A vibrant, collaborative shift that sees Buck Meek trade hushed country intimacy for something louder, looser and unexpectedly playful.

Something is different with Buck Meek this time round. On his fourth studio album, there’s a new energy at play, abandoning the country style we have known him for to usher in an eclecticism that subverts any expectations held by fans of his music. The Mirror, recorded in a log cabin-turned-studio (Ringo Bingo) owned by friend Germain Dunes as well as Meek, hosts a series of family, friends, and long-time collaborators, bringing a range of voices and instruments into the room in order to achieve this life affirming, upbeat, joyous affair, marking this as Buck Meek’s most interesting piece of solo work yet.

Opening track ‘Gasoline’ carries a charm that runs throughout the album, from the indescribable jargon that the track starts off with, to the refrain-like questioning of declaring new love in the lyrics, “Will it be me or will it be her to say I love you first?” The pacing of this track is dictated by the drums, frenetic and buoyant as they help urge this building wall of sound. The guitar solo glides and spirals before we return to the sweet professions of freshly arrived love.

‘Pretty Flowers’ makes sure that if it isn’t clear by now, this album is a presentation of Buck Meek in a louder space, the drums playing the same role as they did in the previous track. The implementation of keys heightens this absurd lullaby Buck Meek has created, a comforting lull established amidst joint vocals provided by Big Thief collaborator Adrianne Lenker, Germain Dunes and Staci Foster.

‘Can I Mend It?’ delivers a more direct country sound. The pinched vocals (“you saw me”) and their repetition pertain to the vulnerability of being perceived so intimately by someone else, seeking to repair friction established in the height of an argument and return to a familiar state of loving.

The recording process for the record was one of pure collaboration, with the featured musicians in the studio responding to one another in a live setting, instruments triggering modular synths and electronic textures. This proves fruitful, benefiting this deviation from the folk we’ve known Meek to explore previously. We can hear its inflection on the track ‘Ring of Fire’, which brings in an unexpected trip hop element to the project, demonstrating a sense of abandon in pursuit of collaborative creativity.

Song structures within this project often revolve around short verses and a refrain. They might feel redundant if not for the ingenuity and intention behind this process, combined with instrumentation that is ever evolving in the background. Take ‘Soul Feeling’: the loudness provided by the electric guitar evolves through the track’s run time, becoming sporadic and chaotic in the final portion of the song.

Much of the album’s sonics can be credited to Big Thief band member James Krivchenia, who acts as producer and delivers the kinetic energy so present in their band’s performances into a studio album.

Buck Meek has expanded upon his country sound to deliver an electric, romantic project full of surprises and intimacy at every corner. The Mirror is expansive country music, lined with pithy musings of love that cut and sprout, bleed and entertain, featuring some of his best songwriting.