By TY

Natalie Merchant’s eighth studio album, Keep Your Courage, was Released on April 14, 2023, by Nonesuch Records, marking her return to the music scene after a nine-year hiatus. Known for her intellectually stimulating and compassionate music, Merchant has been writing songs since the 1980s, and even now at the age of 60, her songwriting skills remain as potent as they were in her earlier works with 10,000 Maniacs.

The album features nine songs, all showcasing Merchant’s harmonic sophistication and lyricism, packaged in arrangements that complement and accentuate the stories she tells through her music. Keep Your Courage features string and horn arrangements that add to the beauty of the album, and Merchant’s sweet singing voice blends seamlessly with the arrangements.

The compositions on this album are refined and reveal themselves gradually with each successive listen. Every track is exceptional, but “Tower of Babel” deserves a special nod for its jazzy and uplifting horn arrangement. Keep Your Courage is a testament to Merchant’s concern for humanity and our collective future.  A fabulous sounding album, go out and buy this one.

BIG GIRLS

COME ON, APHRODITE

SISTER TILLY

NARCISSUS

HUNTING THE WREN

GUARDIAN ANGEL

EYE OF THE STORM

TOWER OF BABEL

SONG OF HIMSELF

THE FEAST OF SAINT VALENTINE

Bonus Content, Vinyl Only:

SPRING & FALL: TO A YOUNG CHILD

BUTTERFLY

GIVING UP EVERYTHING

FROZEN CHARLOTTE