The Broken Cradle - Remembering

 Released: June 10

Roughly two years after his last album, The Broken Cradle (the musical alias of Eric McLean) returns with new release that tells the story of loss and grief. Following the loss of not one, but two people close to him, McLean began working on this album but couldn’t bring himself to finish it until recently. The album reflects this tension, the inability to really move on, and the conflicting feelings around losing those close to you. The album opens up strong with “You Are Not Here,” which you might expect to have a tragic or sad tone, but ultimately comes across as sounding strong and full of perseverance. Ascendant pads rise quickly and stay strong and prominent for the first half of the track until suddenly disappearing and are replaced by a soft piano and indiscernible voice recordings that sound as though they were pulled directly from home video recordings. The next several tracks continue this quiet and reflective theme, giving us a moment to really soak in the gravity of what the album is about. 

That resonant and persevering theme reoccurs periodically throughout the album, noticeably so on the later track “Goodby For Now.” Those strong and ascendant pads return, this time coming through layers of soft distortion that conveys a sense of smiling through tears. It makes for a wonderful setup to the final track “We Are Still Here,” which brings back that sense of thankful reflection - the realization that still being here means you can experience more joy even if there is sadness to be had too. Overall, it’s a beautifully made album that captures the essence of loss and the drive to carry on despite it. The sound design on the synths and keys is as always wonderfully done. But the addition of the home recording audio gives it the perfect touch. It gives more than just vibes and feels like a brief but intimate view into who these people now gone were. It really is quite beautiful.