We all thought we’d be further along by now. When I first heard Mariel Buckley’s 2018 album Driving in the Dark, I was captured by its optimism in the face of a murky future. In 2025, Buckley’s latest album, Strange Trip Ahead embraces that murk – kicking and screaming, with a deep vulnerability.
Written in the wake of a destabilizing breakup, Buckley surveys the things she’s proud of and her own self-destructive patterns. There are no answers here: the wounds are fresh, and the only path is forward while wrestling with uncomfortable truths. While Buckley has become known for her warm vintage country songs, the music on Strange Trip is angular and intense, with drums sitting more heavily in the mix.
