Laura Stevenson - Late Great (2025) [Hi-Res]

In the four years since her self-titled album was released, indie-folk icon Laura Stevenson's entire life has been upended. Late Great, released by Jeff Rosenstock's Really Records, is about letting go, taking charge, and learning to rebuild from the deepest layers of your being: "It's a document of loss for sure, " Stevenson says, "but also of this scary and exciting precipice that I am standing on. I am making my own life now. With the record, my job, with everything, this is the first time I get to call all the shots." Late Great was produced and mixed by John Agnello. The live band tracked at The Building in Marlboro, NY - an old church that used to be a pay-what-you-can model venue, a suitable space for an artist with DIY punk roots. The result is a big, smoldering sound that makes you want to roll down your car windows and let the wind whip away your woes. Late Great takes you on a journey as ornate arrangements and bombastic rhythms cede way to tender minimalistic arrangements only to find their way back again with Stevenson's singular voice floating above the kaleidoscopic sonics, feeling powerful and vulnerable all at once.