photo credit: Alysse Gafkien
Written by Maria Arroyo
Sisters Lauren Rogers and Lydia Rogers released their new album Saturn Return. The Secret Sisters recorded the album at Brandi Carlile’s home studio in Washington state, and she was the one who suggested to them to try singing solo, while still delivering their signature harmonies.
Astrostyle.com explains the term Saturn Return as “a bit like a cosmic bar mitzvah, quinceanera or communion” in the sense that its a right of passage into the next stage of one’s life. This is based on the fact that Saturn takes around 29.5 years to fully orbit the sun to come back to the same spot it originated.
The Rogers sisters created the album as a way to view their world, relationships, and even their own mortality. The Secret Sisters say that “As we age, we face obstacles that are beyond our control. Some forces are internal: insecurity, anxiety, fear. Some are external: the loss of loved ones, an unjust system and the fragility of time. Yet the mark of maturity is how you respond when you realize you’re not in control…” they continue “…With Saturn Return, our hope is that women can feel less alone in their journey through the modern world. We need each other more than we ever have… We are southern women in the 21st century, convicted by our beliefs.”
Their song “Silver” delivers extraordinary harmonies with a strong sense of female empowerment. It was truly a wonderful song to praise the moms in the world, and thank them for everything they’ve done. “Late Bloomer” and “Fair” have beautiful melodies that carry the song to the next level. There’s a lot of soul and love written in both the lyrics and instrumentation.
A lot of their songs show lots of variety in the harmonies and dynamics, but this is especially true in “Hold You Dear” and “Cabin.“ I think they did a stellar job of balancing the dynamics to create a buildup of tension that we could look forward to, rather than immediately showing their cards. They play a lot on those emotions swelling up to truly maximize the message of their song.
Something that stuck with me while listening to the album is in the words they used to describe what this album is all about. They said that “This album is a reflection of us coming to terms with how to find our power in the face of an unfair world… We question our purpose, our relationships, our faith.”
Their song “Hand Over My Heart” explores those feelings of needing to have control in situations so that we don’t get hurt. As a woman, it’s hard to let others in for the fear that it will be our downfall, but this song challenges us to open ourselves up. To accept that we might be a little damaged, but I’ll give myself to you if you can accept that side of me.
Closing out this album is my favorite song of the entire album. “Heal in the Sky” is simply gorgeous, and brings forth their abilities to not only have airtight harmonies but to explore their voices solo as well. Their lyrics like “I’ve lived my life and I’ve found the answer… and I don’t have a doubt you’ll be alright cuz I know there’s a healer in the sky” really show the amount of trust they have in their faith. This song struck me hard as I took myself back to a time where my best friend had to have this same talk with herself. She used her faith as a way to explain these tough life moments and became one of the only things that got her through it.
The Secret Sisters truly dig deep into their feelings to put forth an album that is honest and real, and something that can really help a lot of women at various stages of their life. They put their story out there for everyone to see, and it paid off.
