Rowan Rheingans - The Lines We Draw Together (2019)

Rowan Rheingans’ new album is dedicated to her two grandmothers, whose memories and experiences helped shape many of these songs. In her liner notes, Rheingans also pays tribute to the writers John Berger, Mary Oliver and Etty Hillesum. This combination of the personal and the poetic (which, when explored more deeply in the context of the album’s lyrics, contains within it an implied connection between suffering and beauty) is important: it provides clues to Rheingans’ unique way of working, which itself draws as much from poetry, drama and appreciation of place as it does from songwriting as we know it.

Rheingans’ output has been prolific of late, with albums by Lady Maisery, the Rheingans Sisters and Songs of Separation under her belt. She has built up a reputation as one of the most innovative performers on the folk circuit and has amassed a series of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominations, winning Best Original Track (Mackerel by the Rheingans Sisters in 2016) and Best Album (Songs of Separation in 2017). So it might come as a surprise to learn that The Lines We Draw Together is her first album as a solo artist.