Artist:     Mipso

Album:     Edges Run

Label:     AntiFragile Music

Release Date:     4.6.18

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Hard times had befallen the four members of Mipso. The deaths of loved ones, heartrending break-ups and arduous moves from places they’d long called home put the indie/Americana outfit through the emotional ringer in recent years. Deciding to convene in Eugene, Oregon, to record the introspective Edges Run, their latest album, in a harsh, unforgiving winter didn’t brighten anybody’s mood apparently.

Afflicted with a lovely, dark melancholy, although it’s not always depressed, the stylish and sweetly melodic Edges Run deftly balances contemporary and traditional elements in affecting, softly articulated songs with velvety textures and a slight twang. A pretty mélange of mandolin, acoustic guitar and piano, the dulcet “People Change” is emblematic of the deep meditations on transition and loss found here, although the glorious mess of a title track adds some color and effervescence to otherwise serious proceedings. There’s enough variety here to prevent most people from falling in a dreamy slumber, although there is a danger that could happen.

More in keeping with the inky tone of Edges Run, the lush, bittersweet “Weeper’s Woe,” with its shapely pedal-steel, twilight hues and yearning vocals, and a countrified “Moonlight” are pieces of sophisticated songwriting that are as comfortable sipping martinis as they are swigging cheap whiskey. And the slowly unfolding, spacious opener “Take Your Records Home” artfully captures the depressing ritual of dividing possessions after a relationship has ended, while “Servant to It” is more lighthearted, with undeniable hooks and a crisp pace and vocalist/fiddle player/songwriter Libby Rodenbough sounding like a playful Edie Brickell.

In Mipso, Rodenbough shares songwriting duties with Jacob Sharp (vocals and mandolin) and Joseph Terrell (guitarist and vocals), and Wood Robinson sings and plays bass. Together, they gently weave slightly weathered instrumentation into beautiful, flowing recordings that feel immersive and seductive. That’s a neat trick.

—Peter Lindblad