Allison Russell Album Review: The Returner

On “Springtime”, the first track on Allison Russell’s second solo album The Returner, she admits she “used to think that I was doomed.” If her debut Outside Child was about her journey to overcome abuse she suffered as a child, The Returner is a tribute to survivors relearning joy, and the complexity thereof. Russell’s inherent hopefulness does not prevent moments of doubt from flourishing alongside mantras of self-worth; she therapeutically presents these raw feelings non-linearly, making The Returner a jaw-dropping manifestation of her struggle.