‘Robber’ was an inflection point for my 2020. There was a before and an after. Only a few songs have the ability to shapeshift an entire flow of events with one listen. ‘Robber’ is one of them. Released as a standalone single and later revealed as the first track of the fifth record by The Weather Station, the song is a suspenseful exercise in jazzy rhythms, ominous keyboards and succulent brass and string sections. A ‘grower’ you may say, as it expands as it goes forward, crashing in a well-deserved climax before desintegrating like ashes into the air.

All of this of course wouldn’t have the same satisfying impact without Tamara Lindeman’s sultry contra-alto, her voice enveloped by the instrumentals but somehow taking control of the whole atmosphere. As the introduction to Ignorance, ‘Robber’ is an accurate exposition of the magic and intricacy embedded in the album, something that immediately invites and just gently lets you in.

The fact that Ignorance is so well-rounded and accomplished is even more relevant at this point, because by the sheer force of its first and subsequent singles it became one of my most anticipated albums of 2021. Which is also something, considering I first listened to The Weather Station with ‘Robber’. In a quick venture into their past albums, I encountered a quite peculiar output of singer-songwriter folk-rock with Lindeman’s penchant for propulsing and ever-moving songs that propell her widescope lyricism, creating a mix of music that appears to have no boundaries. It is true that, adding to a great catalogue, Ignorance is something that extends The Weather Station’s vision even more.

It’s all exposed in the first few songs of the record. Tracks one to four were released as preceding singles, each putting a particular piece to this evocative puzzle, without diminishing the full picture. ‘Atlantic’ is more focused, taking ahold of its sparkly rhythm to make sense of the collection of sounds and instruments that embellish the track. “Thinking I should get all this dying off of my mind” croons Lindeman, referring to all the regretable events we see everyday in the headlines that signal an imminent catastrophe. She channels a widespread desire later by singing: “Oh tell me, why can’t I just cover my eyes?”

‘Tried To Tell You’ is a pop-leaning straightforward track, that despite its more familiar tropes it doesn’t abandon the album’s penchant for textured production and ultimately its romantic lyricism is all the more engaging. Several highlights appear after the first half. ‘Loss’ serves as a solid middle ground for Ignorance that pushes the next tracks to keep the album leveled. It is one of the best tracks here by way of its melodic pianos and catchy rhythm. After that the album sustains itself with the slower numbers, which treat the atmosphere of the album with care, simultaneously exposing another side of it.

‘Trust’, a piano ballad anchored in beautiful string accompaniments is the perfect score for Lindeman’s doubts and musings after a hurtful divorce: “For some reason, my mind was filled with all my softest feelings”. More poignant is the bridge where she just exposes a stream of consciousness of what her mind may have gone through in the procedings: “Well everybody’s talking/And I know it’s important/And I should pay attention/And I know it’s important”. But when she sings: “This is the end of love”, it sounds more resignated with a little enlightment of how to move forward.

Ignorance benefits itself from and enlarges Tamara Lindeman’s songwriting. An enthralling chapter in The Weather Station’s catalogue that bursts with immaculate emotion, isolating the listener with its layered production, but never sounding uninviting. That is thanks to moments like closer ‘Subdivisions’, a quiet yet intricate ballad that magnificently gives closure to the album. It seems like it questions and reflects upon the record’s themes as Lindeman’s sweetly poses: “But what if I misjudged in the wildest of emotion?” appearing as still not in peace with the uncertainty. “Did I take this way too far?” she asks, closing the song and the album without an answer. When it comes to Ignorance she certainly didn’t, even as the overwhelming focus of the album looms over. The Weather Station has crafted a collection of songs that may be their best, one of the best records of early 2021 and a marvelous and necessary escape.