The Secret Sisters are back with a brand-new album ‘Mind, Man, Medicine’ and let me tell you, it is gorgeous. When asked about the inspiration for the new album, the sisters share that “Our fifth chapter is the one where we seek, savour, and settle. The muse found us in the depths of raising children, nurturing relationships, surviving a world-changing virus, bidding farewell, shifting our mindsets and discovering a sense of peace heretofore unseen”, and this is certainly evident in the tracks on the album.
I don’t want to give too much about this piece of work away, as a lot of the beauty of it comes from that first time listen, as it almost feels like a spiritual pilgrimage. It is a truly meditative album full of calming synths that transport you to an ethereal realm of thinking, seeing and being. A real highlight on the album for me has to be the song ‘Bear With Me’ as it really captures that feeling of being at a transitionary point in life, as the sisters navigate the third decade of their lives. I am not usually one for country music, however ‘The Secret Sisters’ manage to use elements of it cleverly, such as soft twanging guitars and folkish vocals that really enhance the song. Lyrically, ‘Bear With Me’ is absolutely beautiful, a really tender and open song about growing as a person and that feeling of insecurity in the early stages of motherhood. You can see that the pair really bare their all in this as they sing about the trials and tribulations of being a new parent and ask their children and family to ‘bear with’ them as they develop into mothers. This idea of ‘opening your soul to the world’ is a theme throughout all of the tracks, even the more upbeat tunes are deeply introspective, and are layered with many meanings and interpretations. I’d go so far to say that while listening to ‘Mind, Man, Medicine’ you feel as if you are growing and learning with Tanner and White, as they explore the mystery of life through music.
As a teaser, the band have already released the album highlight ‘Paperweight’, an upbeat, folk style love song that just screams joy and contentment. I especially love it when musicians use niche instruments in order to enhance their work, so hearing some excellently nimble fiddle work from multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell was extremely enjoyable as it both added to that folk/country flavour that the band toy with, as well as printing a mark of individuality upon the track. Instantly, ‘Paperweight’ has been an absolute hit, and if this song’s success is any marker of how the rest of the album will be received, then The Secret Sisters are set to have a good year ahead of them.
‘Mind, Man, Medicine’ releases on Friday the 29th March via New West Records.
Photo credit: David McClister
Bacchanalia Magazine 
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