Kim Krans - MIRRORMIRROR (2024)

If there is a single constant that ties together the work of multidisciplinary artist Kim Krans, it’s that all of her art seeks to find the intersection of the temporal and the mystic. The hauntingly gorgeous records she released in the early ‘10s as the frontwoman of the New York group Family Band were ghost stories delivered with chilling calm, as if Krans was a medium relaying messages from the other side. Her 2016 tarot deck The Wild Unknown and its accompanying guide book—which landed on the New York Times Bestseller list—reflected her desire to put spiritual tools in the hands of ordinary people. And the title of her new solo album, MIRRORMIRROR, feels like a sly wink to the item’s fairy tale function as a radio to the spirit world. Its songs, too, are full of Greek gods, distant stars, and secret prophecies. But the real strength of MIRRORMIRROR lies in the devastating power of Krans’s voice, a hushed, patient alto capable of sounding lovestruck and heartbroken, hopeful and bereft all at once. I’m hesitant to invoke ASMR, but the way Krans sings has a similar effect, cradling you and calming you and sending shivers across the surface of your skin. Early standout “Spinning Sun”—a duet with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James—is the perfect showcase for what Krans does best. She spoons out each word in the verses slowly and tenderly: “There’s one. Two. A hundred. Spinning Suns.” Her cadence hypnotizes you, until the angelic chorus swoops in to deliver the gentle kiss: “And you/ Spin me round/ And you/ I go upside down.” It’s a breathtaking moment on an album full of them, and Krans is the perfect poet of everyday magic.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Kim Krans - Sister (4:29)
1.02 - Kim Krans - Spinning Sun (4:20)
1.03 - Kim Krans - Mercury (3:00)
1.04 - Kim Krans - Dead Stars (5:14)
1.05 - Kim Krans - Yes (4:40)
1.06 - Kim Krans - Golden Tears (4:34)
1.07 - Kim Krans - MIRRORMIRROR (3:54)
1.08 - Kim Krans - Sweet Saturn (5:25)
1.09 - Kim Krans - There Is Always Sound (5:35)