III
is a prosaic title for a release as ambitious as
the Lumineers
' third effort. The numeric title carries a double meaning: the album is a song cycle told in three parts, with the first two available as a digital EP prior to the September 2019 release of
. Through these three chapters,
tell a tale of the long-lasting ramifications of addiction and co-dependence. The ten ruminative songs (the deluxe edition adds three bonus tracks, including a cover of
Leonard Cohen
's "Democracy" and the slight sketch "Soundtrack Song") are collectively a far cry from the rousing stomp of "Ho Hey." Tempos rarely quicken and the arrangements often do little more than gently cradle the plaintive voice of
Wesley Schultz
. When the record does get a little lively, as it does on "It Wasn't Easy to Be Happy for You" and the searching closer "Salt and the Sea," there's still a melancholy undercurrent tying the whole record together.
Schultz
and co-writer
Jeremiah Fraites
etch telling details into their story that make the sadness seem earned and realized, if lugubrious.
moves at a deliberate, nearly dreary pace that forces a listener to pay attention, and while it can take some effort to meet
on their own terms, it's nevertheless easy to admire the ambition behind the project. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine