BUCK MEEK - The Mirror

It has to be said that Big Thief have handled the shock of Max Oleartchik's departure remarkably well. Opening up to outside collaborations and contributions has given the band unexpected new energy and, despite some legitimate reservations, the album "Double Infinity" pointed to a new direction for the Brooklyn folk-rock outfit.

For his new solo record, Buck Meek uses the same approach, involving most of the band alongside friends and family, in what is effectively the sunniest and most graceful release to come out of the Big Thief camp and its associates.

Recorded at his personal studio in Los Angeles, "The Mirror" is the result of a new compositional approach developed with the help of Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia: a modular system that, triggered by traditional instruments, uses electronics to create performances that can be staged live with just a handful of elements.

The album is also a tribute to his late friend Tucker Zimmerman, who recently passed away in a domestic accident – a house fire that killed Tucker and his partner Marie-Claire – while the songs glide along with an enveloping simplicity, staying pleasantly within reach of the dustiest, most border-worn country-rock.

Little frills but plenty of depth across these eleven tracks: the pop-tinged groove of "Ring Of Fire" and the biting mix of guitars and synths on "Demon" (co-written with Adrianne Lenker) mark the culmination of this more expansive vision from Buck Meek. These two tracks also act as a dividing line between the opening trio – kicked off by the ruffled, incisive "Gasoline" and two pleasantly straightforward country ballads ("Pretty Flowers", "Can I Mend It?") – and a second half that, while not abandoning tradition – the faux-rough "God Knows Why" and the Bob Dylan-style talking-country of "Worms", with its winning guitar solo – delivers a sincere poetic uplift ("Heart in The Mirror") as well as the album's most intense and convincing moment: the corrosive "Soul Feeling", which abandons the melodic and harmonic logic of the rest of the record in favor of a minimalism in service of a Crazy Horse-style sound.

Equally striking is the closing "Outta Body", where chaos is dictated by wild rhythmic sequences that rein in the song's imaginary melodic path, delivering an explosive finale that confirms the good health of an artist who seems unafraid to engage with doubt and uncertainty.

For Buck Meek, looking in the mirror is a way of baring his own vulnerability. "The Mirror" is therefore not necessarily his definitive album, but a solid starting point for new challenges ahead.

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06/03/2026