The Staves - Good Woman - 8/10

 

‘Good Woman’ is a record shaped by profound loss and uplifting joy.

In the period of time spent writing the album, Watford’s Staveley-Taylor sisters lost their beloved mother and also welcomed eldest sister Emily’s daughter into the world. Their new record captures the profound emotional experiences they have experienced and shapes them into a moving, beautiful and passionate piece of work.

The Staves have always being held in high regard since rising to fame in the early 2010s. Their 2012 debut album ‘Dead and Born and Grown’ was a fine collection of harmony soaked acoustic ballads, whilst 2014’s ‘If I Was’ saw them team up with Bon Iver on production duties for a broader and more ambitious record.

‘Good Woman’ is their third album (not including 2017’s collaborative release with yMusic) and is worth the wait. It simultaneously captures the understated beauty and angelic harmonies from their debut whilst also continues to find the band confidently flexing their musical muscle and trying new sounds.

The record opens with the title track, which itself launches off with pitch perfect harmonies and a strutting baseline. The song steadily builds and wraps itself around self-reflective poetic lyrics such as ‘surrender is sweet, forgiveness divine, but who’ll build statues of me when I leave you behind’. All of the components come together perfectly to form an opening track that sets the standard for the whole album.

Following on are the driving passions of ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Next Year, Next Time’ which both marry a subtle melody with tireless drums and urgent harmonised vocals. ‘Careful Kid’ meanwhile is the furthest the band have ever ventured from their roots, and is the clearest showcase of Bon Iver’s influence. The unity of the raw synths, passionate vocals, plunging melody and the Eno-esque ambience that floats throughout creates a really standout track. The rawness and the beauty compliment each other perfectly.

Despite the musical explorations, it is the bands vocals that remain their most powerful weapon. The harmonies on the stripped back ballad ‘Nothing’s Going to Happen’ are sublime and are reminiscent of the sound that brought Crosby, Stills and Nash huge success. The vocals on the chorus of ‘Satisfied’ are urgent, passionate and powerful - they lift the whole song into life. ‘Paralysed’ may begin slowly but the harmonies throughout the verse and chorus build it with urgency and anger and by the end it grips you with both hands.

Sure not every moment captures the magic. ‘Sparks’ is a good song but, despite it threatening to build to a roaring conclusion, it never fulfils its own promise and limps to an end. It is an anomaly and not one that detracts from the record's flow. Sure ‘Good Woman’ is not an album that gives away all its secrets on the first listen but give it time and  repeated listens and each song will unveil its own identity and their own secrets. 

There are, though, some songs that capture you from the first listen. ‘Devotion’ is the jewel in the crown with its clever build of an understated piano melody and finger clicks to a pulsating anthemic chorus. It’s their finest moment to date. ‘Failure’ meanwhile has all the rattle, drive and passion of a rock and roll anthem with a brilliant nod to the nineties with its roaring melody. It’s bloody brilliant!

This is a record that celebrates life and all of the highs, lows, failures and triumphs that it throws at us all. It is a musical journey that remains faithless to the effortlessly angelic sisterly vocals that has always made the Staves’ sound so unique and moving. It is an amazing record and well worth repeated listening. 'Good Women' will reward and inspire you!