Vinyl Reports

Pre-eminent singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, a two-time Grammy Award-winner, shares a powerful and personal journey with listeners on her latest LP, Crown of Roses. Griffin traverses a broad swath of styles on the new album’s eight tracks, from Americana to folk to country to blues and beyond. Her lyrics feel at once personal and universal, highlighting broader internal and external mysteries at work.

On the back cover, Griffin notes that Crown of Roses is “for all of my sisters” and is also dedicated to her late mother, Lorraine Marie Martin Griffin, whom she also cites as her “most favorite singer of all.” The album’s colorful cover artwork (as seen below), created by Mishka Westell, prominently features a wedding-day photo of her mother wearing a crown of roses, alongside other flora and fauna.

Some important stats now before I continue. Crown of Roses was released on July 25, 2025, via the artist’s own PGM Recordings imprint on Thirty Tigers, and it sports a quite reasonable SRP of $25. You can purchase this LP — which is currently only available on “limited edition” turquoise color vinyl — directly from Griffin’s official site store here, or at fine indie record stores everywhere. Production credits confirm Griffin’s longtime collaborator Craig Ross as producer/engineer along with Jim Vollentine covering additional engineering, Mike Poole on mixing, and Pete Lyman doing the mastering.

More specific data about the source material for the Roses LP and where the vinyl was pressed were not provided — but if we get any updates about any of that key info, we’ll add it in here once/if we get it.

The album kicks off with “Back at the Start” (Side A, Track 1), where Western-style forward-driving rhythms evoke a train chugging ahead on its tracks. Packed with propulsive energy, it uplifts both sonically and lyrically: “You might lose everything / Spend years in the dark / But it isn’t the end / You’re just back at the start.” This song was penned during the pandemic, then reportedly cast aside before its resurrection here.

“Born in a Cage” (Side A, Track 2) brings Southern country blues. The verse melody carries hints of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” as David Pulkingham’s lush guitar and Jeremy Barnes’ atmospheric, harp-like santur interplay with Griffin’s nuanced singing. Heather Trost’s mournful violin swells softly. A faint tap or clap — barely audible — keeps time. Trost also supplies a bittersweet solo on the somber “The End” (Side A, Track 3), complementing the ebbs and flows of Griffin’s dynamic vocals.

The album’s overall feel and POV is female — though not glaringly so. Lyrics such as, “It was not the life my mother chose / We worked metal into spurs / I learned it from her” and “Between the boots and the dust / And the men you can’t trust / That’s how I never grew old” from “All the Way Home” (Side B, Track 1) back up the point, though. This standout cut is infused with Pulkingham’s lush Spanish-flavored guitar, a nod to classic Tejano or Mexican border music.

“Long Time” (Side A, Track 4) brings acoustic blues with Mississippi Delta tinges and themes — “a valley of despair.” Its slow burn builds toward a catharsis, with Pulkingham’s gentle guitar picking responding to Griffin’s proclamations in crescendo. Haunting backing vocals from Robert Plant (a former flame/partner of Griffin’s) add a subtle layer to the vivid atmospherics, alongside impressions of wind howling. And then Side A concludes with a whisper.

Griffin continues to imbue her songs with her own signature songwriting style — distinctive and warm. Although its styles vary, the album still offers consistency, as all eight tracks stand together well as a collection. And they’re all solid, no filler.

Crown of Roses wields power while delivering delicacy and precision performances. It brings to mind that infamous Theodore Roosevelt quote, “Speak softly but carry a big stick” — even when Griffin belts out her vocals on “I Know a Way” (Side B, Track 3), a bluesy, gospel-inspired rouser with Pulkingham providing the album’s heaviest electric guitar grooves.

Griffin sings the somber album closer, “A Word” (Side B, Track 4), with care and reverence, concluding the record’s whispery intimacy. Although it was sad to see — or rather, to hear — the album end on such a personal, poignant note (the track that could be a tribute to a loved one, perhaps her mother), it seemed a fitting conclusion.

As for the album’s physical appearance, my review LP copy’s vinyl hue was unexpected: somewhere between turquoise and robin’s egg blue. The inner sleeve is printed with full lyrics on both sides, in a friendly font at a readable size. One QC downside to note, however — something that was also pointed out by several Discogs members — is that the bottom seam of my Roses record jacket came unglued pretty much immediately. I experienced no issues with the vinyl pressing itself, though, which was of nice quality and played without issue. (Footnote 1)

Sonically speaking, Crown of Roses was recorded with skill and grace. Backgrounds are silent, enabling Griffin’s gorgeous vocals and guitar playing to emerge as naturally and close to live (or real life) as possible. Natural sound prevails here, allowing the instruments’ delicate microdynamics — along with Griffin’s voice and guitar — to shine through clearly. It’s intimate and inviting for the listener.

The recording of Crown of Roses leans to the quieter side of most albums in my record collection. I turned the volume higher than usual on the Linear Tube Audio Z10e integrated amp that’s in use during much of my listening time. Driving a pair of Meze Audio Poet planar-magnetic headphones, for example, the Z10e was set on 15 or 18, rather than 3 or 5 as per usual. Powering a pair of Totem Acoustic Bison Twin Tower loudspeakers in my system, dialing the volume knob up to 45 or 50 (or more) was easy and comfortable — and sounded excellent. Overblown it ain’t, so turn it up.

As for my ratings, I give the Music an 8.5, and the Sound a 9. Crown of Roses captures Patty Griffin’s generous gifts at their finest. This is essential listening for longtime fans of her work — which spans more than three decades now — as well as those just discovering or digging deeper into it.

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Author bio: Julie Mullins, a lifelong music lover and record collector since age 10 who takes after her audiophile father, is also a contributing editor and reviewer on our sister site, Stereophile, for whom she also writes the monthly Re-Tales column. A former fulltime staffer at Cincinnati’s long-running alt-weekly CityBeat, she programs and hosts a weekly radio show on WAIF called On the Pulse.

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Footnote 1: AP editor Mike Mettler adds: Luckily, the sleeve housing my vinyl copy of Crown of Roses experienced no splits (at least as of this posting!), and my turquoise LP was well-centered, flat, and had no notable playback issues except for a few crackles ’n’ pops detected during some of the quieter parts of “Born in a Cage” and right before “The End” commenced on Side A. My ratings are relatively similar to Julie’s — I too give the Music an 8.5 (though “Born in a Cage” and “Long Time” both get a 9.5 on their own merits), but I’m going with 8.5 for the Sound.

PATTY GRIFFIN
CROWN OF ROSES
1LP (Thirty Tigers)
MUSIC: 8.5
SOUND: 9

Produced by Craig Ross
Engineered by Jim Vollentine and Craig Ross
Mixed by Mike Poole
Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic (assisted by Daniel Bacigalupi)

Side A
1. Back At The Start
2. Born In A Cage
3. The End
4. Longtime

Side B
1. All The Way Home
2. Way Up To The Sky
3. I Know A Way
4. A Word