Temple Songs

Laura Veirs — 2026

“Laura Veirs makes change and imperfection sound remarkably natural on Temple Songs, turning rough edges into part of the record’s emotional pull.”

Embracing change and imperfection isn’t easy, but Laura Veirs makes it seem relatively effortless on Temple Songs, her 14th LP. It’s her first self-recorded affair, but even though there are some deliberately rough edges here and there, they lend the album’s eleven songs an air of authenticity that heightens their emotional impact. Most of the tracks are built around Veirs’s voice and acoustic guitar, with touches of electric guitar, saxophone, drums, and other instruments making occasional appearances. It manages the trick of feeling stripped back and warmly lush at the same time, a balance created through subtle touches like multitracked vocals and guitar.

Lyrically, the album splits its focus between the personal and the political. Some tracks, like opener “Arc Still Bends” and “Flying Into Darkness,” reflect on the lamentable state of the world in 2026 and ask what we can do to make it a better place (or, at the very least, keep going). Many others turn inward, sometimes leaning towards regret (“New Life Over There”) but more often towards hope, celebrating newfound love (“Feeling Returns”) and creative freedom (“No Masters”). Ultimately, Temple Songs is one of the strongest albums Veirs has made, the sound of an artist finding her groove and celebrating that freedom in an infectious way. For anyone unfamiliar with her remarkably consistent back catalogue, this is a great place to start.