The title track, “Blackbirds,” opens up the record with a low, heart-sinking vocal delivery of equally haunting lyrics: “I’m covered up in dirt, and I stink of kerosene / And no matter what I do, I can’t get clean.” The stark subject matters don’t let up here. “When All You Got Is a Hammer” touches upon the expectation of failure and how that expectation can only fester more failure. On “The Cure for the Pain,” Peters sings of relishing in the pain of heartbreak, doing so with such eloquence and vulnerability.

4.5/5 stars

To read this review in its entirety, view it at The Shotgun Seat.