Photos: Behind the Scenes With Widowspeak

Widowspeak’s fourth album, Expect the Best, charts vocalist Molly Hamilton’s trek back to her hometown of Tacoma, Wash., and a massive shift from her stay in upstate New York the past few years. More so than in her and partner Robert Earl Thomas’s oeuvre of lush, remedial Americana, the new tracks echo that bigness of the mountainous West. First track “The Dream” shifts between two open major chords, letting the strings vibrate into the ether alongside Hamilton’s melancholic, climbing melody. Thomas counters those soothing tones with rustic twangs and silvertone reverb, adding a mischievous bent to standout songs “When I Tried” and “Dog.” The effort retains the smoky, organic sensuality of the previous LPs, while adding an ever-expanding sense of scope.

The band, alongside drummer James Jano, ventured two and a half hours South of their album’s inspiration last week, playing Mississippi’s Studio’s intimate hall. (Bassist Wily Muse was unfortunately stuck states away nursing a broken tour van.) Paste’s Sean Edgar shot some portraits and the show in the gallery above. “Widowspeak play The Syndicate Lounge in Birmingham, Ala., tonight, with a New York show coming up Oct. 13 at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.

1 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

2 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

3 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

4 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

5 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

6 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

7 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

8 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

9 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017

10 of 24 Widowspeak at Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, 9/22/2017