The Past Is Still Alive (2024)

""The Past Is Still Alive" feels gentle, even comforting, on the surface; the tempos never push, the melodies ring out clearly, and Alynda Segarra sings with reassurance. Written in the wake of the death of their father, "The Past Is Still Alive" is rife with Segarra reckoning with personal loss, using their grief to mourn a world where things are starting to decay and fray, possibly to the point of extinction. On "Colossus of Roads," they sing "Say goodbye to America, I want to see it dissolve," concluding at the record's close "I used to think I was born in the wrong generation, but now I know I made it right on time/To watch the world burn, with a tear in my eye." It's hard to shake such gloom but the remarkable thing about "The Past Is Still Alive" is that it never feels despairing: the warmth offers solace and companionship, even suggesting there's a future beyond the end of the world." (AllMusic; 4,5 uit 5 sterren)