After sinking in the mire and then clawing their way out, The Staves are back stronger than ever, undefeated and unwilling to surrender to any doubt that they aren’t good enough.

To experience a lifetime of loss, grief, and change in just a few short months is more than enough to test one’s resilience. After sinking in the mire and then clawing their way out, The Staves are back stronger than ever, undefeated and unwilling to surrender to any doubt that they aren’t good enough.

The Staveley-Taylor sisters have been making music together since they were children - now, seven years after their last release, their third record defines a new era of hope and defiance. Written and recorded during a time of turmoil, of birth and death, of love and loss - Good Woman takes shape as the trio’s strongest album yet.

Titular track ‘Good Woman’ reminds us of The Staves’ folk-adjacent style, featuring their trademark three-part harmonies which layer over consistent percussion building to a powerful, soulful climax. Fading out with distorted vocals, this song is an affirmation that despite tradition or expectation, the sisters are good women. Paying tribute to other women in their lives, this track also features pieces of conversations from the sisters’ mother and grandmother who both passed away in 2018.

The Staves have perfected heartfelt and evocative storytelling, with soaring euphoric breakdowns amidst more tender notes culminating in impressive full arrangements that solidify the band’s prestige. On tracks like ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Next Year, Next Time’, the trio reminisce on what could have been and what could be. Airy production adds a happy-go-lucky feel to an album which we would expect to be more sorrowful than not, all things considered. Still, there are moments of melancholy, especially on ‘Sparks’, which is a gut-wrenching yet jubilant tribute to the trio’s late mother. Laden with love and longing, it is beautifully affecting and makes your heart ache for what the sisters have lost.

Throughout the record, there’s consistency in The Staves’ modus operandi, particularly in the way they effortlessly weave their harmonies. It’s also interesting to see how the band experiments with different styles - on ‘Careful, Kid’, electronic influence adds a magnetic dynamic to their signature sound. Acting as a post-breakup letter to one’s former self, this track matches grungy synth and heady percussion with honeyed vocals. Blending melodic pop with gritty momentum, and oftentimes tinged with dashes of indie and country, this record boasts it all.

Towards the end of the album, the sadness starts to seep through more. It’s never pitiful, though - more of an introspective journey into the past. The penultimate ‘Trying’ is a sombre lament on the effects of depression, putting yourself first despite what others might need or think you need, and trying to get better. Its remorseful bridge marks the start of the track’s soaring breakdown, complete with a chorus of harmonies, which then ebbs into a quiet ending. Leading into the final song ‘Waiting On Me To Change’, we are reminded with this affirmational anthem to never compromise yourself for someone else. Subdued instrumentation elevates the track’s poignant lyrics, always centering on the sisters’ saccharine vocals. As a closing track, it’s a perfect summation of how the trio have made it through the fire and come out stronger, closer, and more self-assured.