If Patty Griffin’s eponymous 2019 LP struck as a reclamation of self and craft in recovering from cancer and loss, this year’s stunning Crown of Roses feels like a confrontation of the aftermath and lingering reality of life moving on. From the bluesy ambivalence of opener “Back at the Start” to the devastatingly beautiful, cinematic swoon of “The End” (“So that was the end, and then this world began”) and gentle prayer of “A Word,” Griffin’s songwriting is at its most poetic and moving. Crown of Roses is rife with a humble wisdom and fearlessly vulnerable strength. – Doug Freeman
