The Secret Sisters with Mary Bragg

Since their 2010 self-titled debut, The Secret Sisters have brought their spellbinding harmonies to songs that untangle the thorniest aspects of life and love and womanhood. In the making of their new album, Mind, Man, Medicine, Alabama-bred siblings Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle found their songwriting transformed by a newfound sense of self-reliance and equanimity, threading their lyrics with hard-won insight into the complexities of motherhood, commitment, compassion, and self-preservation in an endlessly chaotic world. Centered on a kaleidoscopic sound that boldly blurs the edges of country-folk, the duos fifth full-length ultimately confronts many of modern lifes harshest challenges while leading the listener toward a more open-hearted state of mind.In our previous records there was a feeling that we had something to prove, but now were leaning toward a place of peaceful acceptance and trying to stay immersed in the present, says Slagle, noting that their shared experience in parenting young children greatly informed that shift in perspective. There are definitely still moments of frustration and anger on this album, but theres also a little more light, Rogers adds. I think a lot of that came from getting older, and from letting go of the pressure we put on ourselves in the past. We finally reached the point of saying, Lets just write the songs honestly as we can, and trust that theyll reach whoever theyre meant to reach.The follow-up to Saturn Returntheir 2020 Grammy-nominated LP co-produced by Brandi Carlile and lavishly praised by the likes of Rolling StoneMind, Man, Medicine finds The Secret Sisters co-producing alongside Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes, St. Paul On Saturn Return wed gotten much more confident as far as directing the sound of the record and knowing how to capture our voices in the most honest way, so it felt like the right time for our first foray into production, says Rogers. The latest in a series of critically lauded releases, the album came to life at FAME Studios (the historic spot in their hometown of Muscle Shoals) and at Sun Drop Sound in nearby Florence, with contributions from such esteemed musicians as Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell and legendary multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell (Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Levon Helm).Referring to The Secret Sisters latest chapter as one where we seek, savor, and settle, the duo lifted the title to Mind, Man, Medicine from a lyric in Same Water: a gorgeously bluesy meditation on the search for healing in a profoundly troubled world, channeling both weariness and empathy with soulful conviction. Theres a line in Same Water that says Mind or man or medicine/I have tried them all, which feels like it encompasses everything we were trying to say on this record, Slagle explains. In a lot of these songs were struggling with our own minds and emotions, with our relationships, and with whatever were using to try to cope and find relief.