Mule

<b>Orville Peck</b> might be known for hiding his face behind playful bedazzled masks, but the acclaimed singer-songwriter truly lays himself bare on this fourth studio album and follow-up to 2024’s <i>Stampede</i>. Produced by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Molly Tuttle), <i>Mule</i> is a vulnerable account of Peck’s battle with addiction and journey to sobriety, and unsurprisingly features his rawest songwriting yet. Structured as a concept album telling a chronological story, <i>Mule</i> opens with <b>“Prologue (Eulogy of a Man Turned Mule)”</b>, a gorgeous overture performed by Emmylou Harris, Allison Russell and Noah Cyrus, who harmonise like an angel choir. It leads right into <b>“Big Ol’ House”</b>, a potent and dramatic rocker that also functions as a laundry list of Peck’s regrets: “Drink all night and start a fight/Take someone home that I don’t know.” <b>“Rehab Blues”</b> painstakingly details the more quotidian horrors of getting clean, like forfeiting privacy and reliving past trauma, with Peck’s vocal theatrics reinforcing the absurdity of existence rather than lightening the mood. The back half of the LP makes room for redemption, like on standout <b>“The Breeze, the Grass, the Mourning Dove and Me,”</b> a gently rolling ballad on which Peck invites a lover to trust him again. Peck closes with <b>“Mule”</b>, on which he takes stock of how far he’s come, expresses fear for the future and finally makes peace—if shakily—with his difficult past. “You can look back with regret,” he sings, “but you’re bound to hurt your neck.”