Carly Simon’s new album, Comes in Waves, marks her first collection of original songs in nearly two decades, according to ABC News. The release comes after Simon said she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while making the album and had surgery to remove a cancerous skin growth.
The review says the record sounds less like a final chapter and more like another step in the themes that have long shaped Simon’s music, including longing, frustration, love and uncertainty. It also reflects parts of her personal history, including her marriage to James Taylor and the death of her father, publisher Richard Simon, when she was a teenager.
The album’s opening track, “Howl,” serves as the lead single and sets the tone with a midtempo rocker about working through heartbreak. Other songs move between regret, defiance, melancholy and determination, with production by David Spencer, Frank Filipetti and Ben Taylor.
ABC News notes that Comes in Waves also includes a remastered version of Simon’s older political song “Share the End” and touches on ideas of courtship, parenthood and resilience. At 83, Simon is described as still able to shape a melody and deliver lyrics with feeling, even if she does not always reach the vocal heights of her best-known work.
