Mirror, Reflect

On 'Mirror, Reflect', Amy O returns to form as she documents hertransition into motherhood in the early days of the pandemic. Initiallyconceived as a lo-fi endeavor to record songs made with friends in thosedays of uncertainty, Mirror, Reflect is an intimate and exploratory workthat weaves collected home and field recordings with shimmeringsynths and Oelsner's playful lyricism.A stalwart presence in the indie-pop underground since 2012, Oelsnershifted her approach to record making on 'Mirror, Reflect' to emphasizeprocess over product, with the resulting songs born out of a myriad ofhome sessions, song-a-day projects, songwriting workshops and onlinecollaborations. This kind of patchwork, home-spun approach wasfamiliar to Oelsner, who made her name with her sparkling, homemadepop songs before releasing three studio albums, including her mostrecent album, 2019's Shell.'Mirror, Reflect' gently shrugs o the sheen of those studio albums, as anearly prenatal recording of Oelsner's daughter's heartbeat opens therecord in the near-ambient instrumental prelude of "Honey"-a wonderfully nuanced dispatch from the dog days of summer that's under-belliedby both the precarity and beauty of the early months of infancy and newmotherhood. Oelsner's knack for finding magic in the mundane is alsodeeply apparent on "Dribble Dribble," where the stick-with-you nature ofthe playful rhyme schemes of the children's books that became a regularpart of her literary intake are worked into a lilting reflection on resilience,destruction and loss.Oelsner's initiation into motherhood is inseparable from the poetic heartof 'Mirror, Reflect', but the album is also largely informed by the shifts inOelsner's relationship to herself. Through playful and emotionally acuteobservations, Amy O turns the potentially contractive experiences ofmotherhood, isolation, family and aging into a freewheeling work whereephemerality and humor collide over her deft lyrical phrasing, musicalityand her keen observations turned poetic revelations.