Such attempts at genre-defining are often pointless other than for marketing purposes, but in this case, the danger of such tropes is that they threaten to disguise that Lissie is, in fact, a bona fide telecaster-toting, tequila-swigging rockstar. But once I started writing in November, it was like I had some time to reflect on these stages of grief I found myself in. It’s a cute song, definitely not one of the best, but it gives the album an extra dose of patience, calm. Again, it’s very universal, so she was probably able to tap into some of her own life experience of break-ups and people who maybe have hurt you who never had to really answer for it, and how that fits as time goes by. Although all 12 new songs effortlessly rest on a familiar shelf of sunny California rock, this is a breakup album, and as such is admittedly more melancholic – indeed a little more indie – than we have come to expect from Lissie, who turns 40 later this year.

L: You know, it’s interesting, and I feel like it’s kind of an obnoxious thing to say, but I listened to so much music growing up in high school and in college and in my early 20s in LA and I was always at concerts – I kind of feel like, once I started doing this for a living, that the thing that I listen to or go to when I’m trying to just go through my day, I’ll just put on classical music radio around the house – no singing, just music and dynamics and beauty.In addition to our lovely colored vinyl pressing of 'Carving Canyons,' the Bandbox exclusive also comes with a 16-page zine dedicated to Lissie, featuring pro-shot photographs from her performance at our popup, essays about her career, as well as an engaging and revealing interview with Lissie herself, where she talks about where she was creatively and personally when she wrote and recorded 'Carving Canyons,' as well as her candid track-by-track breakdown of each song on her new album. t.” “Yellow Roses,” penned with (and sung with) Nashville ace Natalie Hemby, is a sweet, string-laced ballad that has the singer reemerging from her self-declared (and pandemic-enforced) isolation – “All day she climbed, peeked over the walls. Unlock the Chains” is a rocker with a bit of fresh perspective – “Everything I thought I knew about what I want, it might not be true. It’s the longest song of the album and it is both a reflection on the past and a hope for the future.

Currently stands as my absolute favorite project of 2023, a monumental achievement for all the members involved. And the title track, written with Sarah Buxton and Kate York, slowly unfolds with some lovely guitar work from David Levita, focuses on the path from heartbreak to better days – “Pain is just a river forming valleys. It also unlocks new layers of self-reflection, as on the title track, where Lissie considers the way that destructive experiences can be formative (as in the creation of a canyon). Carving Canyons' is tinged with loneliness and heartbreak, due to Lissie experiencing a painful breakup during the pandemic.Hearts on fire is rightfully one of the last songs: it can’t compete with the other tracks, both the music and the lyrics are forgettable.