An album that finds you when you need it most… that’s what herbal tea offers with Hear as the Mirror Echoes. Review.
HEAR AS THE MIRROR ECHOES – HERBAL TEA
Helena Walker, under her artistic name herbal tea, presents a new album that is captivating, delicate, and warm with Hear as the Mirror Echoes. With a tenderness inherent to her creation and homemade recording process, herbal tea has shaped striking, mesmerising tracks. And these pull me out of my usual listening habits. Her clear, enchanting voice lays like bursts of colour on the pastel canvas of her music, somewhere between contemplation and sonic journey.
It all opens with Seventeen. You can feel the artist’s sincerity and her intimate sharing, and gently, you’re drawn in. The tracks are long, allowing space to breathe and tell their stories in their own time. With a DIY approach to production, the textures are woven together delicately, like lace. Her ethereal voice, at times clear, at times layered with echo, is a beautiful constant throughout the record. Whether it’s the middle of the night (Kitchen Floor (4 A.M.)), the depths of the ocean (Submarine), a comforting cocoon (Garden), or an unforgettable beach (Sundown), each track carries a set of memories. Those of herbal tea, but also our own. The connection is immediate.
We’re swept into daydreams of road trips on the self-duet of Driving Slow, a reminder that still moments under the rain are just as much a part of the journey. Particularly dreamlike with Frank, then veering into almost experimental territory with Sundown, each atmosphere flows into the next with cohesion while retaining its uniqueness. The album ends with Kara, an exploration, and just as fascinating. It’s said this project finds you when you need it. I can only confirm this sweet legend, which reached for my heart at just the right moment. With Hear as the Mirror Echoes, herbal tea offers us a hand and a mirror, comforting and reflective, without a hint of judgement.
