Widowspeak

Expect the Best

With Hamilton’s dusky vocals so reminiscent of Hope Sandoval and the like, Expect The Best is the most akin to Mazzy Star so far.

Every Widowspeak record is exceptionally intimate, but emphasizing the four-piece band’s live chemistry for the first time gives Expect The Best an earthier, more lived-in feel than earlier efforts.

Newly expanded Widowspeak return with an album of emotional truths. Expect The Best is the embodiment of change: line-up of the band, location and approach to songwriting. Darker than previously, Widowspeak still sound as if they are coaxing the stars down out of a Midwest sky.

Their fourth release with Captured Tracks, the label responsible for all your dream-pop desires, is their most dynamic yet and a strong signifier of the band’s live shows.

After three full length albums of alt-country with all of the seams exposed, Widowspeak are now going the full Mazzy Star, leaning into the dream pop world with Expect the Best. If that sounds like a copout to passé surf rock trends, Expect the Best stands out amongst other reverb-drenched indie rock for being exceptionally well composed.

Widowspeak sticks to its formula on Expect the Best, doubling down on conviction to a fuller effect. The familiar faded tonality now has punchier, richer hues.

As ever, the Brooklyn four-piece triumph when they succumb to the dreamier elements of their work, of which Expect the Best carries just enough to sustain the listener across the finish line.