Grief, hope and everything in-between.

Ben Kweller returns with Cover the Mirrors, his seventh studio album and first release in four years. Best known as a solo artist and former member of Radish, the American songwriter channels unimaginable loss into this new project. Following the death of his son in 2023, Kweller uses the album to process grief in a raw and deeply personal way.

The opener, “Going Insane,” sets the emotional tone with ambient bird sounds and minimal piano. Kweller’s vocal delivery is spare and exposed, underscoring lines like “Purple sage, golden age / Hard to breathe inside the cage.” A haunting string arrangement builds tension, mirroring the song’s lyrical fragmentation and evoking the disorientation of grief and mental strain.

“Dollar Store,” featuring Waxahatchee, opens with a peaceful guitar line before building into a heavier rock track with crunched guitars and drums. “Trapped” follows with guitars, drums and strings to support one of the album’s most emotionally direct moments. “But I wish you were with me” speaks plainly to grief, capturing a longing that feels universally understood.

“Park Harvey Fire Drill” strips things back with just acoustic guitar and vocals. The lyric “I’m just glad I don’t have to talk to anyone” reflects the isolating weight of depression in a quiet, intimate moment. “Depression,” a collaboration with Coconut Records, builds from a deep bass groove into a lyrically vivid exploration of breakdown and flickering hope. “Laughing is a waste of time” contrasts with “a new day’s coming for me,” showing how grief can carry both darkness and possibility at once.

The energy lifts with “Don’t Cave,” a guitar-driven reminder to keep going. “Your heart is much stronger than you think” is as close as the album gets to a mantra. But “Optimystic” quickly throws the mood off-balance, pairing punchy guitars and pounding drums with lyrics like “wanna die” and “get high.” It’s an intentional mismatch that highlights how grief can hide in plain sight.

“Brakes” returns to an acoustic foundation before adding strings and drums, landing somewhere between heartbreak and healing. “Killer Bee,” featuring The Flaming Lips, is a soft ballad about being misunderstood and how grief comes and goes in ways that aren’t always visible. “Letter to Agony” stays in that intimate space, with guitar and vocals delivering one of the album’s most self-aware lines: “I won’t let my craziness hold back your happiness.”

“Save Yourself” adds texture with electric guitar, drums and piano. The build rises and falls around the lyric “Save yourself from the unknown loss,” keeping its message focused and restrained. Final track “Oh Dorian,” featuring MJ Lenderman, closes the album with warmth and memory. The lyric “Wish I could see him again” lands as a soft goodbye to Kweller’s son, wrapping the record in both sorrow and love.

Cover the Mirrors is a lyrically rich album that captures the complex emotions of grief with clarity and honesty. Instrumentally simple yet thoughtfully arranged, the songs move between sorrow and acceptance, reflecting the nonlinear nature of healing. It’s a raw, human and unfiltered expression of loss.