melodies are backed up with lyrics that tackle difficult topics, and which contrast the women’s strength and power with their beautiful music. The titular song Good Woman reflects on gender roles and the difficulty of being an all-female group in the music industry; ‘Well, I cover my mouth / And straighten my back / I’m a good woman’. Particular favourites include ‘Failure’, ‘Satisfied’, and ‘Paralysed’ ballads which feel emotionally honest whilst hitting all the big musical notes. At times haunting, lyrics to these songs are personal and meaningful, and unfold beautifully into fuller musical sound.
Overall, Good Woman is a solid album, The Staves’ music is reliably beautiful and the lyrics hard hitting. So, if you’re a fan of indie folk or ‘soft lady’ music, and haven’t yet heard of the Staves, they may be a perfect lockdown discovery to pair with a walk in the crisp winter air and some well-timed angst.
4/5
