"Her soft yet rich voice is innately consoling, empathetic. Often the simplicity of these songs make them feel like incantations, her sentiments strengthening over the course of a track, as with "Afraid," about how life robs our innocence; or like deeply humane sermons, such as "Keep Me in the Dark," about the various futile ways we can try to resist love, which succumbs to a beautiful flowing stream of a chorus."
"When Wasner considers how potentially unproductive it may sometimes have been to help others, it's never in the trite self-serving sense of selfishness masquerading as boundaries or putting your own oxygen mask on first. There is a moonlit peace to "Instead of Calling," even as she frets about abandoning her role in triage. The calm, repeating chorus of "Not Yet Free" suggests sitting with pain rather than trying to work past it."
"She saves her harshest words for her former coping mechanisms, but still beds the revelations in gently. "I can go on but I'm not proud of it," she sings on the lovely firefly glimmer of "Close to Home," shrugging off her former delusions. "It's pride that will not let me break," she sings on "Pride," where a frazzled guitar part imperceptibly softens to pedal steel, an affecting shift in emotional weather."
Wasner's songs create a tender, consoling space that invites reevaluation of assumptions and self-deception. The soft, rich voice conveys empathy and warmth, often making simple songs feel like incantations. Tracks such as "Afraid" and "Keep Me in the Dark" build sentiment and chorus into streams of emotional surrender. "The Enemy" uses vocal reverb and repeating acoustic figures to suggest anticipation beyond conflicting perceptions, with a rare squalling guitar solo that joyfully desecrates assumptions. Several songs examine the limits of helping others and sitting with pain, favoring calm repetition and modest revelations over bravado.
Read at Pitchfork
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