A gripping tale about the agonising nature of addiction.
It’s been three years since The Lumineers released Cleopatra, and their latest well-kept secret III was released this month as a three-part narrative album. The album depicts the life and struggle of those suffering with addiction through the fictional Sparks family, which paves the way for an authentically raw and harrowingly beautiful collection of tracks.
‘Donna’, the first track of Part I, starts piecing together a family that’s been torn apart by addiction. A simple piano is paired with Wesley Schultz’s emotive vocals to paint a picture that perfectly sets up the rest of the album. It creates an entire world within the album, a movie within the music, and a story that allows fans to immerse themselves in the world of The Lumineers entirely.
Part II finds a building, budding standout track in ‘Leader of the Landslide’, from the perspective of Gloria’s son, Junior. The gentle plucking of a guitar crescendos into an energetic chorus of rhythmic strums, tambourines and piano, reminiscent of the early Lumineers.
Jimmy Sparks, the husband of Gloria, gets his story told in a self-titled song nestled within Part III and the melancholy that ensues foreshadows the helplessness and acceptance that the band seem to find by the end of the album. The record doesn’t strive for a happy ending, rather depicting the real nature of addiction and all that it encompasses.
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