Brielle Brown plants a soulful legacy with album, “In Art & Soil the Same”
Brielle Brown isn’t just a songwriter, she’s a storyteller who carves deep into the dirt of human experience and gently brings out the light. With In Art & Soil the Same, her highly anticipated full-length debut, Brown cultivates something quietly seismic: a roots/folk record that doesn’t scream to be heard but instead invites you to listen. It’s tender, defiant, and beautifully honest. It feels like the kind of album that’s not just released—it’s lived in.
Brown’s rise was marked by the elegance and raw intimacy of her award-winning 2021 EP The Well. But In Art & Soil the Same isn’t a continuation so much as a bold expansion. Produced with expert subtlety by her husband and frequent collaborator Marc Swersky (whose work with Joe Cocker speaks volumes), the record takes Brown’s already powerful voice and places it in a sonic landscape as rich and nuanced as the stories she’s telling.
The title, drawn from a review of The Well, hints at the emotional philosophy guiding the album: that what we create and what we come from are intertwined. Art and soil, past and present, memory and hope—they are all braided together here in a sweeping yet understated Americana tapestry. There’s nothing flashy or performative about this record. It breathes. It waits. It trusts the listener to come closer.
When we sat down with Brielle to talk about the making of the album, her warmth was instantly apparent. Whether she’s evoking the weight of generational memory or imagining futures rooted in resilience, she does so with a quiet clarity that feels spiritual without being didactic. You truly have to live life and garner experiences to write songs like this.
Her voice, crystalline and grounded in soul, takes center stage throughout. It carries the same raw power as icons like Patty Griffin and Joan Baez, with a modern elegance that never feels derivative. There's an artful suspense to her phrasing—she knows when to lean in, when to let silence do the work, and when to break open completely. It’s a masterclass in restraint and release.
Swersky’s production is equally thoughtful. The arrangements are intimate but cinematic in scope, never crowding Brielle’s vocals. Acoustic guitars shimmer gently, pianos whisper, and harmonies echo like ghosts from a church basement. There’s just enough muscle in the mix to support the soulfulness, but nothing ever overshadows the song’s emotional center. The instrumentation feels organic, grown rather than constructed, like everything was planted with purpose.
Brielle Brown has delivered a roots record that’s quietly revolutionary in its empathy, in its clarity, and in its craft. It doesn’t chase trends or try to out-sing the noise. Instead, it tells the stories that matter—the ones that live in our bones, shape our tomorrows, and bind us to one another. In Art & Soil the Same is not just one of the year’s most affecting albums—it’s a vital reminder that music, at its best, reflects the humanity that made it.
So please, go ahead and click those links to give the album a spin, but don’t forget to enjoy our conversation to really get a close look on what makes this record so great. Enjoy!
Listen to “In Art & Soil The Same”
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