Joy's reflection is sorrow

"There are many factors that make Joy's Reflection Is Sorrow a wonderful album. The musicianship is great (the woodwind and violin of Jenny Bliss Bennett is a particular treat), Kraus's voice has found a new confidence and the rolled-back arrangements and production allow the songs room to breathe and speak. But perhaps the most important thing, in a world in which instant gratification and long-term despair are increasingly held up as the only options, is the sense of a lasting optimism that goes beyond the span of a human life, that perhaps even defines the nature of human life. Kraus may not be able to answer those big questions - maybe they are unanswerable - but she has found the best possible way to ask them".

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