The warm glow of 90s indie rock pulses through Blue Reminder, yet Meg Duffy’s trademark introspection, as Hand Habits remains intact.
The songs form a delicate seesaw between joy and quiet unease, exploring the exhilarating but occasionally terrifying question: what happens when happiness fills previously hollow feelings?
Not that the album is jam packed full of ‘love songs’ per se but we’re confronted with propulsive guitar riffs and taut rhythms underscoring lyrics that wrestle with the weight of past loves, romantic or otherwise. Duffy situates this personal revelation in the context of queer and trans joy. Amid cultural backlash and raging intolerance, this album stands as a quiet rebellion, a celebration of love not just surviving, but thriving. It’s an emotional recalibration.
“Wheel of Change,” is a perfect example of craving the now, while a fear of losing what you have looms large. Duffy’s voice is at once commanding and disarming and sets an early tone of urgency. They pivot throughout between lyrics that feel both intimate and universal. It forms a spine for the album, a reminder that healing is not erasure but accumulation. The production burbles forward, guitars fuzzing around the central melodic core, anchored by drums and occasional Wurlitzer or horn. The result is a full-bodied indie-rock texture without abandoning the emotional clarity of their songwriting.
Elsewhere, metaphor is used to brilliant effect. The unsettling “Dead Rat” turns mundane horror into an intimate revelation: “Dead rat in my wall is rotting / And there’s nothing I can do / I want to pick up the phone and tell you I love you.” The rat’s stench becomes symbolic of internal decay, until music, and a lover’s comfort, crack open the blinds and let relief in. Set against gentle guitar and restrained piano, it shifts from claustrophobia to a small, necessary solace.
Then there’s the eco-political themes woven with personal longing on “Jasmine Blossoms,” This swimming sea of dreamy, grunge-tinged pop floats along while registering the world’s collapse. It’s hopeful, even joyous, but never naïve. Stylistically, these tracks lean hard into indie/bluesy guitars, drums up front, sparkling embellishments here and there, yet the arrangements feel fresh. The sonic palette is sharpened on “Bluebird of Happiness”, enhancing the feeling of an indie-rock love letter elevated into something nearly orchestral.
Arguably the album’s emotional core is the confessional title track. Duffy’s voice oscillates between strength and fragility. It builds gradually, cresting with a promise: “I feel lighter now.” It might be Duffy’s most unguarded triumph, a manifesto for someone choosing to show up as themselves, mess and all. The emotional honesty is ultimately what makes this album truly compelling. It’s less a collection of conventional ballads and more a testament to commitment, to relationships, one’s own self-knowledge, and the courage exhibited in vulnerability. There’s a weight of past burdens and anxieties here but also a greater focus on acceptance, forgiveness, and it’s rooted in happiness.
“Beauty 62”, “Quiet Summer”, “Living Proof” each hold their own mysteries and nuances. But the album as a whole is a landmark: a celebration of vulnerability as strength. Particularly after a decade of sonic evolution and emotional excavation, Blue Reminderfeels like a summit reached allowing room to breathe.
Duffy has sculpted an album that vibrates with courage, tenderness, and a sheer insistence to feel. Blue Reminder is not just another indie-folk sojourn; it’s a declaration of presence. Their complicated journey, already threaded with vulnerability all over previous Hand Habits releases, has evolved into a daring emotional excavation. Far from lingering over grief or past scars, this record insists on embracing what it means to say “yes” to love, right here and now.
8/10
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Review first published: The Line Of Best Fit – August 22nd, 2025