On her second album, the very personal
The Two Worlds
, Irish indie folk musician
Brigid Mae Power
addressed abusive relationships from her past, including not only a former romantic partner but simply being raised in a patriarchal society. Two years later,
Head Above the Water
reveals a calmer, more self-assured version of
Power
, one that has come out the other side, if with battle scars. Still semi-autobiographical, it looks to the small but important decisions and alliances that can lead to a path forward. She approaches it with a still more delicate, subtly psychedelic folk rooted in guitar but fleshed out with instruments like bouzouki, Shruti box, piano, and bodhran as well as synthesizer and electric guitar. The album's five guest musicians include her co-producers,
Alasdair Roberts
and
Peter Broderick
, the latter her husband and frequent collaborator. "I Had to Keep My Circle Small" is a poignant album highlight with drone-like strumming and a lilting, weeping melody with lyrics that emphasize the importance of picking allegiances ("I needed you to favor me/That is not a bad thing at all"). Elsewhere, the affectionate "I Was Named After You" establishes a minor key with guitar and a melismatic vocal line alongside light percussion. That song adds atmospheric synthesizer and a winding woodwind to its arrangement before arriving at the conclusion that "It's the vulnerability that did mend the situation in the end" as crescendoing layers of drums and acoustic and electronic drone take over the track's final two minutes. The rest of
is equally as detail-oriented and gently profound, including her cover of traditional English folk song "The Blacksmith." In the brokenhearted tune about deceit, her warm and weary delivery is joined on choruses, symbolically, by a male harmonizer. Throughout,
brings to mind the phrase "quiet power." ~ Marcy Donelson