The Lumineers released their fourth studio album, Brightside, on January 14. The album is short, just 30 minutes long, but manages to capture the listener in the comfort and romance of the album in such a way that makes you wish it hadn’t ended. The songs are comforting and made me feel a sense of warmth. The album as a whole is perfectly optimistic and provides such a sense of storytelling that it transports you into the world of Brightside they created. The optimistic and positive message is important to remember in our world today, especially during a pandemic. The sound of the voices perfectly pairs with the sound of the instruments and lyrics, helping to create this certain feeling associated with Brightside. The seventh track, “Roller coaster” perfectly describes how I felt while listening.

The title track was uplifting and provided a feeling of nostalgia; it gave me a sense that everything happening in the world was also what was happening in the song, and set the tone and feel for the rest of the album. The idea and message of having a brightside.

The next track, “A.M. Radio,” was one of my favorites. I loved the raw sound and lyrics, and thought it matched the album’s tone perfectly, especially the acoustic guitar in the background. Both “Where We Are” and “Birthday” were slightly repetitive and didn’t really stand out to me. They definitely fit in with the sounds and lyrics of the album, but just weren’t my favorite.

“We just were really exploratory…The word free just came to mind over and over because I felt like we were just so curious,” The Lumineers said on their Instagram story the day of the album’s release.

“Big Shot,” a single released prior to the rest of the record, was another one of my top songs on the album. It had the classic sounds that The Lumineers usually deliver and have in previous albums, exactly what I would expect from them, but at the same time, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The rest of the tracks had more of an electric feel to them, which differs from the artist’s prior work.

The closing track, “Reprise,” was a more uplifting continuation of “Brightside” and wrapped up the album nicely. I found myself disappointed to have reached the end. It made me think about everything I had just listened to and the feelings I had to process. Overall, this album had a comforting sound, and was uplifting with feelings of nostalgia incorporated into the sound and lyrics. This is an album that I would recommend listening to.