| My Echo | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Laura Veirs |
| Cover: | Laura Veirs - My Echo.jpg |
| Alt: | A pink and magenta monochromatic photo of Veirs seated |
| Recorded: | Tucker Martine's home studio, Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Producer: | Tucker Martine |
| Prev Title: | The Lookout |
| Prev Year: | 2018 |
| Next Title: | Found Light |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
My Echo is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Laura Veirs, released on October23, 2020 by Raven Marching Band. The album received a positive reception from music critics.
On Valentine's Day 2020, Veirs released the song "I Was a Fool"; the song discusses her divorce as do the tracks on My Echo. Veirs calls My Echo "an album about disintegration". The album was produced with longtime collaborator and Veirs' ex-husband Tucker Martine and was preceded by music videos for "Burn Too Bright" in July and "Turquoise Walls" in August.
Album of the Year sums up critical consensus as an 80 out of 100 based on five reviews and AnyDecentMusic? considers My Echo a 7.4 out of 10, also based on five reviewers.
Sara Chodos of Exclaim! gave the release an eight out of 10, praising the diversity of musicianship and instrumentation. In New Statesman, Ellen Perison-Hagger declared Veirs "one of the greatest living American songwriters" for her ability to use music as catharsis. Maeri Ferguson of No Depressions review emphasized the solitude in the album's lyrics and the Veirs' "stunningly spare" vocals, especially paired with Jim James. In a 7.7 out of 10 review for Paste, Ben Salmon points out Veirs' comforting confronting the unknown in her lyrics as her personal relationship was deteriorating during recording. Steve Horowitz of PopMatters discusses this disintegration and the "claustrophobic themes of confinement" in his review, ending it: "Love can't conquer all. Some disasters are just too big, and we end up singing to ourselves. That's why there is music." Eric Mason of Slant Magazine considers the recording "an act of self-preservation" in a "backdrop of hopelessness brought about by personal heartbreak and global disasters". In Financial Times, David Chesal gave My Echo four out of five stars for "a break-up album [that is] remarkably easy to listen to". Ben Hogwood of musicOMH gave My Echo the same rating, noting the highly skilled musicians and summing up that this album is "sometimes difficult but never less than involving".
Samantha Small of Under the Radar reviewed "Burn Too Bright" upon its release, naming it one of the songs of the week. Concluding the review for AllMusic, Mark Deming claimed that "My Echo creates beauty out of fear and uncertainty, and it's among Laura Veirs' most personal and satisfying works to date."
Credits are adapted from the My Echo liner notes.