Album Review – Trisha Yearwood’s “The Mirror”

Country Pop (#530.2) with some Neotraditional Country (#510.8) on the Country DDS.

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Is this a “mom country” album, meaning an album full of flowery affirmations about self-worth, adult contemporary sounds overlaying country sensibilities, and music ideal for listening while sipping Merlot during a ladies night in? Yes, it’s guilty of all of these things.

But The Mirror is also a Trisha Yearwood album. It’s an album that feels inspired, passionate, and purposeful. It’s the best album Trisha Yearwood could make in this season of her career. It’s an album from women, by women, and for women and the men that love them. It will be well-received by those who’ve always found Trisha Yearwood to be an artist they enjoy in country music, because she speaks to their lived experiences.

Trisha Yearwood will be in the Country Music Hall of Fame some day as one of the artists who helped define country music in the ’90s decade and beyond, and inspired a whole generation of women who currently make country music as well. This includes some artists who appear in the track list of this album as contributors, including Hailey Whitters, Erin Enderlin, and Sunny Sweeney.

But the most impressive wrinkle about The Mirror is that all the songs were co-written by Trisha Yearwood herself, and Yearwood co-produced the album with Chad Carlson. This was the album Yearwood wanted to make in every sense. And though it took 16 albums into her career, and six years since her last one to get here, The Mirror feels like a victory.

Don’t come to this album expecting a revitalization of ’90s country neotraditional twang. This feels more like a 2000s-styled contemporary country album, though with appearances from a steel guitar in places, and enough country notes to keep it within the genre. Yearwood even delivers some straight country songs, like the empowering “Little Lady” about being able to write her own checks, or the rambunctious “Drunk Works” with Hailey Whitters and a tipsy guitar.

What’s consistent about The Mirror is how it speaks to a strong feminine perspective on life that’s unafraid to share earned wisdom and insight. Sometimes this comes across as rather cliché, like the title track whose hook/payoff you can see coming a mile away. But at other times the sentiments really resonate, no matter what chromosomes you’re packing.

“So Many Summers” is the perfect song to release at this time, reminding you to get out there and live life, and to choose the adventure whenever it comes calling. It’s so easy to get swept up in the constant refrain of current events, but “The Record Plays On” reminds us that there are always crises, and they always have felt existential. The song’s good enough where you can even overlook that it’s Lady’s A’s Charles Kelly singing with Yearwood.

And sure, for traditional country fans, this album will not have the twang and dirt they’ll need to satisfy their appetite. But that doesn’t mean these things are entirely absent. The song “The Shovel” featuring Jim Lauderdale is a good example. Let’s face it though, Trisha Yearwood is a creature of signature home furnishing collections and cooking shows these days. If you get any kind of grit from her, you’ll call it good.

If you love Trisha Yearwood, you will love this album. But even if you don’t love Trisha Yeawood but appreciate her ’90s output, you can still appreciate The Mirror and how it got made. It’s inspiring to see more mature country artists still pushing themselves and putting out meaningful music as opposed to chasing trends. Yearwood can look in The Mirror and be proud.

7.8/10

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Purchase/stream The Mirror