(Self-released, digital)
Returning to music 16 years after her last release, Lisa Piccirillo of Norwich announces the end of her hiatus and basks in the glow of the muse on her new album, Radiate. With its themes of desire, identity, anger, strength, softness and empowerment, the record covers broad emotional terrain. Exploring how marriage and motherhood complicate creativity, Piccirillo doesn’t reinvent any genres, but Radiate marks a masterful entry into the lineage of ’90s and ’00s pop rock with potent sincerity.
The album opens with a pair of anthems, “Inviting” and “Enough,” that echo some of the best ballads of the turn of the 21st century. Both manage to convey nostalgia without being cloying, avoiding the possible sappiness of lyrics such as “tell me all your stories” and “come home to me and I’ll be here” (both from “Inviting”). The sheer earnestness of Piccirillo’s voice makes these lines transcend cliché.
On the title track, the album’s mood shifts briefly from upbeat to somber. Piccirillo reflects on the pain and difficulty of pursuing creative dreams but breaks through at the chorus, declaring triumphantly, “I am standing in my light” and “I’ll keep climbing.” Evoking Sara Bareilles’ early ballads, the piano and voice remain central to the song as violin and doubled vocals crescendo to the end. “The Light” continues the illumination metaphor, this time displacing it onto a rhetorical other — self, muse, partner — while promising to shine for them in their new phase of renewed creativity.
On “Lovers & Ghosts,” Piccirillo pauses to contemplate how her creativity was lost in the first place. However, she doesn’t wallow. Instead, she resolves to seek renewal with a resounding rejection of the notion that one must put one’s life on hold to pursue creative dreams.
By “Sing,” the album’s motif is firmly established. Here Piccirillo addresses a separated self, expressing a desire to hear herself sing, to see herself bathed in starlight and stage light and refusing to be confined to domestic life.
“Last Star” again slows down and reorients around the light metaphor. Where the album’s first half reveled explicitly in empowerment and refound joy, “Last Star” is more contemplative, channeling an early-career Jason Mraz. Opening with long chords and soaring vocal melodies, it crests in huge orchestration with repeating and heavily layered vocals.
“The Archer” throws a twist into the formula, adding a bit of a Celtic sound and leaning into a heavier multipart vocal arrangement. This is only a quick deviation, as “Wanted” and “Remembering” return to the sound of the earlier songs to form a pair of thematic capstones.
As both a celebration of the artist’s reentry into music and an album of self-empowerment, Radiate is a wild success. Finding a balance between specificity and universality, Piccirillo generously welcomes the listener in. Both pain and happiness are represented throughout the album, but its ultimate conclusion is the joy that comes from daring to dream. And what a joy it is, for songwriter and listener alike.
Radiate is available on all major streaming services.
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2025.
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